Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Article Summary for MacroEconomics 4 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Article Summary for MacroEconomics 4 - Essay Example The money provided by the package was almost over and the state’s police, firefighters and teachers were going to lose their jobs. President Obama is once again going to appear before the Congress for another $300 million to create jobs and help the economy. Three rounds of stimulus aid have already been provided by president Obama. The round one was openly and fully criticized by the republicans, in round one $200 billion were used to support tax cuts, $300 billion were used or the support of those who did not have jobs and $300 billion were used for direct investment in different projects. The spending on various projects contributed the most in creating jobs. The round two mainly contributed to the bailout of the auto industry of United States and helped a great deal in creating jobs. The money spend on bailout of auto industry was recovered and returned by the auto manufacturers. The step of helping the auto industry was the most successful one as this helped the auto manu facturers in solving their financial issues, this step alone helped in saving more than 1.5 million jobs. Before the bailout program, the auto manufacturers were in very bad shape and were on the verge of being forced out of the market. The bailout of auto manufacturers has a long term positive impact, these firms are currently doing very well and even employing more employees and posting higher profits. The use of stimulus money in other arenas had very little impact and an overall view suggests that stimulus money invested in other sectors was wasted. The round three of stimulus help was quite effective as huge amount of jobs were created because people had money to spend and due to increase in demand for goods and services there was increase in demand for more workers. More than $858 billion was spent as a part of the stimulus package; money was spent on unemployment assistance provided to those who were out of jobs. During summer, the economic growth and employment growth once a gain stopped and jobs created in the private sector decreased. It is even estimated that president Obama will continue providing unemployment assistance to employees. In my opinion, the president could have dealt with the stimulus package in different ways. The stimulus money was used in certain areas that did not turned out to be quite productive. For example: the tax subsidy, the unemployment benefit was of no great help in creating jobs. Whereas certain developments made with the stimulus money were quite helpful in decreasing unemployment in US. For example: investment in projects and bailout of the auto industry. Instead of giving money directly to the unemployed individuals and providing them unemployment benefits, stimulus money could have used to finance and bailout other sectors of the economy. This would have helped businesses with their liquidity issues and they would have saved themselves from being bankrupt. If businesses would not have closed and money would have been used to help these businesses, employment would have increased. Thus the unemployment assistance would not have been important and neither the tax cuts. The businesses that would have been saved with the help of stimulus money would have made money and they would have paid taxes. Taxes are revenue for the government and are necessary for the development of the economy. The taxes

Monday, October 28, 2019

Dupont Case Study Essay Example for Free

Dupont Case Study Essay Tom Harris is the General Manager of Dupont, which is the major employer in their community. Big changes had taken place when the Orlon plant had closed down, but few changes had taken place. Projects such as getting rid of one operation and installing another was being seen as regular business so there was no change management rubric. GM Harris went to the University of Virginia seeking advice from the academic community to bring some of the latest thinking in business to the Dupont plant. He specifically wanted to introduce his managers to new ideas and how to apply those ideas to improving to the plant. He stated he was not looking to improve overall organization effectiveness. He stated he was under increasing pressure to do more with less. A general bulletin was sent out to all employees stating the work culture that would be built. It stated that a representative from University of Virginia would be spending time at the plant and had been asked to give new perspectives on the work being done and the organization as whole. The hope was that it would help develop people and continually improve production. The most important goal was to help the staff appreciate and develop what goes right, assist in building on the strengths and to make the plant work better for everyone. It was also made clear that the representatives presense was not to suggest there was a particular problem, and the result is due to the plants desire to continuously improve. Over a six month time period interviews were conducted with workers and managers. Time was spent in the workplace and the representative learned about the day to day activities at the plant. This produced a description of the shared stock of knowledge that organizational members used to interpret events and generate behavior. What was made explicit with that process was the local widely used everyday common sense model performance unique to the plant and it’s atmosphere. A part of the culture that came out of this fact finding was that the local model of teamwork was organized around a southern stock-car racing metaphor. It was used to explain teamwork and the pattern for accomplishing it. Everyone knew the metaphor, so it was understood. The General Manager and the other managers were surprised to learn of the NASCAR metaphor, but it explained why they had not recognized existing teamwork in the workplace for they had different language used for teamwork. This metaphor gave them a language to introduce change for improvement. It also illuminated of the local meaning of effective supervision, high performance, and what constituted a good day at the plant with making improvements. Managers were instructed to use the findings of the study. It was felt the new understanding could be used to interpret the local meaning of effective work to capitalize on strengths, to expand and develop existing good practices. This would also help to problem solve. It was found too that the findings of the study could also be used as a basis for experiements. There existed a Leadership Core Team who were instructed to introduce change as an experiment. It was to be explained that it was to be tried and watched closely, and if after a designated time it was not working as planned, it can be stopped.

Friday, October 25, 2019

Urban Legend of the Goatman Essay example -- Urban Legends

Goatman Version 1--Montgomery County, Maryland It seemed from my story-collection that nearly everyone knows of some urban legend, but I found one story to be especially interesting because it is a relatively famous legend that has roots here in Maryland. The story of â€Å"The Goatman† has a number of variations, as with most urban legends. My roommate told me that he first heard the story from his parents when he was about 12 years old. He suspected that it was probably a joking attempt to scare him from playing outside so late at night because the sound of the basketball dribbling in the driveway would keep his parents awake. According to his parents, the Goatman was located in the suburbs of Montgomery County (his home), which was probably a detail that his parents modified to make the story scarier. He told a version that took place in Prince Georges County because he had more recently heard this version from someone whom he was unable to remember. The manner in which he recounted the legend was not in a mysterious and suspenseful tone usually used to tell such stories at campfires. He began the story by describing the Goatman’s appearance: It’s a half-man, half-goat creature, with the upper body of a man, horns, a hairy face, and two legs like a goat, kind of like a Devil. It was created in a secret government genetics-type experiment that went wrong. [pause] It got out of its cage, which was really bad because it’s as smart as a human but has no conscience, like an animal. The Goatman has been creeping around at night for years. It kills family pets that are left out at night and attacks people who see him, and it has been able to stay hidden so well because it is so smart. He did not mention where the creature was c... ... threatening to domesticated animals. Variations in the origin of the creature can offer different moral messages within the story, as well. For example, the version of the story that explains the Goatman as the ghost of a deformed outcast of an old Indian tribe demonstrates the consequences for mistreating and abandoning members of our own species. Also, the fact that this sacred, spiritual land has been overbuilt by a college campus represents mankind’s over consumption of, and lack of respect for nature’s resources. The storytelling of the Goatman may have the simple purpose of entertainment for the audience, but like most legends, the stories are likely based on some true event(s), and the way that these events evolve into stories of the uncanny reflect the intention to convey some sort of moral message. Works Cited www.puportal.com www.wikipedia.com

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Analyzing Strengths and Weaknesses of Amazon

Strengths Amazon has proven to be a successful and profitable organization in terms of growth, with a current net income in 2008 of 663 million dollars. The company uses Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Information Technology to record customer buying habits, investing a lot of time and money researching customer trends. Doing this they are able to locate and prepare for sales estimated from previous years. A high percentage of their customers buy during the holiday season; knowing this enables Amazon to offer different promotions and selling strategies tailored to meet the customers demand and needs. Amazon has a huge global brand and is listed as 130 on the Fortune 500 list. Amazon was one of the first companies in e-commerce; which has allowed them to hold a huge percentage of the market share. Amazon recently bought JOYO, Chin’s largest online retailer, creating an even bigger market share in China, but still left with room to grow. Amazon’s Inventory turnover rate is phenomenal, even in the current economy. They have been able to maintain a 34 day inventory to turn over, which equals out to over 10 times a year. This is beneficial, because it allows Amazon to adjust to seasonal products and different product trends, without large amounts of excess inventory. Adding to that; Amazon’s total debt has been decreasing year over to a low of $. 67 in 2008. This means that for every $1 Amazon has $. 7 in debt. This has been declining signaling company growth. Weaknesses Amazon has continually added new products and services to customers; and is known for their great customer service and quality products. Something for them to consider is, when adding new products or categories of products, they could damage its brand. In order to be competitive with other companies Amazon has to broaden the range of products, but cannot become a swap meet either.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

One Man Two Guvnors Drama Review

One Man Two Guvnors review In a packed theatre, full of audiences from all ages who continuously have a smile on their face; currently rated as a high five stars, One Man Two Guvnors could not be a funnier performance to watch. As soon as I entered the theatre, it was completely packed. I also saw many people from different age groups; this gave me a feeling that the show would be entertaining enough to get people from all ages to come and see the show. The environment of the theatre was very formal, as there was a red and gold layout and it was also very clean.Before the show started there was country singers, this was a very good way to introduce the show as the song was very upbeat and got me feeling more excited. They were dressed in checked shirts and suits; this gave me the feeling straight away that it would be based before the 2000s, which I was right as it is set in 1963. These country singers also came in a few times during the show and sang many more lively songs which I l oved hearing and sung with my friends. The main character that stood out the most to me was the well-known actor James Cordon, whom played a failed skiffle player named Francis who is in need of a job†¦ and a meal!He gets himself in a shuffle, as working as a servant for two masters whom are currently enemies. Many words could describe Francis; funny, dopey, confused, loud, sociable, at times annoying. Not only did he make the audience laugh, he also spoke to them too! For example, asking the audience who has a sandwich, which made the audience get more involved with Francis. He also did return a sandwich and a few other treats when asked! He had also made the audience a part of the performance as he needed some volunteers to get up on stage and help him out in the jobs he had to do. Such as, lifting a trunk and needing help on food preparations.My favourite scene that made Francis impress me the most was when he had to keep his two guvnors away from each other and at the same time serve them both food, whilst they was both opposite doors away from each other in the same hotel! His greedy behaviour of taking some food out of the dishes and keeping them for himself was absolutely hilarious. This is also the scene where he chose someone from the audience to help him take some food and store it in his pot. The way parts of this scene was off script yet still so on track and funny impressed me and I laughed the most at this scene.I also thought that the staging had a big impact to the audience. There were many different scene changes that looked so realistic; the living room, the Brighton pier, the upstairs hotel in The Cricketers Arms and the street outside it. The stage was spacious enough for the actors to move around freely, I still had a clear view even though I sat at the right at the top upper circle. The lighting on stage was very bright as the scenes were mostly indoors or in daylight. The music had suited the plays environment as the music was very upbeat, lively, loud and cheerful.Many instruments were played together to make many amazing songs and sounds. The play would stop in between, the curtains would draw and each time I got more inpatient wanting another song to come. The country singers who sang the songs gave me a warm, yet energetic feeling as I and the audience were clapping along to the rhythm, not to mention singing at the chorus. If these country singers did not perform, the overall play would not have been the same! Another scene that I also enjoyed a lot would be the ending scene, where Francis’ two jobs were revealed, all problems are sorted and the truth comes out.The two love birds are finally together and it’s all just like a fairy tale. This was a good way to end the performance in a happy atmosphere. Overall, I recommend that everyone should watch this performance as they will laugh their socks off just like the rest of the audience. I would rate the play a high 4 star performance as it was a fantastic, memorable experience that definitely made my day and is worth the watch. James Corden as his character Francis James Corden as his character Francis Rachel and Stanley whom are in love Rachel and Stanley whom are in love

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

The Powerful Praetor Roman Magistrate

The Powerful Praetor Roman Magistrate A praetor was one of the greater Roman magistrates with imperium or legal power. They led armies, presided in law courts, and administered the law. Judging matters between citizens was the job of one specific magistrate, the praetor urbanus (city praetor). Since he was in charge of the city, he was only allowed to leave the city for a period of up to 10 days. For matters outside Rome, the praetor peregrinus settled cases among foreigners. Over the years, they added additional praetors to handle matters in the provinces, but originally, there were two praetors. Two more were added in 227 B.C. when Rome annexed Sicily and Sardinia; then, two more were added for Hispania (Spain) in 197 B.C. Later, Sulla and Julius Caesar added even more praetors. Responsibilities A costly responsibility for the praetor was the production of the public games. Running for praetor was part of the cursus honorum. The rank of praetor was second only to the position of consul. Like the consuls, praetors were entitled to sit on the honored sella curulis, the folding curule chair, traditionally made of ivory. Like the other magistracies, a praetor was a member of the senate. Just as there were proconsuls for the period after their year as consuls, so there were also propraetors. Propraetors and proconsuls served as governors of provinces after their terms in office. Roman Magistrates With Imperium Examples: Let the praetor be judge of the law in private actions, with power of passing sentence-he is the proper guardian of civil jurisprudence. Let him have as many colleagues, of equal power, as the senate think necessary, and the commons allow him.Let two magistrates be invested with sovereign authority, and be entitled praetors, judges, or consuls, in respect of presiding, judging, or counselling, according to the nature of the case. Let them have absolute authority over the army, for the safety of the people is the supreme law. This magistracy should not be determined in less than ten years-regulating the duration by the annual law.Cicero De Leg.III Before Sulla added functions, the praetor presided in cases of quaestiones perpetuae, the cases of: repetundaeambitus, majestaspeculatus Sulla added falsum, de sicariis et veneficis, and de parricidis. About half of the candidates for praetor during the last generation of the Republic came from consular families, according to Erich S. Gruen, in The Last Generation of the Roman Republic. The praetor Urbanus P. Licinius Varus fixed the date of the Ludi Apollinaris.

Monday, October 21, 2019

Social Media Essay Research Paper Example

Social Media Essay Research Paper Example Social Media Essay Paper Social Media Essay Paper Essay Topic: Social Media Social media can do wonders for people such as let them communicate with family and friends that are across the oral, be an extremely convenient news outlet, and gives a businesses another place to advertise. This is an extremely short list of opportunities that have come with social media. With this being said, the recent spike of popularity in social media has positively impacted society by enhancing communication, creating a convenient and efficient news outlet, and providing unlimited advertising not only for business, but for you and I too. There are unlimited possibilities when It comes to the Internet and social media demonstrates that. Communication is important in every persons life. Social media has enhanced communication aspect of everyones lives by offering many different services that can help you meet new people, connect with family or friends across the world, or even follow celebrities, pollutants, and athletes in their everyday lives. For example many college and university students move away from home to attend post-secondary and an inexpensive way of seeing their families through video chats or online messengers. People are becoming busier and busier In their lives and sometimes find It hard to search for a significant other. Thanks to inline dating websites and smartened APS, being a busy person does not mean that you are unable to find your significant other. Social media gives celebrities, athletes, politicians, etc. A place to view and communicate with their fan base and share a more personal side of themselves. The enhancement to communication through social media has given mankind a few giant steps in technology. Social media has created a massive news outlet within its lifespan so far. Social media is the fastest way to spread news (Goby) due to how many people use it. However, this Isnt the only reason for news spreading so fast within social media. Websites such as Faceable and twitter (these arent the only ones) allow you to share your own or other second hand news, but the reason for the news being able to be spread so quickly is peoples constant use of social media and the feeling of needing to share it with your friends and followers. Social media has put news In an even more accessible place than newspapers and magazines as nearly everyone has a smartened or laptop within their household, office, or school. Not only has social media been able to keep users up to date with current news but also shows historical news such as the 9/1 1 Incident or Obama becoming the president of the united States. Today It Is Just as easy to scroll through a social media app or website and find 5 news stories as It Is to send a fifteen word text message. Not only is social media an efficient way of getting news, It Is usually ten TLS place Tanat ten news comes tongue. News provokers sun as CNN and TTS have even begun posting small (2-8 minutes) video clips on what they had covered at certain events on their Twitter and Faceable pages. It is social media that allows for such a convenient and efficient news outlet. Social media allows users to create and Join pages that are separate from their profiles based on the users interest. This is especially helpful in the business world as it allows companies and local businesses to advertise at little or no cost at all. By using social media, businesses are able to show their consumers content. Social media is also a place where larger companies tend to reveal new products. For example, Apple first revealed their phone 6 through Twitter. Social media isnt always about the larger or even local companies though. Advertisement is not the only tactic that is valuable to genuineness, feedback is also very important and social media makes it extremely easy to access. This helps tell a business what they are lacking and what and how they can improve through the eyes of a customer. Plenty of larger businesses also have online stores that are advertised through social media as many deals and sales are placed in an online store only category. Faceable is flooded with buy and sell or swap and shop pages created by the community which serve the purpose of individuals being able to buy, sell, swap, and advertise to other users who have also Joined the group. Business and advertising is Just one enhancement of the very many that social media has brought to society. The recent spike of popularity in social media has positively impacted society by enhancing communication, creating a convenient and efficient news outlet, and provided unlimited advertising for not only businesss, but for you and I also. Have a cousin you havent connected with in a while? Try a social media site, they have you covered. Maybe youve became too busy to find a significant other? It shouldnt be hard to find a dating site or even an app on your smartened to help you out.

Sunday, October 20, 2019

Separate Spheres for Men and Women

Separate Spheres for Men and Women The ideology of separate spheres dominated thought about gender roles from the late 18th century through the 19th century in America. Similar ideas influenced gender roles in other parts of the world. The concept of separate spheres continues to influence some thinking about proper gender roles today. In the conception of the division of gender roles into separate spheres, womens place was in the private sphere, which included family life and the home. Mens place was in the public sphere, whether in politics, in the economic world which was becoming increasingly separate from home life as the Industrial Revolution progressed, or in public social and cultural activity. Natural Gender Division or Social Construction of Gender Many experts of the time wrote about how such a division was natural,  rooted in the nature of each gender. Those women who sought roles or visibility in the public sphere often found themselves identified as unnatural and as unwelcome challenges to the cultural assumptions. The legal status of women was as dependents until marriage and under coverture after marriage, with no separate identity and few or no personal rights including economic and property rights. This status  was in accord with the idea that womens place was in the home and mans place was in the public world. While experts of the time often tried to defend  this division of gender rules as rooted in nature, the ideology of separate spheres is considered an example of the social construction of gender: that cultural and social attitudes built ideas of womanhood and manhood (proper womanhood and proper  manhood)  that empowered and/or constrained women and men. Historians on Separate Spheres and Women Nancy Cotts 1977 book, The Bonds of Womanhood: Womens Sphere in New England, 1780-1835, is a classic in the study of womens history that examines the concept of separate spheres, with womens sphere being the domestic sphere. Cott focuses, in the tradition of social history, on the experience of women in their lives, and shows how within their sphere, women wielded considerable power and influence. Critics of Nancy Cotts portrayal of separate spheres include Carroll Smith-Rosenberg, who published Disorderly Conduct: Visions of Gender in Victorian America in 1982. She showed not only how women, in their separate sphere, created a womens culture, but how women were at a disadvantage socially, educationally, politically, economically and even medically. Another writer who took on the separate spheres ideology in womens history was Rosalind Rosenberg. Her 1982 book, Beyond Separate Spheres: Intellectual Roots of Modern Feminism, details the legal and social disadvantages of women under the separate spheres ideology. Her work documents  how some women began to challenge the relegation of women to the home. Elizabeth Fox-Genovese  also challenged the focus on separate spheres as a place of solidarity among women, in her 1988 book Within the Plantation Household: Black and White Women in the Old South. She demonstrated the different experiences of women: those who were part of the slave-holding class as wives and daughters, those who were enslaved, those free women who lived on farms where there were no enslaved people, and other poor white women. Within a general disempowerment of women in a patriarchal system, there was no singular womens culture, she argues.  Friendships among women, documented in studies of northern bourgeois or well-off women, were not characteristic of the Old South. In common among all these books, and others on the topic is documentation of a general cultural ideology of separate spheres, grounded in  the idea that women belong in the private sphere, and are aliens in the public sphere, and that the reverse was true of men. Public Housekeeping and Widening Womens Sphere In the late 19th century, some reformers like Frances Willard with her temperance work and Jane Addams with her settlement house work relied on a separate spheres ideology to justify their public reform efforts, thus subtly both using and undermining the ideology. Both saw their work as public housekeeping, a public expression of womens work of taking care of family and the home, and both took that work into the realms of politics and the public social and cultural realm.  This idea was later termed social feminism.

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Financial Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Financial Analysis - Essay Example Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) are used by the reporting entities to prepare their financial statements for a common user. These accounting standards provide a general pattern and policies to furnish financial information in such a manner that a person with little financial knowledge can easily grasp the information content presented under those financial statements. If the financial statement of Morson Inc and Kforce Inc are taken into consideration, both of them are formatted in an unconventional pattern. Both of the firms have prepared their financial statements to fulfil the requirements of a particular user group as the financial statements show a pattern which is quite inconsistent with other generalized patterns. If income statements of both the companies are taken into account, then it can be noticed that the conventional â€Å"step-method† is not completely followed. The other major discrepancy that can be observed is that finance cost is shown separately, however, in the conventional format it is displayed after operating results and before the tax expenses. In a generalized pattern, no term like â€Å"equity earning† is used but this term is used in both the financial statements. Overall, the accounting heads under the income statement are displaced for its intended users and do not provide general results. As far as is balance sheets of both the companies are concerned, their accounting heads used in the balance sheets are quite different from that of a generalized balance sheet such that an ordinary balance sheet is split into two categories which are assets and the equity & liabilities. However, the existing balance sheets are not constructed in that manner as they have been categorized into â€Å"operating and financing†. In these balance sheets, net

Aging population Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Aging population - Essay Example Shakespeare has beautifully described the life of a man. He further describes it, in terms of ages and names it seven ages of a man's life. These are ages are: an infant, a child, the lover, the soldier, the justice, the old age and finally mental dementia and death. In short, they were considered as a useless part of the society and were thus isolated. This very idea had and probably has penetrated the business community as well. This fact was quite reflective in the marketing activities and campaigns launched until recently. However, the time is changing now; the old people are getting more prominence in the business society. They are now considered an important segment of the society. Business society is giving more attention the aging population, especially in the industrialized world. Their changing needs and behaviors are tried to be addressed by the marketers in more efficient manner than ever before. This matter is quite encouraging that the need has been realized; however, a s a matter of fact, what is really missing is the direction to cater their changing behaviors and needs. Thus this paper is aimed to address the fact that how the old population in the industrialized country does affects the business strategist seeking to respond their changing needs.In formulating this paper, we would start with the fact that who the aged ones are, in current scenario. Later, we would explore the key features of the aging population and what characteristics and features make them different from others After discussing this, our discussion will lead to the point that what are the corresponding marketing challenges faced by the marketers, furthermore, we will evaluate the efforts of the business community done so far to address these challenge. Lastly, we would like to know that what can be done further to address those issues. (Heibing and Cooper 2004) What is 'Old' Universally there is not any agreed upon age for being called the 'old'. However, usually those who have passed a considerable age of their life are now retired or about to retire are considered as old. Though the age for retirement also varies from country to country, however, in general that ranges between fifty to sixty years. Thus any person beyond the age of retirement is considered as old. If we accept this definition and start to look for the generation that is going to be the old or aging population, we find that our recent aging population is baby boomers. Before moving further, it is essential to know who are baby boomers are, since it would help in building this topic further. Those people who are born between 1946 and 1964 in United States are called baby boomers. (Hess and Markson 1991) Though this phenomenon is referred to US population only but the people who were born in the same period in other industrialized countries also share the same features. The baby boomers w ere born during the economic upsurge in those economies. As a result, they were fortunate to have best possible education, as compared to rest of the world. On account of the fortunate period in which they were, in general, they had a wonderful childhood leading to a promising career and prosperous youth and adult life. Now this generation that has made a lot of money is entering in to the old age. Obviously, the big sum of money that they have gathered in this period has the potential to make them one the greatest market for the marketers of the industrialized world to capture. Aging Population in Various Countries Moving further, we can

Friday, October 18, 2019

Serious Game Critique Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Serious Game Critique - Essay Example Therefore, the game should have different access levels such as Starter, Experienced, Advanced and expert levels. As portrayed here, the game accessible to a player should be commensurate to the level of gaming skill posed. To graduate from one education level to the next, one must portray the expertise by passing a series of exams. In the game, the game activities within a level should move from simplistic ones to complex ones. It is actually very interesting the way the Kenyan Education system is designed to run. The system incorporates several concepts that are used to run it and see a child start and finish the process well. In the Kenyan education system, the child starts their formal education at Nursery. Here the child has to be of age to proceed with their education. The children then have to go through the process which includes exams, tests, practicals and evaluations that if they pass then they can proceed to the next class or level of education (Mukudi, 2004). In the game , there should be competition either with an â€Å"internally simulated player† or with another physical player at each level. ... These rewards are according to their performance. Therefore in the game, if there are say three players, the winner should get a larger reward than the second while the second best player should get a considerably larger reward than the third player. Here there should be a variety of bounties to win and they can be won during the game not just at the end of the gaming level. As the player progresses with the game, he/she should know the bounties and rewards available in competition. This aims at encouraging them desire and work harder towards winning more. The education sector has several major regulatory bodies that monitor the system progress. These have given guidelines and regulations on how the system is supposed to be run. Additionally, the industry players should clearly understand the rules of the system. Taken as such, the game should also have rules which all the players should be informed of before they begin the game. In the game for instance, a pop-up window might be pos itioned at the entry of every level prompting the player to read the instructions of the game. However, this should not be made as a compulsory requirement. In the education system, the regulations create a fair playing ground for all the institutions within a specific level (Mukudi, 2004). Therefore, the set rules should apply to all the players within a given level. This is aimed at ensuring fairness in the game as well as instilling a sense of ownership of the game by the players. In the Kenyan education system, in graduating from one education level to the next, one becomes more improved. To match this, in the game, the gaming facilities accessible to the players should advance with

Homework assignment Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Homework assignment - Research Paper Example Over the years, many employers have been faced with the dilemma of having to recruit workers but they lack ideas of how to get the right person for the job. This happens in situations where someone may require a house help, mechanic, electrician and many more to work for an individual. An example of the problem is that an individual may be travelling and their car experiences a mechanical breakdown and you are unaware of how to deal with this problem. This site will help an individual get a mechanic near their location. This section outlines the approach to the problem described above. The approach is from Foster et al. [2, Sec. 6], which discusses a scenario of service-based distributed query processing using OGSA-DAI. The key idea is to make the data available to all the users via a web service with the help of Grid Distributed Query Processing Service techniques (GQPS). An adequate method of solving this problem is to create a web browser where all interested personnel can sign up and fill a form which involve entry of personal details like; location, age, profession among others (Oliver, 2005). All those who sign up will have an account with their details that will be stored in a database. The web interface will contain a search option which will enable anyone interested in getting a worker will enter the profession and a list of all those in that category of profession will be. In case the employer needs some from a particular area, he or she needs only to specify the area while searching (Converse, 2004). The design delivers a web based interface for data access. The intended deliverable of this project is the development of a site for data access search of professions in a distributed environment, which indeed will provide more opportunities for work applications in real world scenarios (Vikram, 2005). The site will also have a rating system through which service providers can be rated. This is vital information that employers

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Training Need Assessment Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Training Need Assessment - Research Paper Example People stayed in the organization till the completion of their degree program which was funded by the organization. Soon after completion, they switched to some other opportunity. It caused Forest Park Corporation a huge loss not only in terms of finances paid to the educational institutes but also by losing the capable and skilled employees who were hired out of many candidates. The organizations had plans for the employees as it wanted to grow for the next five years as well. When the organization started fully funded study programs for the employees, it had expectations to win loyalty of the employees as it was investing in them. The organization had confidence in the capabilities of their employees, hence it started this program. It was an explicit expression that organization cares for its employees. But, it failed to convey its expectation to the employees. Employees enjoyed Forest Park Corporation as a platform to pay their education fee and they left after completing their degree. It was like a proof that they do not consider Forest Park Corporation as a platform where they could serve with their enhanced capabilities. In the nutshell, the core problem was churn out of employees despite development programs and the loss incurred due to development projects. The organization started fully funded study programs for its employees so that they can learn more and play effective role in the growth of the organization. However, it did not work out. The causes of this unexpected scenario are mentioned below. Individual level consideration is vital for assessing the training needs of the employees in Forest Park Corporation. Employee turnover is natural for any organization as employees long for better career. However, for the corporation which is investing in the development of employees it is a big loss. It becomes worse particularly when neither it can reap

6 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

6 - Essay Example Laying off workers will result in unemployment loop that is going to reduce the demands further. From an economist’s point of view, the key indicators of goods and services are government purchases, net export, investment and consumption. As for consumption when the consumers are scared of spending, it is likely to spike of an economic crisis. The main reason people are scared to spend is because of the economic uncertainty. When it comes to investment, normally a reduction in consumption will also come with come with an increase in investment, however, with a decrease in cost of mortgage people tend not to invest. A reduction in the price of goods that are both exported and imported tend to lead to a general reluctance of people to invest. According to Keynesian theory, the government should spend more on things that are to make people spend more money (Mankiw, 2008). Generally if Keynesian theory is to be observed, one should take a keen look on these four factors and how they relate to an economic

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Training Need Assessment Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Training Need Assessment - Research Paper Example People stayed in the organization till the completion of their degree program which was funded by the organization. Soon after completion, they switched to some other opportunity. It caused Forest Park Corporation a huge loss not only in terms of finances paid to the educational institutes but also by losing the capable and skilled employees who were hired out of many candidates. The organizations had plans for the employees as it wanted to grow for the next five years as well. When the organization started fully funded study programs for the employees, it had expectations to win loyalty of the employees as it was investing in them. The organization had confidence in the capabilities of their employees, hence it started this program. It was an explicit expression that organization cares for its employees. But, it failed to convey its expectation to the employees. Employees enjoyed Forest Park Corporation as a platform to pay their education fee and they left after completing their degree. It was like a proof that they do not consider Forest Park Corporation as a platform where they could serve with their enhanced capabilities. In the nutshell, the core problem was churn out of employees despite development programs and the loss incurred due to development projects. The organization started fully funded study programs for its employees so that they can learn more and play effective role in the growth of the organization. However, it did not work out. The causes of this unexpected scenario are mentioned below. Individual level consideration is vital for assessing the training needs of the employees in Forest Park Corporation. Employee turnover is natural for any organization as employees long for better career. However, for the corporation which is investing in the development of employees it is a big loss. It becomes worse particularly when neither it can reap

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Joan of Arc Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Joan of Arc - Research Paper Example They again felt that they would be able to hold on to the sovereignty of their nation and have their own king on the throne. Joan of Arc lived her life according to what she felt was the dictate of God. What she did was based on the visions that she had when she was a child living in a village of France. Her rise to power in France was thus meteoric. Her death however, was equally tragic. A gruesome death at the hands of the English Church was hardly what she deserved after the pains that she took for the sake of her motherland, France. Following her death, her memory was recovered and she has now entered into public consciousness through literature and various other sources. This paper shall seek to understand her position as a woman in the fifteenth century and attempt to answer the question as to whether this position affected the different choices that Joan of Arc took. Joan of Arc’s entry into French politics is looked upon with great surprise by many who are familiar wit h the condition that women found themselves during the fifteenth century in France and for that matter, anywhere in the world. This is not a pointer to the immense clout that Joan of Arc wielded at this point, right at the beginning of her career, but to the condition that France found herself in. ... She however, looked at the situation where the Count of Dunois had led France to and sought to reverse it. The siege of Orleans had started to look like a hopeless affair as far as the French were concerned. The siege which had continued for over seven months had started to look ominous from the French point of view. This condition was changed to a large extent with the point where Joan of Arc enters the history of the Hundred Years War. Her journey to meet the Dauphin was the catalyst behind the revival of the French hopes as far as the continuance of their resistance was concerned (Pernoud 1999, 9-11)1. This journey was an uncommon one for any woman to undertake and this was the beginning of her breaking various stereotypes that are often assigned to women. This was a breaking of a barrier of customs that did not have such a precedent. Joan of Arc thus set an example for those who were to follow her, providing them with an example of initiative. In the twenty first century, there a re many women who are lauded for their political initiative and courage. One needs to remember that Joan of Arc’s actions were taken in a conservative society where women were given much less freedom than they are in today’s society. This makes her achievement all the more praiseworthy. Calling her the â€Å"Ideal Androgyne†, Marina Warner talks of Joan’s transvestism2 (1981, 140). Wearing clothes that were traditionally worn by men was something that Joan had to resort to so as to protect herself from sexual advances by male soldiers of both camps. This points to the condition that women had to face in society at the point of time when Joan was active. The importance of this lies in the fact that even a person who was powerful in the larger 1. Pernoud

Monday, October 14, 2019

Company Introduction, Market Segmentation, and Product Positioning Essay Example for Free

Company Introduction, Market Segmentation, and Product Positioning Essay The key to successful product implementation in today’s national enterprise system is the effective marketing of a new product with the company’s line of existing products. As stated by Lacobucci (2012), marketing is defined as an exchange between a company and its customers. The customer wants something from the company or firm and vice versa. In previous times, a company would manufacture a product they thought the customer would want or need. The customer purchased that product because of a pending need, which basically meant that marketing used to be product oriented. However, marketing today is more that an advertisement for goods and services in an attempt to attract new business. We live in a customer orientated and empowered marketing environment. We realize the importance and ramifications of having an exchange with our customers and developing a relationship with them. It is this exchange of information between our company and our existing as well as future customers that secures our position in our target market. Our company is a regional tool distributor located in the northeastern section of the United States. Our customer base consists of several major retailers, nationally known in the retail and wholesale tool industry. We used the brand label Blue Steel Tools for marketing and distribution of our products to discuss the implementation of an effective plan to market a new product line, the Illuminated Power Wrench. This paper will analyze market, identify our market segment for sales distribution and discuss the reasoning for the segment. Discussing the target market and why the targeted customers were specifically selected. We will do the SWOT analysis; describe the unique market position and the expected service provided in meeting the needs of the target audience. 1. Identify the marketing segment for the product and provide a rationale for this segment. The definition of a market segment as stated by Lacobucci (2012) is a group of customers that shares similar inclinations towards our brand. To define market segment further for our needs, it is an identifiable group of individuals, professionals or organizations that share one or more characteristics or needs in an otherwise homogenous market. In our case, our product will have a very wide market of consumers and small business owners and employees. Therefore we will need to reduce the market segments to larger chunks. Market segments generally respond in a predictable manner to a marketing or promotion offer. The market segment for the new product will vary widely due to the versatility of our product usage. Our main segment approach will focus on the wholesale distribution to retail repair supply stores who carry lines of tools for resale to the private and business consumer. These market segments will include businesses such as Lowes and Home Depot, retail tool distributors such as Harbor Freight Tools, automobile parts stores such as Advance Auto Parts and tool catalogue companies such as great Northern to name a few. As we analyze this segment we ask the question if this segment is viable and can we profit from using it. Other considerations are accessibility and measurability. This segment is small enough to manage our sales and distribution, but large enough to reach the ultimate user of our product. This market segment possesses the potential and versatility to sell and distribute our product to the target consumer market with a widely diversified audience in the retail industry. The bases for this segmentation include similar demographics, geographical locations, and psychological make-up of customers and behaviors of users/purchasers. In other words, the customer base for our segments meets the desired user of our end product. Anyone who builds or repairs something whether they are a novice or professional is a potential customer. Therefore, by using this method of market segmentation for product distribution, we will successfully sub-divide a large homogenous market into clear identifiable and manageable segments that have similar needs, wants or demand characteristics indicated by Lacobucci (2012). 2. Discuss the target market and provide rationale for this target market. The target market defined is the particular market segment at which a marketing campaign is focused. As stated earlier, this product has been designed for the retail tool industry. We have targeted segments in the industry that will be the most successful in reaching the consumer and generating a demand for our product through steady sales. Lacobucci stated the first perspective in assessing segments target is to have a view of the segments themselves and the primary concern is the segment be profitable. This in turn will become a profitability issue for our company as we continue to hold a place in the small tool market and generate profits with continued sales. The second perspective examined was if the market or segment fit with who we are. In this case the answer is yes. The ultimate target for this product is the consumer. The greater exposure we have, the higher propensity for sales growth. The illuminated ratchet screw driver is a quality tool for use by not only the novice home self repair person; it will also meet the needs of the professional repair person, no matter what the industry. The illumination system in the handle of the wrench will appeal to the vehicle mechanic working in the close quarters of an engine compartment, the electrician repairing the circuit breaker box, the computer repair technician working in between electronic circuitry as well as to the basic consumer performing handy maintenance projects. This tool will come with the standard wrench lugs and have availability to accessories such as wrench tips to enhance its versatility to meet the needs of a wider target audience. The wider target audience is customers of our targeted market segments. Therefore the target market is our pathway to the ultimate user of the product is consumer sales. The strategic sales objective of these retail establishments coincides with our strategic vision of reaching the ultimate user of our products, satisfying their needs and increasing the likelihood of additional product sales. 3. Perform a SWOT (strengths, weakness, opportunities and treats) for the company. As we move forward in the marketing of our product, we need to our own corporate strengths. Lacobucci (2012) suggests the use of a SWOT analysis in identifying our strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. The strengths and weaknesses characterize our company in relation to competitors where the opportunities and threats characterize the broader environment such as the tool industry, suppliers, the government and etc. Our strengths are in our track record in t he tool industry. We have provided quality products at competitive prices. Another perceived strength is in the management of our company. The senior management of Steel City Tools has provided a strategic vision with clearly defined attainable goals for market position and sales. However a perceived threat is in the foreign market. A number of tool company’s efforts have been over shadowed with a cheaper duplication of products from foreign markets. The US has been plagued with a reduction in the manufacturing industry due to globalized markets, elimination of trade barriers and outsourcing. The end result is our market segment (distributor) could purchase a similar product cheaper and increase their gross margin and not purchase our product for resale. Another threat we are not prepared to react to is loss of a major distributing customer. With more and more businesses merging, we could lose a distribution source with no warning. One of our weaknesses is we have focused on sales east of the Mississippi, thus limiting market expansion. However, this could be turned around as a future opportunity for market expansion. An easy way to expand our market is to establish a retail division and use infomercials through the cable television network to accept mail order/telephone order select product sales such as our new illuminated power wrench. However, a marketing effort of this nature would require careful consideration must be given to the geographical area so as not to alienate our primary segment customers. A move of this nature would require additional capital investment and careful analysis of this type of expansion would be necessary to minimize risk of project failure. The SWOT is useful in clarifying our marketing questions. The key is to address our shortcomings so as not to give the competition an upper hand and not raise concerns with our customers and capitalize on our strengths for continued success. 4. Create the market position for your product and service. Explain your rationale. Product positioning, according to the Encyclopedia of Business, involves the tailoring the entire marketing program to include product features, distribution, price, quality and service to meet the needs of the consumer within the specific market segment. In this manner, the product positioning is part of the overall market segmentation. Product position takes place in our distributors store, or target market segment and tells us how we can strive most effectively in that market segment against our competition which are also present on display. The key is to understand the consumer perceptions of the product and the marketing behind it. Quality, reliability, affordability, unique features, benefits to the customer is just a few attributes of product positioning. According to Lacobucci (2012) positioning is often about modifying the four P’s of marketing (position, price, place and promotion). In the case of our company, our reputation is a reflection of the position to provide a quality product at a competitive price while leading the market in innovation. Our company performance is attributed to the quality of our employment staff. Our employees are at the core to our success. We have established core values for our company’s work force by creating a positive work culture with recognition of the whole person concept. The strategic leadership from the top on down to the employee fosters productivity with reward and recognition to enhance their performance in support of the company operations to include our marketing efforts. Thus the positive and proactive personality of our company in meeting its marketing objectives is a direct reflection of the quality of every member of the Blue Steel Tool Team. As we continue to grow and develop products for sale, we position our products at a distribution sales point or market segment with the greatest customer exposure for maximum market penetration. We will service our product to the satisfaction and benefit of the customer so as not to jeopardize customer confidence as well as the business relationship with our market segment. The product we create and the service we provide are a direct reflection of not only our company, but that of our distributors. Our products are designed to meet the working needs of our professional as well as consumer clientele with a level of quality that meet or exceed expectations at the best value. References Lacobucci, D. (2012) Marketing Management: 2012 custom edition. Mason OH Market Segment Defined Retrieved from http://www. businessdictionary. com/definition/market-segment. html Morley R. (2006), Trumpet Print Edition: The Death of American Manufacturing, February 2006 Retrieved from http://www. thetrumpet. com/index. php? page=articleid=1955 Reference for Business Product Positioning: Encyclopedia of Business, 2nd ed. Retrieved from http://www. referenceforbusiness. com/small/Op-Qu/Product-Positioning. html Target Market Defined retrieved from http://www. businessdictionary. com/definition/target-market. html

Sunday, October 13, 2019

The Wessex Tales Essay -- miscellaneous

The Wessex Tales Explore Hardy’s portrayal of women in three of the stories studied. The Wessex tales was set in the nineteenth century; Thomas Hardy decided to write his stories and novels in the past, during the nineteenth century before he was born. Hardy got some of his ideas from his grand parents; he used to spend long evening next to the fire listening to his grand parents telling stories form the past. Thomas Hardy invented his own places He is highlighting the point that women around that time do not have a say in any thing. The expectations of women were that they had a lower profile At this time people lived in small communities so every one knew each other, so gossip got around the community. If any one did any thing wrong then they became a victim of there own community, and would become isolated. Thomas Hardy portrays Rhoda s being a social victim for having a child out of wedlock, although she is isolated it is ironic that Farmer Lodge is not, but he is still accepted as part of the community. This shows women are lower than men women are inferior to men. Farmer lodge does not acknowledge the fact that he has a son ‘Just the same as usual’ ‘ Took no notice of you’ ‘None’ Rhoda son is use to his dad ignoring him. All that Farmer Lodge has given Rhoda is a job, Rhoda works away from the rest of the workers because she has been discarded. Hardy describes Rhoda as ‘Fading women of thirty’She looks older than she actually is; it also...

Saturday, October 12, 2019

Society and Femininity Essay -- American Literature Essays

Society and Femininity: Triumph of the Human Spirit Very few novels in American Literature can earn the title of timeless. These novels transcend the ages, because they possess a greater meaning. Their stories teach people about life, the glory of the human soul, and all it can endure to overcome. Three novels in particular get to the very heart of feminine struggle. Though they touch not on women’s struggle to vote, they reach the higher plain of women’s struggle to be seen as who they are and not what society wants them to be. To Kill a Mockingbird, The Color Purple and The Bluest Eye all deal with the topic of women trying to overcome society. Although these novels were written in the mid to later half of the twentieth century, they go back to a time when the Great Depression was touching all walks of human life. Each of the main characters in these novels does not fit society’s view of femininity during the time period. Although the main characters in the three stories do not fit society’s idea of femininity, they each, in their own way, overcome this and show a greater beauty of strength. All three main characters in each of these stories fail to fulfill society’s idea of beauty and femininity. The lead character of To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout, is a nine year old tomboy, during a time when girls aren’t supposed to be tomboys. She receives much criticism by her aunt and many others for not being the ideal young little girl. Harper Lee, the author, expresses through the view point of Scout, â€Å"Aunt Alexandra was fanatical on the subject of my attire. I could not possibly hope to be a lady if I wore breeches, then I said I could do nothing in a dress, she said I wasn’t supposed to be doing things that requi... ... is not willing to give up the fight by her amazing desire to want that child to live. Although the book does not show Claudia in adulthood, one can envision her as the epitome of a strong woman. These three main characters defy society because of their strength. These books become timeless because of the female characters. Each novel defies the expectations of society in its own way. They exemplify women who rise above the average to become greater than what most people are. The novels show the female spirit in all its glory; they portray its strengths and ability to overcome obstacles. Works Cited Lee, Harper. To Kill a Mockingbird. 1960. 40th Anniversary Ed. New York: HarperCollins Pub, 1999. Morrison, Toni. The Bluest Eye. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1970. Walker, Alice. The Color Purple. Orlando: Harcourt Brace Jovanocich, 1982.

Friday, October 11, 2019

Myer Holdings Limited (Myer)

Prospective analysis – forecast The previous reports have already approached the industry and financial analysis of Myer. This report will analyze the forecast, valuation and application of Myer, including forecasting the major data, valuating share price under four model and discussing the opportunity and challenge of Myer. 1. Forecast sales growth rate As one of the most important indicators, sales can reflect directly Myer’s financial performance and influence other indicators. Therefore, the forecast of sales growth rate is the foundation for forecasting Myer.Based on the previous annual reports from 2007 to 2011, Myer’s sales are not optimistic and the average growth rate is negative 2. 89%. The decline of both global economy and purchase power of consumers in Australia will lead to the depression of whole industry and unsatisfied performance of Myer in 2012. Additionally, growth of 20% online shopping shows that more and more consumers prefer to purchase on line instead of in the shops . Therefore, negative 1% of sales growth rate for Myer can be assumed in 2012. However, Australia would have a weakening global economy impact and have strong national growth in the future .According to IMF, Australian economy growth rate is expected up to 3. 5% in 2013 . Considering the previous performance of Myer, 2% of growth rate can be assumed for 2013. After that, 3% of growth rate can be assumed from 2014 to 2017 and the sales would approximately even to 2007. (See below chart) Previous years ‘00020072008200920102011Average rate Sales3,002,3532,940,3312,798,9162,825,0342,666,803? sales growth? -2. 07%-4. 81%0. 93%-5. 60%-2. 89% Future years ?2011201220132014201520162017 Sales growth? -1%2%3%3%3%3% 2. Forecast ATO & calculate NOAAccording to the past five years’ data, Myer’s Assets Turnover ratio (ATO) declined slowly following the decrease of sales, apart from 2011 down quickly. Therefore, the average rate 2. 05 can be used to predict the future years. (See below chart) ? 20072008200920102011Average rate ATO2. 02 2. 282. 152. 001. 772. 05 3. Forecast PM & calculate NOPAT Profit Margin (PM) is another important indicator in forecasting Myer’s performance. This indicator relates between the sales and cost of goods sold and operating costs. The competition in retail industry is stronger than before.That means through increasing sales or decrease COS to increase PM is more difficult. The change of PM fluctuated markedly in the last five years. In order to fairly predict the data, the average of 7. 5% can be used as the future PM growth rate. (See below chart) ? 20072008200920102011Average rate profit margin4. 7%13. 4%4. 9%7. 8%6. 6%7. 5% 4. Forecast net dividend payout Dividend payout is a significant indicator to influence share price. Therefore, estimating this rate means the people can determine Myer whether focuses on benefiting shareholders and beautifies share price or not.According to the past 5 years, only 3 years Myer paid dividends. After calculation, the average rate based on 3 years is 45% and 5 years is 27%. However, 27% is too low for shareholders if Myer earn more profit base on the forecast. In addition, most of dividends payout is higher than 50%. Therefore, the forecasting dividend payout rate is estimated by 45%. (See below chart) ? 20072008200920102011Average rate(3yrs)Average rate(5yrs) Dividend0%50%0%28%59%45%27% 5. Forecast cost of debt and debt balance Basically, cost of debt means the expense of liabilities.Determining the cost of debt is as well as setting up the financial structure such as how much debt Myer plan to borrow. According to the previous data, Myer repaid a huge amount of debt in 2010 and led to the cost up and net debt down. However, the debt did not rise up again and kept the similar level as 2010. Therefore, concerning about the cost of debt, the average of 10. 75% seems more reasonable to predict the future. (See below chart) ? 20072008 200920102011Average rate % cost of debt6. 25%6. 41%6. 36%30. 31%4. 41%10. 75% net debt (ND)928,503 856,242 904,258 414,574 457,362 ?Prospective – Valuation Four methods are used to valuate Myer, DDM, DAE, DAOE and DCF. In addition, two ways are used to determine cost of capital, which are CAPM and WACC. In CAPM model, risk-free rate, risk premium rate and ? are assumed separately 4. 5%, 6. 5% and 1. 1. It is not easy to determine ? because it changes every day. Assuming 1. 1 for? means the fluctuation of Myer share price is a little stronger than the market but not too much . Therefore, cost of capital (Re) is calculated by the formula and equals to 11. 65%. This Re is used in DDM and DAE. In WACC model, because Re is 11. 5%, Rf is calculated by formula and equals to 11. 43%. This Rf is used in DAOE and DCF. The share price is calculated by these 4 different models. (See below chart) ModelForecast Share price in 2012 DDM1. 7423 DAE2. 4548 DAOE2. 5603 DCF2. 5603 DDM is influen ced strongly by dividends because this model uses dividends to calculate value of shares. If the company does not pay dividends, the share price would be lower. Myer is estimated to pay dividends in 45% and the share price closes to market share price. (See below chart) DateLast % Change High Low Vol * 24 Oct 20121. 950-1. 27% 1. 621. 9306,259,477 This model is easy to understand Myer’s business conditions. However, this is affected by dividends too much and dividends are not always linking the value creation , the valuation model seems very limited. Obviously, this cannot reflect the Myer’s real value and conditions. Additionally, compared to DDM, DAE involves in other indicator abnormal earnings to value Myer share price and is better to present Myer’s conditions. Myer share price in DAE is higher than DDM because it reflects book value of equity and PV of future abnormal earnings to add share value.Therefore, this is more close to the real performance of Myer . Also, DAOE model is similar with DAE apart from that DAOE focuses on the equity which is determined by operating abnormal earnings. This eliminates the influence of Myer’s financial activities to calculate abnormal earnings. However, Myer’s financial value has been added to the equity finally. Therefore, this can reflect Myer’s condition in operating. Finally, DCF model focuses on cash flow which results in the equity increases. Usually, it can get the same share price with DAOE, but does not affected by accounting rules.However, investments are treated as losses for cash flow, which can bring more future benefits to Myer. Therefore, if Myer plans to use investments to produce free cash flow, then this model is very close Myer’s real conditions. Prospective – Sensitivity On one side, Myer is department store and compete in retail industry. Seasonality is more significant aspect in retail industry. The boom seasons for Myer are the end of financia l year and Christmas holidays. Also, the weather, new products in season or other factors are the aspects which Myer is sensitive.On the other side, according to Appendix 4, the four models of sensitivity can be analyzed. For the indicators of sales, ATO, dividend payout, DDM is the most sensitive, while DCF and DAOE are not sensitive. However, DDM is not sensitive in debt, while DCF and DAOE are most sensitive. Application Opportunities According to the forecast analysis and valuation, Myer has some possible opportunities to improve herself and get rid of the difficult conditions although the depression of condition expands the whole retail industry. Myer is predicted to pay more dividends to their shareholders in forecast analysis.This will addict more investor to buy shares and this can push the share price to rise up. Also, the book value of equity for Myer can be increased and this leads to no one can buy Myer’s share lower than book value. Therefore, a higher merger val ue or acquisition value can be created. Eventually, Myer will get more capital to investment. Therefore, Myer has an opportunity to invest this implemental capital. Concerning about the future economy, Australia will have strong domestic economy increase . As a result, Australian consumption and requirement will be up.Therefore, keeping and maintaining domestic consumers are still the main tasks for Myer. With the online shopping eroded the traditional shopping stores, Myer should improve their online shopping services, such as beautifying and making it convenient for customers. Myer’s CEO announced they would launch a new â€Å"omni-channel† service to stimulate consumers shop online . Obviously, Myer has already recognized online shopping is the main method to regain market share. Additionally, expanding the overseas market seems a good lamb for Myer to increase profit.Recently, Australia government has signed two Free Trade Agreement negotiations with China and Japa n separately. This provides a firm foundation to encourage more foreign investments between Australia and both of countries . Therefore, Myer can be provided more supports to invest in China and Japan. There are three reasons for Myer to choose China rather than Japan to set up the first overseas branch. Firstly, 1. 34 billion of China population is more stable for consumption foundation than 127million of Japan . Secondly, the advantage of exchange can provide more benefits for Myer to invest in overseas.Thirdly, more products of Myer are produced by China; therefore, setting up branch in china can save the delivery cost and tax. Challenges Although Myer’s forecasting is more profitable, it still has a potential challenge for borrowings. First of all, the purpose of loan for Myer may be to expand its shops or update its online shopping. These have more chances to be long-term debts instead of short-term debts. However, when they are in the lack of cash flows, Myer may pay di vidends through borrowings. Although this can be short-term debts, it is not for earning profit.Therefore, both of these are risky for debtors. Secondly, the figure shows that Myer would not plan to increase its financial expenses. That may be Myer prefer to get more funds from shareholders and her own operates rather than debts. This looks lower risky than people’s anticipation while it also means Myer would slow the repayment of debt and the previous debt risky will be raised up. Thirdly, the steady growth rate of dividend payout shows Myer would pay more dividends to benefit their shareholders when they earn more money instead of pay the debt or reinvest.In other words, Myer prefer has more long-term debt than short-term debt and maybe the benefits will be impaired. Therefore, the debt’s risk of Myer tends to be increased by Myer’s trend. Fourthly, the debt leverage looks healthy. However, the decrease of debt leverage is because not only the debt decreases, but also the net operating assets increase. Above all, Myer probably has problem when debt from debtors. Therefore, a detailed loan structure should be planned to make debtor have more confidence and willing to borrow money to Myer.This loan structure need to concern about the percentage of debt and equity for Myer. Also, the percentage of long-term debt and short-term debt should be considered. In addition, the purposes of debt need to be clear, easy to understand and report to debtors and shareholders. Conclusion To sum up, these analyses are really useful to approach Myer’s conditions and performance, and also can give some particular information through valuation. However, there are not perfect analyses; people still need to look for more effective analyses to value the firm.

Thursday, October 10, 2019

Football and Soccer Compare and Contrast

Football and Soccer Compare and Contrast. Football and soccer have never been really compared before, probably because alot of people think they dont have many similarities. But they actually have alot more in common that people think they do. Having played both sports myself i can tell you that they are very different in varius ways, but also very alike. It depends in what aspects you look at it that you can see differences or similarites. Off field soccer and football share different backgrounds. On field comparisons are never talked about but they actually have somre similarities. Yes football is more of a contact sport, and soccer more of a technique sport. But football does have technique as well, and soccer contact. On the field, both teams rely on team play to move up the field and try to score on the opposing team. Both sports have a total of 22 players on the field, 11 on each team, and passing the ball to teamates is key. In both sports the offensive players take most of the glory and the spotlight, but its know that without a good defense, its hard to win. You can score all the points you want but if they score more points on you then your still losing. Scoring is very different though. On football each time you score is called a touchdown and its given 6 points plus and extra point to try to make it 7. Soccer scoring its only 1 point and its not called touchdown but its called gol. The game of football has alot more breaks during it, and it has 4 quarters. During each play you have small breaks, plus alot of timeouts and tv comercial breaks. Soccer is a non-stop sport with only 2 halfs and no breaks during each half, just the 30 minute halftime break. One of the main differences on both these sports in my mind is that football is only a sport played in the United States, while soccer is a worldwide know sport. Soccer means alot in many countries all over the world, and theres tournaments that bring every teams all over the world together. Football's major event is held here in the United States and it only it involves the one country. United States has soccer, but its one of their least successful sports economacly and physically. It has faild to reach the fan base they wanted, and the MLS (soccer league) was close to be being shut own due to lack of fans and lack of income. Soccer is like a religion in many countries all over the world and it means everything to its fans. Where im from, Argentina, soccer is bigger than anything. Alot of people take soccer even more serious than their jobs. Sometimes a little to serious. There has been a lot of soccer related accidents in Argentina and many other parts of the world. Many of the ac cidents occur during games in the stands. Soccer rivalries are very big in Argentina. Sometimes they seperate towns. Just like gangs here in United States, soccer fans fight for respect and hate towards the other team, a lot of times ending in deaths. Other incidents occur off the field. A good example to show how serious fans take the game, is the incident that occur after a World Cup, when a colombian player scored an own goal during an important game, and he was assasinated a few days later. Things like that usually never happen here in the United States. Not to say that fans are no passionate about football, but its a different type of passion. The United States understands how important soccer is worldwide, and they have tried to make soccer bigger here in the United Sates, but have failed several times. They have tried to publish soccer more by advertising and by trying to bring famous players all over the world to play here in the United States. Living here in the US, i saw that football was the major sport here. But there are alot of competing sports like basketball and baseball, and there is also college sports, which are also very big here. In Argentina, there are of course many other sports, but none come close to soccer. As a little kid, i never knew of any other sport than soccer. Every little kid growing up wants to be a soccer player when their older. And that dosn't sound like a problem, but in my opinion it is. Alot of kids growing up have â€Å"dream jobs†. Some are sports realted some are not. A lot of kids dream of being doctors, lawyers, firemans and of course start athleets. But in Argentina, most of the kids wanna be the only thing they knew growing up, a soccer player. And with most of those kids not reaching that dream, it leaves a lot of confused kids. So like most people think, there are many differences overall between football and soccer. But there are more similarities than people think there are. Maybe in the future wih the growth of soccer in the United States, we will have even more things in common. And maybe the passion for soccer here in US will one day be as big as it is in the rest of the world, but hopefullt without all the violence.

Manual vs Automatic Transmission Essay

Why are cars with manual transmissions so popular? Also, what are some of the differences and some of the advantages to driving a car with a manual transmission? They are more difficult to drive than a car with an automatic in it. They also require certain motor skills that you don’t need with an automatic. One could also choose an automatic that is easier to drive and would make your drive in rush hour traffic more comfortable. People who have driven cars with manuals in them know the differences and the advantages of driving one. The driver has more control over the car’s power than they do when driving cars with automatics in them. Cars with automatics are great to drive around because they don’t require too much driving skills. People who don’t really like to drive usually will choose a car that is automatic. They often don’t pay as much attention to the things that are happening around them while they are driving. They have improved a lot through the years with better gear ratios, and the shifting response when the driver just presses on the gas. However, they are not as much fun to drive. That is why race are drivers drive cars with manual transmissions. Cars with manual transmissions are very fuel efficient. They respond better to the driver which makes them safer. People that drive cars with manual transmissions are more focused on their driving. When the driver down shifts when they are driving to reduce their speed, they are also saving their brake pads. Other thing cars with manual transmissions have more power and tend to respond better when you accelerate. It also makes your driving more interesting. Also race car drivers drive cars with manual transmissions to take their driving skills to a higher level for maximum performance. Ones personality will make you decide on which is better for you to drive. My personal opinion is that cars with manual transmissions are a lot more fun to drive than automatics. Because, cars are made for driving and driving should be fun.

Wednesday, October 9, 2019

How can a manager motivate a workforce and what are the major benefits Essay - 7

How can a manager motivate a workforce and what are the major benefits of this to a company Support your answer with examples - Essay Example Other managers and HR officials believe that the work environment that comprises of treating employees with respect, and providing interesting work to them plays a great role in motivating these employees. Each and every of these explanations has some relevance and some truth in it; however, one theory cannot adequately explain how to motivate employees of an organization (Loehr and Kaye, 2011). This is because people are not purely political, economic, and psychological beings. On this basis, this paper asserts that employees of an organization need material, emotional, and social benefits as motivating factors. One of the methods of motivating employees is giving them the vision of the company. The management must also provide them with the methods of achieving this mission and vision of the company. All most all serious business organizations have an outline of their vision, and they normally require employees to satisfy and fulfill these visions (Loehr and Kaye, 2011, p. 33). Take for example the vision of Barclays bank is to become a premier banking institution in Europe, offering high quality banking services, and innovative solutions (Branham and Hirschfeld, 2010). When employees of an organization are aware of the vision of a company, they will work hard to ensure that they are able to meet the organizations vision. Creating and communicating the vision of a company is a psychological motivating factor. Another method of motivating employees is giving them what they need and want. It is important for managers of an organization to check whether employees have the necessary tools, sup port and training needed for purposes of carrying out their duties. Take for example a hospital organization that has employed doctors and nurses. The organization must provide these employees with the various tools needed for carrying out their duties,

Monday, October 7, 2019

Reflective Journal Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Reflective Journal Assignment - Essay Example The success of this stage in growth leads to the virtue of hope which often goes a long way in determining how a person would view the world and/or tackle real life crises and problems that are ever existent. Being of a middle age compared to the other of our siblings, I was never accorded the utmost care that the others had and this I believed strengthened my resolve greatly. I become more independent and assertive and this enabled me too to recognize my abilities and skills. Taking part in groups, organizing class events at schools, sorting out fellow children quarrels and disagreements enabled me to recognize my special talent in counseling at a tender age. Ages 10-20, regarded by most scholars as the age bracket that makes or breaks an individual were rather hectic for me. This is where self actualization occurs when one starts to learn the roles he would want to play as an adult. At an adolescent age, I got to learn a lot about myself and the surrounding. This is the age where I got to re-examine my identity and who I really was both in our family and to the society at large. This period came to pass with a lot of challenges that defined who I became. I decided to set myself on a career path and developed a greater sense of fidelity and tolerance. My later advanced ages presented to me the worst times I ever had. Before making any considerations on the need and motives, I decided to have a partner in my early 20’s. As described in the eight stages of development by Erikson, this is the period in the lifespan of an individual when one yeans for intimacy and a certain level of commitment. I got married at a comparatively younger age and this came with its share of problems. I had a marital relationship that that took turns at every face of difficulty and disagreements. This stage gave me a lot of insight into the issues that couples face on a daily basis and opened me up more to the counseling profession. At the

Sunday, October 6, 2019

Scenario medication management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Scenario medication management - Essay Example We will be touching a few topics that come under this heading. We are first going to talk about â€Å"Mental Capacity†. There is actually an act on mental capacity which is called â€Å"The Mental Capacity Act 2005† which basically states that a framework is there to protect and empower people who are incapable for not making their own decisions. This act makes it clear that the person who can make decisions for that incapable person would be held responsible in the future. The individual who is looking after the invalid should have the best interest for the person. The individual must also consider that whether it is likely that the invalid person in time or in future will be able to make their own decisions. As it is said by British Geriatrics Society that â€Å"Mental capacity is a legal concept and any decision as to whether a person does or does not have mental capacity is ultimately a decision for a court of law†. For example: that is a nurse gives a medication or a drug with a food item or liquid other than water it might cause a reaction and the person who solely be responsible for this conduct would be the nurse that gave the patient the medication, where the patient was in no condition to make his or her own decision. Now lets move on to the second topic which is called â€Å"Role of Pharmacist &MDT†. As we have always recognized that the medical consultants work within a clinical team and they have the sole responsibility for the clinical management of the patients assigned to them but with in that team the pharmacist has a specific and the most important responsibility and that responsibility is to provide safe and appropriate use of medication or drugs. When we look at the role of a pharmacist in a hospital setting it should basically include medication storage, packaging and compounding, support personnel, see drug expenditure and quality improvement and

Saturday, October 5, 2019

Melting of the Arctic Glaciers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Melting of the Arctic Glaciers - Essay Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 B. Adaptation Efforts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 C. Examples of Adaptation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 3. Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 4. Works Cited (Bibliography) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Introduction People had previously dismissed warnings about global warming because of claims a group of scientists tasked to study its effects had fudged or manipulated their data. But today, there is no more doubt on this topic as the glaciers in the Arctic region of the world (located in the northernmost part of the Earth) are melting away fast due to the greenhouse gases caused by the burning of fossil fuels. Oil and coal are used to produce energy and electricity but they also produce by-products which are mainly carbon dioxide and methane that trap the sun heat energy. It is su pposed to be reflected back to outer space in a process called as Albedo effect. A warmer Earth has changed the ocean's surface temperatures and also its salinity with serious effects on marine life (Ehrlich 1) and caused rising sea levels. This brief paper examines all its effects on the populations of low-lying areas of the world and what can be done about it. Discussion Even the skeptics are now convinced that global warming really exists as manifested by weather that has gone haywire, as mentioned in an article by Mr. Hertsgaard like a â€Å"fiercer heat wave, harsher droughts, heavier rains and rising sea levels† (1). The top three polluters of the world are China, America and India, in this order of magnitude. â€Å"The world pumped about 564 million more tons (512 million metric tons) of carbon into the air in 2010 than it did in 2009. That's an increase of 6 percent. That amount of extra pollution eclipses the individual emissions of all but three countries - China, the United States and India, world's top producers of greenhouse gases. It is a "monster" increase that is likely unheard of, said Gregg Marland, a professor of geology who has helped calculate Department of Energy figures in the past. This extra pollution in China and the U.S. account for more than half the increase in emissions last year.† (Borenstein 1). What is even more alarming is the observation that even if all emissions are stopped or discontinued today, global temperatures will still keep rising for 25 years. There are basically two ways or approaches by which people can deal with the global warming phenomenon: first is mitigation and the second is adaptation. Mitigation pertains to a front-end approach of reducing gas emissions to slow down the warming trend and it includes using renewable and clean energy sources, such as wind power or solar power. The other end of the equation is adaptation which are actions intended to safeguard a community or country from the il l effects of global warming, such as rising sea levels that can inundate low areas. Mitigation – everybody can contribute to reducing greenhouse gases by living simple lifestyles. The idea is to reduce a person's carbon footprint by using less fuel in daily living. It entails, for example, using the car less and walking more often, or using a bicycle for moving around. There are many ways by which one can accomplish this, such as reducing the use of manufactured products or consumer items that use a lot of energy, reducing use of electricity, or by patronizing more

Friday, October 4, 2019

What has happened in Great Britains economy over the last two years Essay

What has happened in Great Britains economy over the last two years - Essay Example The ability of the British Government and Bank of England to manage the British economy can be closely monitored by carefully observing and analyzing the historical trend of UK’s unemployment rate, gross domestic product (GDP), balance of payment, and price stability. Between 2011 and 2012, the unemployment rate in UK remains as high as 8.02% and 8.13% respectively (Statista, 2013a). The fact that the unemployment rate in this country has increased by 0.11% is already a sign that the economy of UK has not really been good after all. (See Appendix I – Historical Trend: Unemployment Rate in UK on page 13) produced within a country in a given period of time† (Mankiw, 2012, p. 494). It means that UK’s yearly GDP can be used to closely monitor the actual economic activities that had taken place in this country (Office for National Statistics, 2013a). Based on the current market prices, GDP in UK has somehow been showing a flat trend between the 1st and 2nd quarter of 2011 and the 3rd quarter of 2011 to the 2nd quarter of 2012. During the 4th quarter of 2012, the GDP of UK has declined by 0.3% as compared to the previous quarter (Bank of England, 2013; Office for National Statistics, 2013b). Basically, the sudden decrease in domestic demand, the presence of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, and the sudden reduction of the North Sea oil output explains why the GDP fell by 0.3% during the last quarter of 2012 (Bank of England, 2013; Office for National Statistics, 2013b). (See Appendix II – Historical Trend: GDP on page 14) Balance of payment provides the â€Å"summary of transactions between domestic and foreign residents for a specific country over a specified period of time† (Madura, 2010, p. 27). It means that the balance of payments would show the summary of import and export of goods and services including the financial transfers between UK and other countries (Sloman, 2004, pp. 516 –

Thursday, October 3, 2019

History of Electrocardiography Machine Essay Example for Free

History of Electrocardiography Machine Essay History of electrocardiography prevails over two centuries as an intellectual exercise as the process of inventing an electrocardiogram started with the Galvani’s idea of animal electricity. In 1842 this idea was further reinforced by Italian physicist Carlo Matteucci who illustrated by his experiments that electric current could be quantified from inactive heart muscle. German physiologist Emil Dubois-Reymond further explored this phenomenon and confirmed Carlo Matteucci’s conclusion and labeled this changing current in the resting muscle as â€Å"action potential†. He further developed a device that could deliver stimulation pulses to the muscles and was capable of computing discharge current of muscles at short intervals. In 1856 Rudolph von Koelliker and Heinrich Muller recorded an â€Å"action potentialâ€Å"on the spotaneous beating heart. But the major development came in 1872 when French physicist Gabriel Lippmann introduced a capillary electrometer. This capillary electrometer was based on the principle of â€Å"polarization† and â€Å"surface tension†. Structurally it was a slender glass tube with mercury-sulphuric acid base. The mercury meniscus stirred with the influx of electrical potential and was observable by a microscope. In 1893, Willem Einthoven who is considered as the inventor of modern electric cardiogram and its various principles used the term electrocardiogram at a conference of the Dutch Medical Association. But major development occurred during the three years staring from 1901 when Einthoven dissatisfied with capillary electrometer and it slow response, designed a string galvanometer. This galvanometer contained a string eletromagnet to produce a magnetic flux, two piece poles, a quartz string between the two piece poles, peepholes in the two piece poles to observe the position of string. It further contained a lamp and timing systen to examine the shadow of string at different time intervals. The weight of this whole apparatus was about 600 pounds. He further modified the string galvanometer to invent a more effective electrocardiograms. However in 1902, Einthoven brought out the first electrocardiogram that was recorded on his string galvanometer. This was a giant’s leap in the history of bio-medical. In order to produce string galvanometer on commercial level, Einthoven discussed the possibilities with Horace Darwin of Cambridge Scientific Instruments Company of London. So this event made the electrocardiogram to come out of experimentation and to be used in medical profession. Einthoven, in 1906, circulated the first presentation electrocardiograms recorded with a string galvanometer. These electrocardiograms included the specimen of left and right ventricular and atrial, atrial flutter, ventricular premature beats etc. In 1910, Horatio Williams who was professor at Cornell University Medical College, New York issued electrocardiograms of patient that manifest atrial and ventricular ectopics, ventricular hypertrophy, atrial fibrillation and ventricular fibrillation that were recorded in hospital using a complex system of cables. This was first large-scale use of electrocardiograms in the hospitals. With the advent and introduction of vacuum tubes, the electric galvanometer was further modified and improved. In 1926, Ernestine and Levine used these vacuum tubes to produce enlarged images. Cathode rays tube further helped to produce portable electrocardiograms. Today electrocardiograms works on the same principles that were devised Einthoven in the first decade of 20th century. References Burchell HB. A centennial note on Waller and the first human electrocardiogram. Am J Cardiol 1987; 59:979-983 Burch, G.E. A History of Electrocardiography. Chicago. Year Book Medical. 1964. Burnett J. The origins of the electrocardiograph as a clinical instrument. Medical History Supplement 5: 1985, 53-76. Published as a monograph. The emergence of modern cardiology. Bynum WF, Lawrence C, Nutton V, eds. Wellcome Institute for the History of Medicine:1985. Fye WB. A history of the origin, evolution, and impact of electrocardiography. Am J Cardiol 1994;73:937-949 Plonsey, R. Bioelectric Phenomenon. New York. McGraw-Hill. 1972.

Characteristics of Renaissance Art in the Last Supper

Characteristics of Renaissance Art in the Last Supper It is agreed that the Renaissance was a period of great art and architectural feats and ingenuity, during which artists looked back to the classical art of Greece and Rome from which to draw inspiration. This influence can easily be seen in the many paintings and sculpture that came out of the Renaissance. However, the conservative nature of the period, the subject matter, and the restrictions imposed upon artists of that time kept the Renaissance from truly becoming a return to the classics of Greece and Rome. The most obvious factor in the difference between the two artistic periods is the predominant subject matter the artists of the time chose. In ancient Greece and Rome, the subject matter most popular among artists were depictions of myths, war, or intellectual figures: statues of the gods decorated nearly every significant architectural landmark of the time. Being a Christian society, the art of the Renaissance did not simply depict various bible stories, but also moral stories permeated with religious allusions and symbolism. The Sistine Chapel is just one example among the many depictions of the creation, Madonna figures, and religious icons that existed in that era. However, there were some artists, such as Botticelli who depicted mythological figures as religious icons such as Botticellis Birth of Venus, which put the Greek goddess into a Christian context. Artists from both periods experienced problem with completing and preserving works. In Ancient Greece and later Rome, because of frequent war and the threat of invasion, many of the bronze sculptures that existed were melted down so that the metal could be used for weaponry. In addition to that, the construction of the pieces was often so weak that they would break, usually at joints such as the ankles because they couldnt support the weight of the piece indefinitely, or other limbs that were too fragile to withstand any kinds of damages. Because artists of the Renaissance were often commissioned by wealthy patrons or the church, they had to work within the guidelines given by the patrons which limited the freedom with which they could compose a piece. Even for artists such as Michaelangelo, often times, funding for commissions would be limited or discontinued altogether, forcing the artist to either leave the piece unfinished or scale down the size of the original project. Although Renaissance art was based on Greek and Roman schools of thought and art, the subtle stylistic differences between the two periods are reflective of the ideals of beauty at the time. Greek sculpture often depicted highly idealized figures- usually young, athletic men and women- in extremely melodramatic poses, while figures of the Renaissance were more realistically rendered- such as van Eycks which even showed the flaws of those who posed for the pieces instead of beautifying them- but still remained slightly melodramatic in at least facial expression if not posture. Though it attempted to revive the classical art of Ancient Greece and Rome, the Renaissance instead simply modified the style and applied it to its own tastes. Artists of both times sought to appeal to the general public with what was popular at the time- war, myth and melodrama in Ancient Greece and Rome, religious icons and pleasing the patron in the Renaissance. Leonardos Last Supper is a priceless piece of art with much hidden meaning and obvious talents bestowed upon a wall. Under the study of Verrocchio as a painter and a sculptor, he was able to use his skills in creating a very detailed and a very naturalistic piece of work that would be remembered for hundreds of years. He was also able to create characters with amazing individuality. Not only was his portrayal of the characters magnificent, but the symbolism he used which emphasized the story being told in the Last Supper. Lodovico Sforza chose Leonardo to create The Last Supper in the refectory of the Dominican Church of S. Maria delle Grazie in Milan. The Abate of the S. Maria delle Grazie saw Leonardo work from morning until night on The Last Supper without eating. Although, there were times he would stop painting for days at a time; or, he would work on a specific character for just a few moments and then leave to continue working on it later. He worked on it from 1495 thru 1498 (Strauss, 27). Before Leonardo began painting the actual portrait, he put down a substance which was suppose to absorb the tempora and protect the tempora from the moisture on the wall. Unfortunately, the substance was proved unsuccessful, and by 1517 it began to deteriorate. In May 1556 a painter Giovanni Batista Armenini said that the painting was so badly affected that nothing is visible but a mass of blots'(Heydenreich, 18). The painting has continued to decay in the following centuries. It was further damaged by restorations made by careless artists and by the addition of a doorway put in the lower part of the painting. Yet even to this day his painting The Last Supper is widely known and visited by many tourists each year. The remembrance of the Last Supper could be due to the sacredness of the parting meal. It is quite obvious that the skill used in the creation of the Last Supper was magnificent. Although, the way Leonardo allows its viewers to depict the scene from a specific point in the Bible adds to the importance and significance of the painting in which no other artist could even compare. He does allow the viewer to recognize this scene by the gestures of both the Lord and the Apostles. The Lord sits ever so quietly while the Apostles rise in reaction to what the Lord had just announced. It is rather obvious that Leonardo chose the critical moment after the Lord had stated, Verily I say unto you that one of you shall betray me, because of the emotions that evolve in this specific scene (Matt. 26.21). He took much time to express every detail of each Apostle and the Lord. Leonardo had even wrote in one of his notebooks that A good painter has two chief objects to paint man and the intention of his soul. The former is easy, the latter hard because he has to represent it by the attitude and movement of the limbs(Heydenreich, 27). For example, the Lord is very relaxed with his arms resting on the table which adds to the portrayal of His greatness. He also emphasized the Lords greatness by giving Him a serious attitude and by presenting Him as untouchable with the space between Himself and the Apostles. The distance put between them is called the spacial perspective, which is one of the techniques Leonardo feels is important in naturalistic art. Although, the Apostles are painted in a more restless fashion. They are all facing different ways and seem to be jumping out of their seats. Even the grouping of the apostles in three was done intentionally. He used four groups of three Apostles in each group in order to symbolize the Holy Trinity which means three, and the  four groups were used to symbolize the Gospels and the Cardinal Virtues . He was very cautious in every aspect of his painting from the placement of the figures to the movement they each possessed. Leonardo had to create actions and various postures which would be appropriate for each figure in order to keep them from looking as if they were brothers. Monica Strauss stated that in her research she had found that for the first time in the history of the subject, Leonardo had distinguished each one by appearance and gesture(Strauss, 27). For each of the twelve Apostles he had to not only resort to the historical information on their names and on their appearances but also by the portrayal of their specific qualities as they are known to us from the Gospels. For instance, Judas was put outside the circle of the innocent Apostles and only his shadowed  profile can be found. He is the only one to be found sitting in the shadows and in solitude. This allows the viewer to see the guilt he had, for he knew he was the one who would betray the Lord Jesus. He is also frozen in shock, and he is an outcast in the group. The significance of the portrayal of Judas is very important because in earlier pictures of the Last Supper, no one had ever been able to show this (Heydenreich, 57). Peter and John, located at the sides of Judas, were both painted with bright heads and with outstretched hands to the Lord Jesus which signify their fateful connection with Him. Yet, he distinguishes their differences by showing Peter to be more stubborn and argumentative and John to be more gentle and submissive as the Bible has thoroughly explained. Philip, on the other hand, stands up in excitement; and, he puts his hands on his chest to express a tender loyalty towards Christ. Andrew is found next to his brother Peter. Then, there is James the Greater, the older brother of John, who  touches Peters shoulder and forms a link with Peter and John. These three are those who witnessed the Transfiguration and who accompanied Jesus to the Garden of Gethsemane (Matt. 17.1; 26.36-37). Leonardo continued to distinguish each of the Apostles as he felt necessary. He placed James the Less, the Lords brother (Gal. 1.19), to the Lord Jesuss right where he is like Him in feature and with outstretched arms; but, his gesture is only a reaction and not an expression of a completed action like the Lord Jesuss. Behind James the Less stands the doubting Thomas who is known to share a common feast day . St. Matthew is next and finally comes St. Jude, who is the brother of James the Less and St.  Simon. James the Less and St. Simon were martyred together so they too have a common feast day. Leonardo not only arranged the Apostles in four groups according to kinship and the personal links they shared, but each of the twelve Apostles exhibit an emotional and temperamental reaction appropriate to the character attributed to him in the Gospels. Each disciple reacted in his own way, as men. Leonardo had said, Emotions move the face of man in different ways, for o! ne laughs, another weeps, one becomes gay, another sad, one shows anger, another pity, some are amazed, others reflective. In these the hands and the whole person should follow the expression of the face, (Heydenreich, 57). He made sure he portrayed this in his Last Supper. The Lord Jesus was also given qualities that distinguished Him from everyone else. The Lord Jesuss hands are laid in a resting fashion on the table. His hands lie between the filled cup and the unbroken bread, the symbols of sacrifice, as if pointing in a silent gesture towards them. He seems to relay a message that His business has not yet been completed. Only the objects in front of Him remain in order, as does He remain calm, unlike the objects in front of the Apostles which are in disarray, as are the Apostles also in an unorderly emotional state of confusion. Leonardo uses the description of the  table to symbolize the state in which the Apostles and the Lord Jesus are in. For this reason, Leonardo not only uses the characters to portray the story but also the objects and the structures which encampeth around them. Leonardo used the beautiful background motif of the pedimented doorway, which was centered behind the Lord Jesus, in order to emphasize the Lord Jesuss greatness. It acted as a crown of glory hovering over His head. The surrounding walls and ceiling, where tapestries hung, were not in natural perspective but in an idealized one. The surroundings were unrelated to any spectator in the room. The same can be said of the characters in the portrait. Their scale and grandeur is other worldly, but their emotional distress is obviously human. He created the characters as if they were each on their own frontal plane. He also put a painted border around the painting which cut off most of the ceiling and the walls. These two modifying factors caused the characters to seem to leap out of the portrait. The Last Supper portrayed very individualistic characters which have made Leonardos piece of work stand out from all the others who also have tried to create the Last Supper; but, talented Leonardo was able to perfect his creation with his perspective of atmosphere and color. Leonardo had said, If we see that the true quality of colours is known through light, it is to be concluded that where there is more light, the true quality of the illuminated colour is better seen; and where there is more darkness, the colour is tinged with the colour of that darkness, (Heydenreich, 65). Later he concluded with, Nothing ever looks to be its real colour, if the light which strikes it is not all of that colour, (Heydenreich, 65). He used his theory in his painting to make it more realistic. He used two sources of light which came from the last gleams of the dying day which entered from behind the window with its charming view of the countryside and from the window in the refectory itself. He claimed to have painted in tones of light, when he created his Last Supper (Heydenreich, 66). Rosci had said that it is possible that he may have given the advice on the construction of the rectangular refectory because of the illusion the light gives the paint! ing (108). The two zones of light make it possible for Leonardo to give his characters a very finely graduated relief (Heydenreich, 70). Leonardo caused the colors of Christs garments, a red tunic and a blue cloak, to reflect in the pewter plate in front of him; and, similarly the plate in front of Philip reflects the red of his cloak. The colors of the Apostles robes are distributed across the painting in a wonderful array of colors. To the right of the Lord, the pale green tunic of James the Less forms a transition between the Lords blue cloak and the red robe of Philip, whose blue sleeves are just a shade brighter than the tone of Christs cloak. There is also a mixture of colors in the second group on the right of the Lord. Matthew is clothed in bright blue, which together with Judes ochre tunic and Simons violet cloak forms a perfect three note chord. Even in the group to the left of the Lord, consisting of John, Peter, and Judas; emphasizes the blending of colors. Judass greyish blue garment is the only one whose tone remains indefinite and dull which was formed from Johns dark, rust red cloak and bluish green tunic and Peters dark blue sleeve. In the outer left hand group, which stands in the darker background, Andrews green cloak over a yellow garment, James the Greaters reddish clothing, and Bartholomews violet blue tunic and dark olive cloak form a carefully equivalent to the outer right hand group, which stands in bright light. From one side of the Lord Jesus to the other the colors go from light primary tones to dark subtle blends. All of this coloration is due to the effect that light has o!n colors. Leonardo really believed that the perspective of light was important because it ensured to make the Last Supper as realistic as possible. Leonardo believed that naturalization was harmony between mental and physical motion. He accomplished the correspondence between physical movement and mental emotion by the pause between two great emotions which are the momentarily stiffening at an extreme point of excitement and at the horror of being startled out of tranquility (Heydenreich, 67). The painting portrays both expression and emotion. This combination complements each other. The expressions allow the viewers to see the emotions the characters are feeling. Their frozen movement allows one to see they are human. We can see both their outward and inward reactions. It is as if Leonardo had been there, and he had taken a picture of the marvelous meal. He definitely accomplished his goal in portraying his Last Supper as a realistic piece of art. The symbolism, the individualized personalities of the characters, and the skills such as the light perspective and spacial perspective blended together to fo!rm a photograph-like pai nting.