Friday, December 27, 2019

Mawangdui The Han Dynasty Tombs of Lady Dai and Her Son

Mawangdui is the name of an early Western Han dynasty site [202 BC-9 AD] situated in a suburb of the modern town of Changsha, Hunan Province, China. The tombs of three members of an elite ruling family were found and excavated during the 1970s. These tombs belonged to the Marquis of Dai and Chancellor of the Kingdom of Changsha, Li Cang [died 186 BC, Tomb 1); Dai Hou Fu-Ren (Lady Dai) [d. after 168 BC, Tomb 2]; and their unnamed son [d. 168 BC, Tomb 3]. The tomb pits were excavated between 15-18 meters (50-60 feet) below the ground surface and a huge earthen mound was piled on top. The tombs contained exceedingly well-preserved artifacts, including some of the oldest manuscripts of classic Chinese texts as well as unknown ones, still being translated and interpreted more than 40 years later. Lady Dais tomb was filled with a mixture of charcoal and white kaolin clay, which led to the nearly perfect preservation of Lady Dais body and grave clothes. Nearly 1,400 objects in Lady Dais grave included silk tapestries and painted wooden coffins, bamboo objects, pottery vessels, musical instruments (including a 25-string zither), and wooden figures. Lady Dai, whose name was likely Xin Zhui, was elderly at the time of her death, and the autopsy of her body revealed lumbago and a compressed spinal disc. One of the silk paintings was a wonderfully preserved funeral banner in her honor which is featured in the slideshow Funeral Banner of Lady Dai. Manuscripts from Mawangdui: I Ching and Lao Tsu Lady Dais unnamed sons tomb contained more than 20 silk manuscripts preserved in a lacquer hamper, along with silk paintings and other grave goods. The son was about 30 years old when he died, and he was one of several sons of Li Cang. Among the scrolls were seven medical manuscripts, which together comprise the most ancient manuscripts on medicine found in China to date. While these medical texts were mentioned in more recent manuscripts, none of them had survived, so the discovery at Mawangdui was just stunning. Some of the medical treatises have been published in Chinese but are not as yet available in English. A summary of that progress is in Liu 2016. Bamboo slips found in the sons tomb were brief unsigned prescriptional documents covering acupuncture, various drugs and their benefits, health preservation and fertility studies. The manuscripts also include the earliest version yet discovered of the Yijing (commonly spelled I Ching) or Classic of Changes and two copies of the Classic of the Way and its Virtue by the Taoist philosopher Laozi (or Lao Tzu). The copy of the Yijing probably dates about 190 BC; it includes both the text of the classic book  and four or five discrete commentaries, only one of which was known before the excavation, the Xici or Appended Statements. Scholars (according to Shaughnessy) call the longest one after the first line: Ersanzi wen The Two or Three Disciples Ask. Also included were some of the worlds earliest maps, including the Topographical Map [of the Southern Part of the Kingdom of Changsha in Early Han] (Dixing tu), the Map of Military Dispositions (Zhu jun tu,  and described in detail below), and the Map of City Streets (Chengyi tu). Medical manuscripts include Chart of the Burial of the Afterbirth according to Yu (Yuzang tu), Diagram of Birth of a Person (Renzi tu) and Diagram of the Female Genitals (Pinhu tu). The Diagrams of Guiding and Pulling (Doayin tu) has 44 human figures performing different physical exercises. Some of these manuscripts contain images of celestial deities, astrological and meteorological elements, and/or cosmological schemes that would be used as instruments of divination and magic. Military Maps and Texts The Zhango zonghenjia shu (A Text of the Strategists in Warring States) contains 27 stories or accounts, eleven of which were known from two other well-known manuscripts, the Zhanguo ce and the Shi Ji. Blanford (1994) compared Account #4 describing the results of a diplomatic mission for the King of Yan to similar accounts in the Shi Ji and Zhanguo ce and found that the Mawangdui versions are more complete than the others. She considers the Mawangdui version more eloquent and of a higher effective rhetorical quality than the later editions. The Military Garrison Map is one of three maps found in Tomb 3 at Mawangdui, all painted in polychrome on silk: the others were a topographic map and a county map. In 2007 Hsu and Martin-Montgomery described their use of a Geographic Information System (GIS)-based approach, geo-referencing the map to physical locations in the Fundamental Digital Map of China. The Mawangdui map supplements the historical accounts of a military conflict described in the Shi Ji between the Han and the Southern Yue, a tributary kingdom to the Han. Three phases of the battle are illustrated, pre-conflict tactical planning, the battle progress of a two-pronged attack, and post-conflict constructions to keep the region under control. The Xingde Three copies of a text called the Xingde (Punishment and Virtue) were found in Tomb 3. This manuscript contains astrological and divination recommendations for successful military conquests. Xingde copy A was transcribed between 196-195 BC; Xingde copy B, between 195-188 BC, and Xingde C is undated but cannot be later than the date the tomb was sealed, 168 BC. Kalinowski and Brooks believe that the Xingde B version contains calendrical corrections for Xingde A. Xingde C is not in good enough condition to reconstruct the text. The Mourning Diagram, also found in Tomb 3 (Lai 2003), describes proper mourning practices, including what mourners should wear and for how long, based on the relationship of the mourner to the deceased. As for those [one] mourns for a year: for father, [wear] untrimmed sackcloth for thirteen months and then stop. For grandfather, fathers brother, brother, brothers son, son, grandson, fathers sister, sister, and daughter, [wear] trimmed sackcloth for nine months and then stop. The Arts of the Bedchamber The Arts of the Bedchamber (Li and McMahon) are a series of teaching techniques to assist men in the art of attaining harmonious relationships with women, enhance health and longevity, and generate descendants. In addition to assistance with sexual health and recommended positions, the text includes information about promoting healthy fetus growth and how to tell if your partner is enjoying herself. Sources   This glossary entry is a part of the  Silk Road and part of the Dictionary of Archaeology. Blanford YF. 1994. Discovery of Lost Eloquence: New Insight from the Mawangdui Zhanguo zonghengjia shu. Journal of the American Oriental Society 114(1):77-82. Hsu H-MA, and Martin-Montgomery A. 2007. An Emic Perspective on the Mapmakers Art in Western Han China. Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society 17(4):443-457. Kalinowski M, and Brooks P. 1998. The Xingde; texts from Mawangdui. Early China 23/24:125-202. Lai G. 2003. The diagram of the mourning system from Mawangdui. Early China 28:43-99. Li L, and McMahon K. 1992. The contents and terminology of the Mawangdui texts on the arts of the bedchamber. Early China 17:145-185. Liu C. 2016. Review on the Studies of Unearthed Mawangdui Medical Books. Scientific Research 5(1). Shaughnessy EL. 1994. A first reading of the Mawangdui yijing manuscript. Early China 19:47-73.

Thursday, December 19, 2019

Perpetuities and Annuities Example

Essays on Perpetuities and Annuities Essay Running head: PERPETUITIES AND ANNUITIES Perpetuities and Annuities Educational PERPETUITIES AND ANNUITIES 2Perpetuities and Annuities Perpetuities and annuities make guaranteed payments at regular intervals. The former have an infinite lifespan, while the latter have a finite one. While there are different types of annuities, the most common is a retirement one. An annuity is often considered by people who may have insufficient retirement income from traditional defined pension plans and who are concerned that they may outlive their present income. If the latter is a concern, then an investment broker will recommend the type of an annuity that cannot be outlived. Governments, whose employees terminate their employment with them prior to retirement age or having met a specified term of employment, hold the government and employee contributions until a minimum age and then begin paying an annuity (in actuality a type of reduced and deferred pension) for life to their former employees. Vanguard.com offers three types of annuities; namely, an immediate (income) fixed annuity; an immediate variable annuity; and a deferred variable annuity with a guaranteed lifetime withdrawal benefit (GLWB) rider, the latter not only meeting spending needs, but also guaranteeing that the annuity is not outlived. (2012). Immediate fixed annuities offer guaranteed fixed payments for a fixed period or for life. They protect from market downturns and can protect against inflation. The amount of money that a retiree will receive from an upfront payment depends upon the person’s age and gender, the amount of the initial payment, the interest rates at the time of purchase, and the chosen options. If an annuity is purchased for a certain period of time (period-certain annuity), and the purchaser dies before the end of that period, payments can be made to beneficiaries for the balance of the time period (ibid.). PERPETUITIES AND ANNUITIES 3 A fixed immediate annuity can only be cancelled in very limited circumstances. As a result, only part of one’s income should be used to buy such an annuity so that one still has some flexibility. With a GLWB, there is greater flexibility and control of one’s investment (ibid.). It should be remembered that â€Å"an annuity is a financial product issued by an insurance company. It allows for tax-deferred growth of assets. At retirement, an annuity can help to provide a guaranteed income stream for one or more people† (Hancock, 2012). Unlike an annuity, which has a fixed time, perpetuities go on forever. As a result, they are less common than an annuity because people rarely set up payment structures that last forever. Charities, however, often set up this kind of structure. Investoverse.com gives the example of a scholarship set up so that each year until the end of time one student will get $5,000.00. To make this happen the charity must know how much money to set aside to make this happen. This is calculated as a perpetuity. It does not make much sense to this student to set up a personal perpetuity, although it makes more sense to do so in the case just stated of a charity that, amongst other things, gives a scholarship each year; and to make sure that it happens, sets it up as a perpetuity. Considering that the time value of money available at the present time is worth more than the same amount in the future due to its earning potential, provided that it can earn interest (Time Value of Money – TVM, 2012), a fixed annuity with an upfront payment seems to be the preferable choice since the money begins to earn interest immediately thus increasing the value of the retirement instrument as opposed to a retirement annuity that has been built up over the years as a result of monthly payments. For a long life expectancy, an annuity where the investor cannot outlive the annuity is best; otherwise, an immediate fixed annuity for a fixed time period. PERPETUITIES AND ANNUITIES 4 References Barclay, B. (2011, October 25). Differences between an annuity a perpetuity. Retrieved on January 17, 2012, from http://www.ehow.com. Golden, S. (2009, January 22). Annuities and Perpetuities. Retrieved on January 17, 2012, http://www.investoverse.com. John Hancock. Retrieved on January 17, 2012, from http://www.Johnhancock.com Time Value of Money. Retrieved on January 17, 2012, from http://www.investopedia.com. Vanguard. Retrieved on January 17, 2012, from http://personal.vanguard.com.

Tuesday, December 10, 2019

Contemporary Issues In Human Management †Myassignmenthelp.Com

Question: What Is The Contemporary Issues In Human Management? Answer: Introduction Google is a famous multinational technology company. The company was founded by Larry page and Sergey Brin. The company was launched in 1998. According to the reports of 2016, the company has employed around 72,053 employees. The companys headquarter is in California. Currently Sundar Pichai is the CEO of the company. The company is specialized in cloud computing, software, hardware and online advertising technologies. The reason of rapid growth of the company is the range of products and services company offers to the customers. Various services such as Gmail, Google doc, Google drive, Google sheets, Google search, Google translate, Google map, You tube, Google keep, Google photos and Google+, company provides to people. Google Companys recruitment process is very unique. The Company provides various opportunities to people who are creative, passionate and who have desire to learn new things (Vise, 2007). The report contains information about Google and its recruitment strategy. Som e challenges related to recruitment process are also depicted in the report. Key message about Google as organization The company is focusing on development of new products and services. With the help of artificial intelligence company is planning to launch new products and services in the market. When the company was founded in 1998 that time only 300 million people were using online services but now around 3 billion people are using online services. The company does not want to stay at the same position. The future plans of the company show its growth intensions. Before seven years the company was not so much popular but now many persons know about the company. The company provides supportive and open environment to its employers. The company has achieved popularity in just short period of time. Google is one of the most recognized brands in the world. The main source of revenue generation of the company is the online advertising services. In Google, people do not believe in impossible concept. People believe that everything is possible. People use creative ideas to deal with complexities. The emp loyees of the companies generate innovative ideas by focusing on general problems which people face every day. Google services are making the life of people easy. People can easily assess books, music, apps, maps and other services any time. Google wants to provide right service at right time to right person. Google is the best company in which each person wants to work because company provides various benefits to employees and customers (Insch Florek, 2008). Key messages about Google as an employer In Google, the employer hires the person who has creative skills and can contribute in organizations growth. In 2007, only 16,805 employees were working in Google but in 2016 the figure was 72,053. In Google many persons work, some persons may come from management background and some may come from engineering background. Googles employers do not select the candidates on the basis of qualification only. The employers select the candidate who has creative thoughts and can provide benefits to the company (Savoia, Copeland, 2011). In Google, the employers believe that if two persons who are exactly same in terms of job experience, demographics and age, and one person has potential to deal with challenges and other person does not like to face challenges then the employer will hire the first person because in Google the employees have to face various challenges and they have to deal with them (Everett, 2011). Today Google gets around 2 million job applications in a year but the employers select only around 4000 people. The employers want role related knowledge in the candidates. The employers search those candidates who know something about the work because expertise in work will come when employees will get training and when they will solve certain problems. For technical roles the employers search candidates from technical background. The candidate should ready to accept challenges and should ready to learn new things. The candidate should be able to tackle complex projects. The candidate should have analytical skills, technical skills, leadership skills and managerial skills (Kuntze Matulich, 2010). Google recruitment strategy In a Google recruitment video it is shown that the employers provide very supportive environment to employees. Employees are given tasks and the supervisors help the employees to understand and manage the task. The employers explain role related information to the employees. In the training period the management provides training to each employee. The employers greet each candidate and make them comfortable. The company wants the candidate who is not only good for present but also beneficial for future. The company attracts right talent by providing amazing environment to employees. The working environment of the company is very healthy as the there are no so much limitations (Davenport, Harris Shapiro, 2010). In Google, employees can enjoy their work life. To increase creativity in employees, brainstorming methods are also used. The management provides motivation to employees to give creative ideas. Company provides various opportunities to employees for career development. They pr epare employees to deal with problems. The core values of Google are good environment, innovation, business ethics and care for community. Employees can get best work culture in Google. Google uses motivational theory of human resource management to attract right talents. Abraham Maslow gave the theory of motivation to motivate individuals. According to Maslow, human beings have different needs and people are motivated by those needs. Major human needs are psychological needs, safety needs, social needs, esteem needs and self-actualization needs (Deery, 2008). Psychological needs include basic needs like the needs of food and water. The employees must have enough money to purchase food and water. Safety needs means the employees want to work in a safe environment. People do not want to do dangerous jobs. Social needs means people want to get good environment where they can enjoy work and they spend time with good friends. If an employee feels isolated then he or she will not like to work in the organization. People are motivated when they get freedom and independence. People like to get respect, recognition, importance, attention and appreciation (Becker Bradley, 2007). People like to work at the place where they can get all things. If employees feel that their efforts are not valued at the company then they search other companies because it is intrinsic need of humans that they want to get appreciation for their efforts. Self-actualization needs mean each person wants to get something in his or her life and the person makes efforts to achieve it. People are motivated when their final desire is satisfied (Christensen Hughes Rog, 2008). Motivation works as positive force that provides right direction to people. People get attracted when they think that there needs can be satisfied by the company. From the video it can be analyzed that Google Company is focusing on each need. The company is providing various facilities to its employees. Google Company is also providing safe and friendly environment to employees. Company also provides growth opportunities to employees so that employees can make good career in the company. Challenges in recruitment process Companies may face various challenges in recruitment process. Some major challenges are mentioned in the given paragraph. Sourcing talent is the major challenge companies like Google can face. In the current market many persons are looking for good job opportunities. In the market talented and skilled persons are also looking for a good platform (Bakker Demerouti, 2007). The companies may face difficulty in searching talented persons. The human resource managers use limited source to find capable and talented persons for the job position. The competition is rising rapidly. All companies want talented people who can give more benefits to them. All companies are using similar sources to find persons and a person likes to work with the company where he or she can get maximum benefits so it becomes difficult for the company to differentiate itself from its competitors (Townsend, 2007). Many employers believe that finding a talent person is like searching a needle in the dark room. Scree ning process is also a complex task. It is not easy to search talent persons from large pool of applicants. The employers also have to consider various points like candidates capability, creative skills, risk taking capability and analytical skills for selecting a candidate (Bhatnagar, 2007). Conclusion Google is a popular company. Basic information about the company and its products and services are given in the report. In the report key messages about Google as a company and as an employer are presented. The recruitment strategy of Google is also described. Google hires only those persons who can handle many things and who can give creative ideas to handle complex tasks. The employers hire those candidates who have role related knowledge and who can handle different situations. The employers do not select the candidates on the basis of their grades. They check the ability and capability of the candidate. Company provides supporting environment to all employees. Some challenges that companies like Google would face in recruitment process are also elaborated References Bakker, A. B., Demerouti, E. (2007). The job demands-resources model: State of the art, Journal Of Managerial Psychology, 22(3), 309-328. Becker, P. H., Bradley, J. S. (2007). The role of intrinsic factors for the recruitment process in long-lived birds, Journal Of Ornithology, 148(2), 377-384. Bhatnagar, J. (2007). Talent management strategy of employee engagement in Indian ITES employees: key to retention, Employee Relations, 29(6), 640-663. Christensen Hughes, J., Rog, E. (2008). Talent management: A strategy for improving employee recruitment, retention and engagement within hospitality organizations, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 20(7), 743-757. Davenport, T. H., Harris, J., Shapiro, J. (2010). Competing on talent analytics, Harvard Business Review, 88(10), 52-58. Deery, M. (2008). Talent management, work-life balance and retention strategies, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 20(7), 792-806. Everett, A. (2011). Benefits and Challenges of Fun in the Workplace, Library Leadership Management, 25(1). Insch, A., Florek, M. (2008). A great place to live, work and play: Conceptualising place satisfaction in the case of a city's residents, Journal Of Place Management And Development, 1(2), 138-149. Kuntze, R., Matulich, E. (2010). Google: Searching for value, Journal Of Case Research In Business And Economics, 2, 1. Savoia, A., Copeland, P. (2011). Entrepreneurial innovation at Google, Computer, 44(4), 56-61. Townsend, K. (2007). Recruitment, training and turnover: another call centre paradox, Personnel Review, 36(3), 476-490. Vise, D. (2007). The google story, Strategic Directi

Tuesday, December 3, 2019

Taller psicoanalisis Essays - , Term Papers

1886Naci en Morabai Australia 1860Se estableci en Viena 1881Viajo a Paris Trabajo con Charco en Salpitriere Estudio de la Histeria Hipnosis como terapia 1886Se caso Abra una clnica privada (Jung,Adann,Brever) Comenz a centrar las bases del psicoanlisis 1896Elaboro las bases del mtodo psicoanaltico 1900Fue designado profesor en la Universidad de Viena Emprende su famoso anlisis del caso Dora 1908En Salzburgo Alemania presenta el primer congreso Mundial del Psicoanlisis 1909Baja a EE.UU juntos a sus colaboradores Jung Fundo la sociedad internacional del psicoanlisis 1925Autobiografa Historia del movimiento psicoanaltico 1926Inhibicin Sntomas y angustia 1927El malestar e la cultura El provenir de una ilusin 1932Nuevas conferencias sobre el psicoanlisis 1937Anlisis terminable e interminable 1939Moises y la religin Monoteista Muri en Londres Modelo gentico Fase oral 1 aoFase anal 2-3 aosFase flica 3-5 aos El libido se centra en placeres Funciones: comer,morderse,llevarse objetos a la boca El libido se centra en la regin anal, el centro de gratificacin es la zona anal y las actividades de retencin y expulsin de eses Se centra en la zona ergena de los genitales y especialmente en el Se produce hbitos masturbatorios e inters por las relaciones erticas de los Padres Complejo de Edipo Desempea un papel fundamental en al personalidad y en la orientacin del deseo humano Forma +Forma - Rival personaje del mismo sexo y amor al sexo opuestoRival al sexo opuesto y amor al mismo sexo ConcientePreconcienteInconciente Yo ControlaSuper yo Valores y entorno Suma de ambos Id Impulsos + - Biolgicos, instintos PSICOANALISIS Es una teora sobre el funcionamiento psquico humano Modelo de FREUD

Wednesday, November 27, 2019

South Africa Essays (1353 words) - Afrikaner People,

South Africa Police In South Africa In the old South Africa before 1994 the police officers job was to squash subversion and his main obstacle was that most people hated him. Today after the 1994 years election the South African police force main job is to stop the growing crime rate. Which seems impossible for them to manage. The police officers main hurdle is his own lack of modern policing skills. Many policemen are barely literate, and are no good at the administrative tasks on which they spend seventy percent of their time. South Africa's murder rate is eight times that of the United States, and figures released on December 7th, 1999 showed steady increases in the other 18 of the 20 most serious categories of offence (The Economist January 22nd 2000). According to data released by the police, only one in every seven murders reported ends in conviction; and only one in 50 car hijacking result in a conviction (Business Day, 14 January 1999). School children can today in South Africa get hold of guns more easily than pencils. There are nine million legal guns and estimated to be three to four million illegal guns in circulation. Some hospitals now treat more bullet wounds than traffic injuries. Almost 18,000 new gun licenses are granted each month, and many believe that a firearm is their best defense. Guns themselves are often target for robbers; most of the 225 policemen killed in South Africa last year were murdered for their weapons (The Economist February 27th 1999) Corruption - Governance South African government official policy has been to downsize the government and make it more racially representative. The South African government tried to achieve this goal by offering generous severance packages to white public servants and then did not fill their vacancies. By early 1998 24,000 individual packages had been granted to white (After Mandela, The 1999 South African Elections, pg 15). This policy backfired on the South African Government since most of the people taking the packages were more experienced and competent public officials the public service could not afford to lose. Men and women who have been taken literally from the bush and without previous training, and they have been asked to run the governments. There are too many civil servants, and they often do not like each other. Some public servants claim multiple salaries and pensions, and the honest ones are often not paid for months because there is no money left. The South African government needs to focus on the core issues, job creation, crime, housing and education and try to solve these problems. Aids Nearly 13 % of South Africans in the ages of 20 - 64 are infected with HIV. Between 6 - 10 million South Africans are likely to die of AIDS in the next ten years (The Economist May 27th 2000). South Africa has failed to promote a safe sex campaign effectively. More than 1,500 South Africans a day are infected with HIV. Uganda, who has fewer resources than South Africa, reduced HIV frequency by half by their successful anti-aids campaign with use of education as the main method. Mr. Mbeki should use the Uganda method and urge people to sleep around less and use condom more. There was almost no sex education at all in South African schools for a long time, and is only in the last couple of years it has dramatically increased. South Africa should focus their efforts on the young; most children under the age of 15 do not have sex yet and are not infected, those are the once to reach. And it did not help that Mr. Mbeki for a long time took advise from scientist that argued that HIV did not cause AIDS. Mr. Mbeki finally has come to his right mind and believes that HIV does indeed cause AIDS. South Africa, with its advanced industries has started to suffer a shortage of skilled manpower because of AIDS. Companies have started to inform and raise awareness of AIDS among their workers because the companies cannot afford to lose any more manpower. Democratizing In the early 1980s the South African president P. W. Botha started to initiate a process of the South African political system. President Botha legalized for example black

Saturday, November 23, 2019

International Economics Definition

International Economics Definition What exactly international economics is and what it covers tend to depend on the views of the person using the definition. Roughly speaking, it covers economic interactions between countries such as international trade. More precisely, international economics is the field of study that deals with trade between countries. Topics in the Field of International Economics The following topics are a sample of those considered in the field of international economics: Exchange rates and flows of money between countries Free trade and trade disputes, such as the softwood lumber dispute Immigration and migration between countriesThe role regulations and shipping costs play on trade flowsHow differences in tax regimes influence a companys decisions on which countries to operate in International Economics - One Perspective The book International Economics: Global Markets and International Competition gives the following definition: International economics describes and predicts production, trade, and investment across countries. Wages and income rise and fall with international commerce even in large rich developed economies like the US. In many countries, international economics is a matter of life and death. Economics as a field began in England in the 1700s with a debate over issues of free international commerce, and the debate continues. Domestic industries pay politicians for protection against foreign competition. Institute for International Economics' Definition The Institute for International Economics examines a number of hot topics in international economics, such as outsourcing, US steel policy, the Chinese exchange rate, and trade and labor standards. International economists study questions such as How do sanctions on Iraq impact the lives of the common citizen in the country?, Do floating exchange rates cause financial instability?, and Does globalization lead to an erosion of labor standards?. Needless to say, international economists deal with some of the more controversial topics in economics.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Research report explainin a recent innovation in your area of intrest Paper

Report explainin a recent innovation in your area of intrest or expertise - Research Paper Example Google provided the platform of using android in cell phone (Jackson 6). The top ten android phone available in India are LG-G3 , Sony Xperia Z3 , HTC One M8 , Motorola Moto X , HTC One E8 , Sony Xperia Z3 (compact) , Samsung galaxy S5 , LG Nexus 5 , Oppo Find 7a , Xiaomi Mi3. Android mobile phones are the most powerful and the only big competitor of apple I phone. Android have become so powerful that it provides the customers to customize the operating system as per their requirement. The android phones are tested and checked by the digital test laboratory before it is introduced in the market. Android has undergone a lot of improvement and several updates were done to improve the operating system. It has also included new additional, features for its customers. HTC has joined hands with Google to launch the first nexus smart phones in collaboration with Google. Google have considered or announced Nexus and smart phones as their flagship product. Android possess the ability to run the operating system which leads to the changes in the default launcher. Android has facilitated the user for quick downloading, installing, removing and updating the applications from his/ her own devices (Murphy 35). Android has become a part of our life, since it operates on battery. Android is designed in such a way so that the consumption of power will be minimal. When working on the android is stopped, the operation cannot be performed but the application is open. Android has the quality of managing, storing and maintaining the memory automatically even when the memory of the device is less. It will automatically delete or remove the applications that are used rarely and it helps the user to maintain all the data automatically, sometimes the valuable application may get deleted. Open Handset Alliance is the main development and beneficial for the developers of android. Open Handset alliance allows or facilities the developer to spread

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Slve trades and industrial revolution Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Slve trades and industrial revolution - Essay Example A farmer who produced for his family did not require a market but when the extra pig or eggs were taken to the local market to sell in exchange of coin, a market system came into existence. This coin was used to buy cloth for the family. The capital was now better employed because it could produce something. The market started penetrating material life, the peasant started having an income with which to buy goods, and the labor and land became subject to the market process. The capitalist could then hire labor and rent the land in order to reduce costs by operating on a larger scale than just for the family. The organization of capital changed but the people are not capitalists. Everyone is a worker or a small business man producing commodities. Small businesses sell their services or their produce in exchange for some money while the capitalist starts by borrowing money to produce a commodity and sell it for money. This requires input of labor, raw material and other inputs and the intention is profit. This is the social surplus, the new form that the capital took since 1400. The Atlantic slave trade that started as a trickle in 1440s grew gradually through 17th century. By 1780 an average of 80000 African slaves arrived on American shores (MSN, 2006). Slaves were the greatest exports at one point of time. The plantation slavery in the Americas and the Atlantic slave trade became important to the global expansion of capitalism. When technology was introduced in farming labor became surplus in Europe but emerging capitalism financed explorations in Africa, Asia and the western hemisphere. New World Gold led to even more rapid European expansion. As the capitalists started viewing the New World as a potential for agricultural productions, the need for labor expanded. This led to the exploitation of slave labor. The vast majority of slaves transported to America worked on agricultural plantations. The Atlantic slave trade gained

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Increasing Taxes on Alcohol and Cigarettes Essay Example for Free

Increasing Taxes on Alcohol and Cigarettes Essay †¢Ã¢â‚¬Å"Sin taxes† on cigarettes and alcohol are designed to boost revenue, not improve public health †¢Minimum alcohol pricing will exacerbate poverty and entrench inequality without discouraging binge drinking †¢Most of the costs of drinking and smoking fall on individual consumers, not the public. There is no economic justification for increasing taxes on smokers and drinkers. In a report released today, The Wages of Sin Taxes (Download PDF) by Christopher Snowdon, the Adam Smith Institute condemns the government’s decision to increase taxes on cigarettes and alcohol this year and to introduce minimum alcohol pricing. The report argues that ‘sin taxes’ (taxes on commodities seen as harmful to health) are ineffective in reducing consumption and are not necessary for recouping lost revenue. The taxes are highly regressive and force the poor to pay for the government’s mishandling of public finances. The taxes don’t work Cigarette taxes are now so high that increases drive smokers to the black market instead of discouraging consumption or raising more revenue. Sin taxes are more likely to deter moderate users than heavy users, whose demand for cigarettes and alcohol is relatively inelastic. A heavy smoker or an alcoholic is unlikely to reduce consumption because of a price rise, making sin taxes an unreliable way of reducing consumption or improving public health. The victims of cigarette and alcohol duty Sin taxes hit moderate and heavy users alike. Research has shown that previous rises in cigarette tax have made only 2.3% of smokers quit, with the other 97.7% just paying more in tax. Taxes on cigarettes and alcohol are regressive and hit the poor hardest. The average smoker spends  £1660 a year on cigarettes – 20% of the bottom 10%’s income. Sin taxes are the most regressive indirect taxes, as they tend to target products that are disproportionately consumed by the poor. Minimum alcohol pricing is also deeply regressive, only affecting the cheaper drinks consumed by the poor. Punishing poor people for enjoying a drink or a cigarette exacerbates poverty and treats the poor like children who need to be controlled by the state. The public cost of smoking and drinking Taxes on cigarettes and alcohol have often been justified by studies that claim to estimate the â€Å"social cost† of these vices. These studies include intangible costs borne by individual consumers, such as â€Å"emotional distress†, lost years of life, and individual expenditures on cigarettes and alcohol. These are personal costs, not social costs. They also fail to include the economic benefits the alcohol and cigarette industry gives to the UK in terms of employment and government revenue. Most of these studies should be relegated to the bin of junk statistics. In fact, smokers and heavy drinkers do not cost the state more. Though smokers may cost more during their working lives, but non-smokers require greater expenditure in pensions, nursing care and welfare payments. Chronic diseases associated with old age are far more expensive than the lethal diseases associated with smoking and alcoholism. Smokers and drinkers are not a burden on the state, and the myth of saints subsidising sinners should not be used to justify tax rises. The appeal of ‘sin taxes’ Despite the fact they hurt the poor and do not change consumer consumption, sin taxes have always been popular with governments as a source of revenue. Sin taxes and minimum alcohol pricing should be recognised for what they really are stealth taxes and paternalism designed to control the poor. Chris Snowdon, author of the report and Adam Smith Institute fellow, says: â€Å"Campaigners for sin taxes and minimum pricing often claim that â€Å"healthy citizens† are forced to bear the cost of other people’s lifestyles. In fact, the evidence shows that smokers take less from the communal pot than the average Briton and the money raised from alcohol duty comfortably pays for any burden drinking places on public services. If the aim of policy is to make individuals pay their way, the government should slash the beer tax and subsidise cigarettes. We are not seriously suggesting the government does this, but if politicians insist on increasing taxes on these products, they sh ould admit that the purpose is to raise revenue. Essentially the government is forcing the people who are least likely to live to extreme old age to pay for the escalating costs of an ageing population.

Friday, November 15, 2019

The Twin Track Approach In Sports Physical Education Essay

The Twin Track Approach In Sports Physical Education Essay With the profile of sport in England so high, and in light of the successful Olympic bid for 2012, the opportunity for participation in sport in this country has risen dramatically. The government recognises this opportunity and has always tried to link its self to sporting success, to help promote patriotism, social values and education. The game plan is a strategy for delivering the governments sport and physical activity objects. With the government setting an ambitious task of: increasing sport and physical activity. With the target of achieving 70% of the population participating in 30 minutes of moderate exercise, five times per week. (Sport development.info Oct 2009) The twin track approach in this country is designed to increase the number of people participating in sport on a regular basis. The assumption being that more people participating means the need for more modern facilities, with better coaches which will lead to more medals at elite levels and the country hosting more mega events. This report will show how the national governing body of gymnastics is tackling the challenge that the government has set them at grass-roots and elite levels of performance, as well as hosting mega events. British gymnastics British gymnastics is the UK governing body for gymnastics it is dedicated to developing levels and quality across a range of discipline. British gymnastics is a non profit organisation. Hundreds of thousands of young gymnasts enjoy the sport in school, recreational sessions at leisure centres and at British gymnastic registered clubs that complete the path way from beginner to Olympian. British gymnastics works along side, English gymnastics, sport England, sport UK, lottery funded and many more. (British gymnastics Oct 2009) Grass roots Gymnastics is a foundation sport, this is because it develops, speed, co-ordination, balance and agility. These physical qualities are inherent in most sports, for this reason all British children would benefit from this and most do in their first eight years. Participating in gymnastics from an early age, will acquire physical literacy, which is the foundation for a lifelong participation in physical activity and for a successful performance at elite level of sport. (Gymnastics England Oct 2009) National school games The new key stage 1 and 2 competitions, incorporates body management, floor and vault exercises to develop a young persons core skills. This not only strengthens the first tier of the gymnastics pathways but also: encourages partnerships to engage in gymnastics, strengthens school club links, encourages talent identification, standardises competition in schools, encourages an appropriate competitive environment is set, ensures an increase in the number of children accessing gymnastic competitions, provides a foundation for other sports, nurtures each young persons confidence to continue with an active life style. England gymnastics is working towards creating a single structure for gymnastic competitions in schools. England gymnastics have created an accessible standardised local gymnastic competition for beginners. The programme aims to provide safe enjoyment that will improve learning and lead to a lifelong participation in physical activity. (England gymnastics Nov 2009) The UK school games The UK school games is used to bring a change in the content, structure and presentation of competitive sporting opportunities for young people whilst promoting the work underway in each home nation to improve sport and physical education. The show case opportunity provided by this event offers opportunity to promote and secure change within existing competitive structures. It is used to involve more young people in volunteering in sport, create first class child protection and for identifying young sporting talent. Gymnasts competing in the games have developed through the talent development programmes and will hope to go on to represent their country at international level. The British gymnastics association is working with the schools association to implement national school completion framework to establish development pathways. (Gymnastics England Oct 2009) Schools that register with the British Gymnastic Association (BGA) are allowed to register their details and record levels and nature of participation in gymnastics in a school setting. Registration is free and schools receive the following benefits, e-news featuring profiles of gymnasts, expert ideas for warm ups, competition and judging advice, case studies, and success stories from other schools. Information about: professional development. Free preview resources. Access to: British gymnastics recourses. (British gymnastics Oct 2009) Government announces grassroots grants 2008 Grass root grants aim to make a real difference by working with small local community groups, with an annual income below  £20,000 this could be for new kit, coaching new volunteers, or simply just a lick of paint in the sports hall. Local regional and national businesses are invited through investing in the schemes innovative endowment match challenge, the first of its kind in England. The government has set aside a pot of  £50 million from which it will match endowment investments from businesses, this offers businesses the chance to support and contribute in the communities they operate. (British gymnastics Oct 2009) A commitment to sport The present government has been committed to the development of sport in school since 2000. The launch of the strategy a sporting future for all in 2000 included the following provision, funding for primary schools to provide facilities for pupils and the wider community, the establishment by 2003 of 110 specialist sports colleges, the appointment of 600 sports school co-ordinators and the development of more after school sport provision. Further allocations in funding in 2002 were followed in 2004 by an announcement that a further  £500 million was to invest in school sport for, the completion of the network 400 sports colleges, improving the quality of coaching provision, improving links between schools and sports clubs and training and developing PE/sports teachers skills. (Teaching experience Oct 2009) Development British gymnastics provides British gymnastics registered clubs with information to support their development. It identifies key areas that can help strengthen the club structure and philosophy programmes that can ensure the best environment is available for the gymnasts. (British gymnastics Nov 2009) Gym mark The introduction of sport Englands club mark has encouraged British gymnastics to adopt its own criteria to enable gymnastics clubs to work towards nationally recognised accreditation. Gym mark is British gymnastics club accreditation scheme that recognises a quality club. Gym mark addresses issues such as equality and child protection, which gives confidence to parents choosing a club for their children. Gym mark provides an excellent template for continuing club development, especially its junior structure. Gym mark also gives help and advice in developing skills for everyone including coaches, officials and volunteers. Clubs will be listed with relevant sports directory which will help attract new members and raise clubs profile. (British gymnastics Oct 2009) Coaching British gymnastics has a coach education programme in place to ensure enough fully qualified coaches provide the highest quality of coaching at all levels from grass roots to elite gymnasts to realise their full potential. British gymnastics is approved by the qualification and curriculum authority (QCA) as an awarding body for official gymnastic qualifications in the UK. (British gymnastics Oct 2009) English gymnastics has just been awarded a three year grant of  £2.14 million from Sport England to provide high quality coaches in its clubs throughout England. Clubs and other regional associations have come together and raised  £1.8 million to match the funding and maximise the benefits of the programme. (English gymnastics Nov 2009) Surveys Between March and May this year 45 funded sports including gymnastics were surveyed to measure levels of satisfaction in the individual sport. Over the next four years Sport England will be working with these sports to help improve quality of sporting provision to people in England. (Sport England Oct 2009) Gymnastics and movement for people with disabilities Gymnastics for people with disabilities is an adaptation of main stream gymnastics covering all aspects and can be recreational or lead to competitive opportunities; British gymnastics have been developing a programme for disabled gymnasts starting with motor skills for those with more severe mobility problems, and leading on to a foundation programme for the more able gymnasts. The disability groups can be split into four major areas; learning, physical, hearing and visual impairment. Currently a motor activity programme is being developed which will provide a frame work through which even the most profoundly disabled gymnasts can participate. A competitive programme has been established in artistic, tramp lining, rhythmic, acrobatic and aerobic gymnastics. (English gymnastics Nov 2009) Mega events With the government saying that hosting mega events, will heighten the profile of the sport, which in turn will increase participation, which will lead to better athletes and more medals. Britain has already got the 2012 Olympics, but in October 2009 the artistic world gymnastics championships were held in London for the first time, the championships brought together elite gymnasts from China, France, Korea, Croatia, Japan, USA, Romania, Poland, Spain, Germany, Ukraine, Great Britain, and many more counties, (world gymnastics 2009) The event was a great success for team GB as Beth Tweddle just four days after falling from her favoured uneven bars, won gold on the floor, having become Britains first ever world champion in 2006 on the un even bars Tweddle, became only the 5th woman in history to claim world titles in both events. Beth said I had to prove to myself that I was one of the best on the floor, it is the best feeling in the world. (Daily mail web site 2009) Winning medals Olympic and paralympic sport has come a long way in recent times, it typically takes athletes around eight years to reach their peak once their talent has been identified and nurtured, this involves lots of support from coaches, doctors to bio-chemists. Nothing is left to chance from the food they eat to the kit and apparatus they use. UK sport is dedicated to the delivery of medal success at the worlds biggest events, mainly the Olympic and paralympic games. They are set to invest  £10 million in the next four years in gymnastics to help gymnasts get the best coaching, kit and equipment available. (UK sport) Plans for success After winning 5 medals at the European artistic championships, British gymnastics plans to step up things for success at London 2012, by further developing sport, science and medical services within their elite programme. Louise Fawcett will join the English Institute of sport as head of sport, science and medicine for British gymnastics, co-ordinating support services for the world class funded Olympic performance programme. Fawcett says having worked with high performance sport for many years, having the opportunities to co-ordinate support services for such an exciting Olympic sport is a great challenge. (British gymnastics Nov 2009) Summary With the 2012 Olympics round the corner, and the success of the world artistic championships, the profile of gymnastics in England will never have been so high, thousands of young gymnasts at their local clubs will be hoping that they can go on and become the next Beth Tweddle or Daniel Keating. Schools are doing there up most to ensure that everyone takes part both on a recreational and elite level. Now British gymnastics has introduced its disabled classes it means that everyone can take part. British gymnastics working alongside English gymnastics and sport England means the future of our counties gymnasts is very bright, and with the  £10 million pound being invested in our gymnasts of the next four years the chance of more medal success has never been so great.

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Personal Strategy Card Essay

B. Carefully describe the degree to which you use each of your Learning Patterns. (Refer to the Personal Learning Profile you developed for your Week Two assignment and any feedback provided by your instructor to determine if you need to refine your responses as you complete this section.) Sequence: Sequence is something I did not realize that I use on a daily basis and how important it is to my daily life. When at work I would be lost and confused with out my daily checklist that I have set up to start my day. I tried to step out of my normal daily routine and checklist and became frustrated with the start of my day and was lost for most of the day. I can understand how this is a use as needed as I do not like to follow directions for a task. I sometimes feel that my idea or my schedule is better for a issue or given task. â€Å"What do you mean I have to follow these directions?† (Intentional Learning for College Success Page 82 Table 2.1: Sequence Pattern) Is something I ask myself on many different tasks and assignments, â€Å"I can do this my way and still get the job done.† Precision: I love knowledge; more knowledge makes me feel like I am a God.  With work, personal life and schooling, I memorize everything I can get my hands on to use at a later time within conversation and everyday life. My husband and I will talk about fundraiser ideas within our company for up coming events. I will question him is every aspect of the idea and leave no stone unturned in the idea. Within this class I know why he gets frustrated when I question or challenge the idea as his use of precision is avoid manor. Technical Reasoning: As a kid growing up I was always curious on how things worked and why they work. Growing up I was fascinated with how automatic door openers work. What causes the door to open? Is it the mat in front of the door? I took the door apart in my mind and look at all the parts of the door. By the end I figured out what the internal working was and felt very accomplished when I found out after dissecting the door in my mind. This course has shown me that I do this not only with real world items but with in statements, questions and things that I read. As in the same of taking apart the door in my mind to see how it works, I see now that I take apart what I see to find the mean, the purpose and the thought of the person that is making the statement. I feel that this works very well with my Use Frist Precision the need and the want to gather knowledge for every thing I do. Confluence: Confluence is an LCI that I use as needed. I understand why this as needed as I try to always see the big picture and I think outside the box in every task and conversations that I have but, I know I do not like when a topic or task dose not have a clear goals. I can remember a school assignment in middle school for history that required me to think out side the box. The issues with the project the assignment came when after a week of working on the project the instructions to what we where to complete changed the a few days later the deadline for the project changed. When this happened I felt I had lost control of the project and be overwhelmed with what I was doing. I did manage to keep my thought on the project. C. Identify all verbs and specific terms from the assignment instructions and describe how each Learning Pattern will be used to effectively complete the Week 5 assignment. (Critically review the Final Reflection assignment in Week Five and decode it.) Sequence: With week 5 assignment sequence is most used in paragraph 1. With instructions of review the explanations given in the textbook and compare. This instruction will require me to collect the explanations and organize the information in a readable sequence. Precision: Precision is seen in almost all of the paragraphs. With describe, identify and explain being seen a lot in the final writing assignment, this is requiring me to be on track and stick to the facts of the question that is being asked. Technical Reasoning: For Technical Reasoning of the writing assignment paragraph 4 is using verbs as, â€Å" how will you use.† This to me in the writing assignment will make me show how I plan on demonstrate my FIT patters to become a successful student at Ashford. Confluence: Confluence is something I do not see in as part of the writing assignment. I did not see any instructions that would require me to take a risk or improvise and part of the writing assignment. With the last assignment I am going to have to use confluence to brainstorm to ensure that I will pass the assignment with the best possible grade. D. Explain how you will Forge, Intensify, or Tether (FIT) your Learning Patterns to implement personal strategies so you can complete the Week Five assignment efficiently and effectively. (If you do not need to FIT a Pattern, include a description of the strategies you naturally use which help you to be successful on these types of tasks.) Sequence: With sequence I am going to intensify this learning patter to better plan my writing assignment and give myself a better feeling that I understand the instructions that are required for the last assignment. This will provide me with the best possible outcome no to get off track and to stay with in my schedule. Precision: Precision is a Use First within my learning patterns. I believe  that if I can tether my precision with sequence these will strengthen my ability to remain organized with the assignment. Also tethering my confluence with my precision will allow for ideas to come forward and not be afraid to use within the assignment. Technical Reasoning: I do not see the need of the technical reasoning for the last writing assignment. With the writing assignment I like to crate a brake down of the assignment to ensure with in the writing program. This helps me to better see what I am writing. Confluence: Confluence is something I am going to intensify with this writing assignment. To lessen the fear of the final writing assignment and also allow for me to let me brainstorm the idea that I have into the writing assignment.

Sunday, November 10, 2019

Levi’s Dockers †creating a sub-brand Essay

Qn 1) Explain what is Levi’s brand image and what makes up its brand equity. In this regard, assess the role of its flagship 501 jeans product. (40 marks) Brand image can be defined as perceptions about a brand as reflected by the brand associations held in consumer memory. It is basically what exists in the mind of consumers, total of all the information they have received about the brand from experience, word of mouth, advertising, packaging, services etc. And the information is modified by selective perception, previous beliefs, and social norms. The brand image perceived by consumers of Levi’s products includes durable, comfortable, approachable, affordable, contemporary, individuality, independence, casual, fashionable and adventurous, when it became an indispensable part of miner’s uniform and gain reputation for being as tough and rugged as the people who wore them. It is also comfortable enough to fit into the workers everyday lives both in physical and social sense. Its affordability was also adored by students and miners. It has also become an essential commodity available to defense worker during WWII. It portrays individuality, fashionable, independence when students and teenage idol wear 501 as a form of self expression and has become the essential fashion for the emerging baby boomers where it has transforms from a pair of tough pants to a symbol of freedom, adventure and independence. Most importantly, Levi’s 501 jeans had become an icon and its brand name had become synonymous with jeans where people tend to associate jeans whenever they saw the Levi’s logo. It had successfully been made known to millions of Americans and had established its brand image in the hearts of every consumer. Brand equity was defines as â€Å"the value of a brand based on the extent to which it has high brand loyalty, name awareness, perceived quality, strong brand associations, and other assets such as patents, trademarks, and channel relationships.† THE GALLUP BRAND EQUITY MEASUREMENT MODEL Based on Gallup Brand equity measurement model, the components of Brand Equity are the integration of several interrelated key brand characteristics: They are: Brand Presence is the degree to which the brand â€Å"stands out† from its competition. Levi’s have managed to claim familiarity and hence have become synonymous with jeans. The success of Levi’s 501 jeans has become an icon and this mark the market leader position for Levi’s. Levi’s brand established brand awareness by inventing the first patented double arcuate pattern sewn into the back hip pocket which became American’s first apparel trademark and the â€Å"Two Horse Brand† leather patch which act as the symbol & logo to enable consumers to recall and recognise & associate jeans with Levi’s Brand. Brand Position is the degree to which the brand is uniquely positioned and perceptually differentiated from its competitors and Levi’s brand personality is driven largely by the firm’s heritage of providing clothes for miners, by the brand attributes and used contexts of western cowboy. Levi’s brand positioning can be derived from the combination of the brand’s personality and values and its rational associations. Levi’s personality composes of several characteristics or values with emotional associations, which are defined as Original, Masculine, Sexy, Youthful, Rebellious, Rugged, Authentic, American, Individual and Freedom. Brand Experience is the degree to which customers have had positive or negative experiences with brand purchase and use. Customer satisfaction can be seen throughout the 1900s where sales of Levi’s 501 jeans grew and became the essential commodity available primarily to defense workers. This reflects a very high satisfaction of the product based on the extent of its usage and attention drawn which can be seen here when  an individual owns about 2.5 pairs of jeans. Brand Value is the degree to which the brand adds perceived value to a product or service, and or to a range of proposed product offerings. Levi’s brand value is perceived when it extended to Levi’s Dockers which proved to be a success. Brand Loyalty is the degree to which the brand is preferred and selected over its competitors. Basically, in the initial stage of launching Levi’s jeans, there were no alternative products and competitors, which explain why the purchasing behaviour is very strong throughout the 1900s. Thus, Levi’s actually enjoyed the prestige of gaining 100% customer loyalty, with also the help of the above components of brand equity which contributed to its success. The role of Levi’s flagship 501 jeans actually led to the line extension of more new products. And the success of 501 lead to the formation of subsidiary and globalization of Levi’s worldwide. Levi’s 501 jeans were able to sustain as the top selling jeans till 1979 which contributed to the success. Contradictorily, due to the over whelming success of Levi’s 501 jeans, the company became over diversified and this led to a shift from the core product which eventually led to a slump in the sales of 501 jeans. Realising their blunder, Levi’s decided to shift their focus back to 501 jeans and the success of 501 Blues jeans ad campaign had manage to reinvigorate the brand. Following the success of 501 Blues jeans, Levi’s was able to penetrate into another market segment and this led to the birth of Levi’s Dockers. 2) Critically assess Levi’s branding strategy in general. (30 marks) The branding strategy for a firm reflects the number and nature of common & distinctive brand elements applied to the different products sold by the firm. Brand strategy involves deciding which brand elements will be applied to which products and the nature of new and existing brand elements to be applied to new products. The branding strategy adopted by Levi’s include line extension strategy, brand extension strategy, diversification and marketing strategy. In 1873, the first jeans was sold and by 1890s, Levi’s adopted a new inventory system and the name Levi’s 501 jeans were born. From the late 1940s through the early 1960s, Levi’s Strauss had virtually no competition. Gradually, the Levi’s brand was recognized as the post-war standard jeans. In the mid 1960s, Levi’s Strauss expanded its distribution internationally and by end of 1960s, LS & Co. launched their first growth beyond their core category of blue denim and ventured into a wide variety of new apparels which included cords, slacks and sportswear for men, as well as a range of apparel for woman and children. To necessitate its rapid expansion, an initial public offering was launched in 1971. And in the early 1980s, LS & Co. adopted diversification in its brand stretching strategy where it expand beyond the core jeans lines to utilize the Levi’s name on non-jeans where new product lines was introduced. These covered a wide range of family clothing needs, denim and corduroy jeans for men, women and children. Action suits and tailored classic blazers, slacks and activewear. At first, the new accessions gave Levi’s momentum, but the business climate quickly change and Levi’s was not structured to compete in the fast-paced and unforgiving fashion apparel business. Eventually, this new product line proved to be a flop resulting in a serious slump in the sales which caused a negative impact on Levi’s. The shift in focus on image rather than keeping the product contemporary was  the key reason for Levi’s decline. And the various reasons contributing to the failure of the line extension could be due to the various non-jeans products being launched to the market which could have act as a competitive threat to the 501 jeans and at the same time diluted the sales of the core products. Secondly, the various product bearing the Levi’s brand could have also led to confusion to the consumer which led to the lost of focus of Levi’s core product as multiple product lines were often promoted in one commercial which add on to more confusion. Thirdly, the establishment of numerous licensing agreements which led to Levi’s restricted distribution policy further eliminated market share opportunities thus leading to decline in sales. As a result of vigorous diversification and acquisition strategy, LS & Co. own apparel business that offered products to suit almost any style. Thus, with too much products on hand, Levi’s begin to lose their concentration on its flagship product. Another reason could be due to the non performance of the non-jeans lines, the failure to recognize the shift in the marketplace dynamics, Levi’s management was completely unprepared for competitive threats when competition attacked their market share from every direction. The slump in sales was also due to failure to keep pace with changes on the jeans market. In late 1984, Levi’s shifted focus back to core product business, reinvigorate the company’s core product, discontinue distribution expansion of non-jeans products and licensing agreement, rebuild retail relations and reemphasize its basic jeans and corduroy lines. To revitalise its flagship product, Levi’s launch new designs target at specific customer segments with the support of aggressive promotion and advertising, upgrade its retail presentation and enhance partnership with retail customer. They also improve operations by implementing a demand driven supply chain to better manage inventory and retail relationships. The success of the 501 jeans campaign was critical as it was the centrepiece of â€Å"back to basics† strategy which manage to reinvigorated jeans sales and brought back the brand’s core value. With the success of 501 Blues, Levi’s adopted brand extension strategy and branched out to introduce Levi’s Dockers in 1986 where diversification was built on the trend to smart office wear. It was a good move to avoid the saturation point which might be rapidly approaching for the mainstream brand. In addition to that, Levi’s also pioneered on the concept of â€Å"casual Friday† and had since managed to establish a leadership position in casual fashion. 3) Evaluate the Levi’s Dockers communications strategy. (30 marks) Marketing communications being the final and most flexible element of the marketing mix are the means by which firms attempt to inform, persuade and remind consumers directly or indirectly about the brands that they sell. In a sense, marketing communications represent the â€Å"voice† of the brand and are a means by which it can establish a dialogue and build relationships with consumers. Marketing communications can contribute to brand equity by creating awareness of the brand and or linking strong, favourable and unique associations to the brand in consumer’s memory. Foreseeing that the existing product lines did not sufficiently satisfy the needs of the 25-49 year old male customers, LS & Co. decided to address the opportunities in the casual slacks market by identifying its challenges to increase Levi’s slacks brand share. Levi’s slacks were considered to be more contemporary, less conservative and more casual than other leading slacks. However, it’s Action Slacks line fail to address the customer needs and fail to reflect the core values which the  recent 501 jeans campaign had established successfully. This give rise to the idea of having a different market segment with a new product that will motivate and retain customers within the Levi’s brand franchise which promise to be different from anything it had sold before. To establish a leadership position in casual fashion, Levi’s Dockers ® was introduced where it was positioned as the new pants to men as more formal than jeans and less casual than dress slacks. It was also designed to satisfy an unfulfilled need in the men’s pants market and to appeal to the baby boomers’ fashion demands. In order to achieve brand association and to create brand awareness, Dockers was eventually package with a unique logo & a colourful pocket flasher which consisted of interlocked wings and anchors to integrate the brands’ name with its symbols. To enhance the brand, the pocket flasher was attached to the back of all pants and the Levi’s moniker was incorporated in the Dockers’ winged logo to establish an understated association with the Levi’s name. Part of Levi’s communication strategy involved marketing Dockers pants to the retail trade as a major fashion statement – an alternative to jeans – and the driving force in the â€Å"new casuals† category. In an effort to establish Levi’s Dockers new casuals line, LS & Co. identify their key target distribution channel by concentrating distribution in department stores and chains where its majority target consumers of 25 to 49 year-old men did their shopping and where one-third of all slacks were sold. Levi’s work closely with retailers in order to generate excitement and support for its new pants and had resorted to â€Å"woo† retailers nationwide, including those department and speciality stores that had previously curtailed business with LS & Co – with aggressive marketing strategy with extensive presentations, sell-in brochures and swatch books. Trade promotions such as sales support, sales kits for retail-based marketing,  cooperative advertising and sales promotion programs were provided. In additionally, supplemental financial support was also offered for advertising and promotional activities to important high-image department stores. A critical component of the company’s marketing effort was the establishment of Docker’s shops within main floor men’s area of major department stores. With such vigorous marketing promotion techniques, retailers were getting more confidence in Levi’s products and were showing greater interest in innovative merchandise techniques. Being sensitive to the market trend, the first in-store concept shop was introduced for the men’s main floor area and key trade show was set up introduce Dockers casual pants to retailers. The Dockers in-store shop sought to create a friendly, accessible environment, prominently displaying the sporty Dockers logo and linking consumer advertising with point-of sale signage and posters. Levi’s also adopted point-of purchase advertising through shelf talkers to give consumers an entirely different kind of shopping experience which the concept proved to be very successful. Point-of sale displays were established in stores where shops were experiencing space or financial constraints. All the above product positioning and marketing strategy was able to overcome the initial reluctance of retailers and ultimately generated an exceptionally high level of prepromotion excitement in which Levi’s Dockers was also seen as the leader in the new casuals category and moved the pants ahead of its competitors. Following that, LS & Co. shifted its attention to the development of an effective communications program focused on the consumer. They recognized that a focused comprehensive consumer marketing effort would be required in order to establish Levi’s Dockers as a major brand. Given the market opportunity for casual pants, Levi’s believe that a high impact consumer marketing program would accelerate the growth of the Docker’s line and generate consumer support. Part of the advertising strategy was defining target audience accordingly by demographically, attitudinally, clothing needs and purchasing behaviour and a focus group was selected for determination on the type of ads that appeal to the target group. To advertise Dockers, consumer advertising was adopted, commercials were aired during selective prime time slots and spot TV was used in all 11 major regional markets. Also Levi’s brilliantly chose the notorious fashion garment district – the New York City for their advertising executions in a bid to reach out to more consumers where TV spots were supplemented with subway signs and mobile billboards located primarily around the city’s garment district. In addition to TV, co-op advertising with retailers, point-of-sale displays, sales promotion during advertising kick-off party, publicity campaign and follow up visits to key retail accounts also contributed to Levi’s successful communications strategy.

Friday, November 8, 2019

Free Essays on Truth About Hate

Hate is a word commonly talked about and is all around us in today’s society. Crimes are constantly being committed and people are getting judged left and right for their religion or for just the color or their skin. In the movie The Truth About Hate, it gets a message across to its viewers that hate today is being spread daily throughout schools and local neighborhoods. Everyday people are shot and killed due to some form of hate. The movie covered many different types of hate such as: religion, race and gay/ lesbian. For each of these categories of hate they took a little story and tried to make the situation better. In the religion portion of the video, it focused on the holocaust and its affect on Jews. Some of the kids being interviewed on their thoughts sounded hard core about their beliefs that what Hitler lead was right. After they talked to a survivor or the vicious acts of the Holocaust, their whole perception and way of thinking changed drastically. I think that by hearing something or putting a real life situation in the story can sometimes help for better understanding. The film ventured into many other issues but I thought that the religion part was the most important due to what happened. It really affected me and made me think of how awful and sick these people where to have done something so horrific. It really made a impact on the way I look at other people and I think I will think before I call one of my friends a â€Å"fag,† because you never know who you could be offending.... Free Essays on Truth About Hate Free Essays on Truth About Hate Hate is a word commonly talked about and is all around us in today’s society. Crimes are constantly being committed and people are getting judged left and right for their religion or for just the color or their skin. In the movie The Truth About Hate, it gets a message across to its viewers that hate today is being spread daily throughout schools and local neighborhoods. Everyday people are shot and killed due to some form of hate. The movie covered many different types of hate such as: religion, race and gay/ lesbian. For each of these categories of hate they took a little story and tried to make the situation better. In the religion portion of the video, it focused on the holocaust and its affect on Jews. Some of the kids being interviewed on their thoughts sounded hard core about their beliefs that what Hitler lead was right. After they talked to a survivor or the vicious acts of the Holocaust, their whole perception and way of thinking changed drastically. I think that by hearing something or putting a real life situation in the story can sometimes help for better understanding. The film ventured into many other issues but I thought that the religion part was the most important due to what happened. It really affected me and made me think of how awful and sick these people where to have done something so horrific. It really made a impact on the way I look at other people and I think I will think before I call one of my friends a â€Å"fag,† because you never know who you could be offending....

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

Arboriginals and the White Government essays

Arboriginals and the White Government essays Aboriginals and the White Government The white government is racist and Eurocentric; as a result they have brought about racial discrimination against the aborigines. The colonial attitude of the Aborigines was that they represented primitive animals not deserving respect as they belonged to the menial class of the suppressive society. The Laffey family does not accept this attitude as Cornelius criticise the hypocrisy of the Europeans as poaching is approved by the government, and murdering the owners of the local grouse, blinked at (p. 32). He uses his job to write an article condemning a massacre of Aborigines which he witnesses first-hand. Cornelius refers to it as needless and foolish acts of provocation and aggression on the part of the diggers (p. 31) and says that even the quasi-official road-blazing part...had indulged in unprovoked killing of natives (p. 31). His article deliberately has been used to position the readers of the article to see European Australians as malicious and at fault. The dominant colonial view of the Aborigines is that they were criminals and troublemakers. From Corneliuss action, it can also be seen that Aborigines were marginalised and suppressed as they were seen to belong to the lower class of the society compared to the Europeans who were considered to be of a higher class. The physical violence that the white people have imposed upon the Aborigines constructs the readers negative view towards racism as it helps to position the reader to be with Astleys point of view about racial discrimination as she also challenges the typical traditional view of Aborigines. The physical violence has been endorsed by the mainstream Australian but is not accepted by the Laffey and Astley and therefore the reader too. Men in the constructed reality of the novel are privileged over women. Astley criticises the patriarc ...

Sunday, November 3, 2019

Building Services & Sustainable Engineering--Plant & Maintenance Essay

Building Services & Sustainable Engineering--Plant & Maintenance - Essay Example As for expected learning outcomes, we will be able to size heating and cooling plant; also, it will be possible to predict summertime temperature and design systems to reduce overheating risks; furthermore, it is needed to estimate the preheating period required and annual energy use and carbon emmission; finally, we would prepare effective preventive maintenance schedule, considering innovative systems. Building Renovation Case Study Initially, we need to represent client's requirements, task, and marking criteria. Accordingly, as for the client's reauirments, the amount of outdoor air is required to the first and second floors of the given building which needs renovation. (Temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, and wind direction are given properly in the Climate Record Data table.) Additionally, concerning the task, it is strongly recommended to review building regulation, suggesting some constructions which will meet building regulations for the room; then, it is needed to e stimate the operative temperature which is likely to occur in each of the rooms, calculating the cooling and heating loads for the building to keep the room operative temperature at a comfortable level; moreover, we have to select a heating and cooling plant capacity based on the design loads, showing the processes on psychometric charts for the summer season and proposing a maintenance procedure with estimation of a life cycle cost for the building owner to keep the system running. Therefore, to solve Problems 1 and 2 as they were represented by Figures 1 and 2, we might firstly state the most relevant points of the assignment: we have a task to reconstruct one of the two-storey buildings, which has a flat roof; running four production lines and having the width and length of respectively 150 and 100 metres, this first floor is shown in Figure 1; from the other perspective, as for the second floor, it has 60% of walls facing toward the South and East, being triple glazed with 6.4 m m air space, along with each window dimension as being estimated like 1.5x1x0.15 (respectively, its width, height, and thick); hovewer, the annual electricity supply fee to run the building is $20 per kilowatt, and the energy price is expected to increase 10% per year. So, due to the very hot temperature in the apartments during the summertime, it was suggested by the management that the building needs renovation concerning walls, windows, and ceiling: certainly, it must have been done according to Building Regulations' requirements. To conclude with, we are asked to estimate the capacities of the heating and cooling (see Appendix 1), keeping in view the sustainability and CO2 emmision issues. Review Building Regulation and Suggest the Constructions Which Will Meet Building Regulations for the Room We will start this sub-chapter with room conditions, then, will be analyzing current building regulations, being finally able to answer why the management wishes to renovate the building by reconstructing the walls, windows, and ceilings accordingly to the current building regulations, keeping in view the sustainability and CO2 emission issues. As we know, task is to reconstruct on

Friday, November 1, 2019

Saudi Airline and the Privatisation Dissertation

Saudi Airline and the Privatisation - Dissertation Example However, in essence, it refers to the shift of partial or full responsibility for a function performed by the public sector or government to the private sector. The most common usage of the term takes place when a public sector entity is divested, either through sale or a long term lease, to a private entity (Veljanovski & Bentley, 2008, p. 42). However, technically, the granting of a long term franchise or concession to the private sector investors, where they would build, manage and operate a major project also falls under the umbrella of privatisation. Furthermore, in a third type of privatisation, a government entity retains control of the strategic direction of the public service but allows a private entity to deliver a public service. This form of privatisation is commonly known as outsourcing or contracting (Bortolotti, et al., 2004, pp. 330). Reasons for Privatisation As argued by Megginson & Netter (2001) that the government usually justifies privatisation with three reasons . First, privatisation generates revenue which could be used to reduce the fiscal deficits and pay off debts. Throughout the history, in times of dire need, huge debts and fiscal deficits, policymakers have resorted to privatisation of the SOEs s that they reduce fiscal deficits and pay off the public debt (Bos, 2011, p. 41). Consider the ongoing example of the European Sovereign Debt Crisis, where countries such as Spain, Greece, Portugal, Cyprus, Iceland and others are facing a difficult time in meeting their debt obligation. Many of the European countries have sold off several public entities to generate much needed revenue. In fact, many countries that have acquired bailouts from International Monetary Fund (IMF) and European Central Bank (ECB) have had to sign agreements promising the privatisation of several underperforming public sector institutions. Therefore, in these countries, privatisation is an attempt at bailing out the government and the SOEs. Second, policymakers mig ht also undertake privatisation to reverse the effects of â€Å"crowding out† within markets and encourage the private enterprises to take the lead. As apparent from the theory of crowding out, when governments, while following an expansionary fiscal policy, increase the size of the public sector, it drives out the private sector from the market (Cashore, 2002, p. 505). More importantly, in several cases, even a moderate increase in public sector might drive out several private entities. Therefore, when public sector entities leave the competitive arena, with their monopoly, concessions, subsidies, unlimited funds and several other advantages, it encourages the private sector to enter the market (Vickers & Yarrow, 1988, p. 52). When the government no longer is there to distort the market, the market forces ensure effective and efficient resource allocation, which not only generates employment

Wednesday, October 30, 2019

How technology has effects on humans everyday Essay - 1

How technology has effects on humans everyday - Essay Example taking part in all spheres of human activities as the prime factor of people, knowledge is increasing due to many challenges encountered such as education, life expectancy, health care, communication, and wars, natural environmental activities among others. As the day goes necessities tend to spawn and most invention is ushered in with the need of the betterment present globalized world that we exist in a time of advanced technology has shifted to more advanced technology in almost every part of our daily live, everything is related in comparison with old gone days, nowadays we have better sophisticated facilities and even better comfort luxuries with the help of newly increased technology (Scardamalia, 1996). There are more impacts with the coming of improved technology in our daily life like the introduction of the mobile technology that is growing immensely as media for interacting and communicating with our relatives living far away. Secondly, when one wants to travel its easier with the help of aviation technology in order to reach distant places within the shortest time possible which used to take a century in older days. Through technology, social networking has made it able to share different ideas and views with people from other three continents (Scardamalia, 1996). Technology has also helped in agricultural fields through exchanging of food and commodities, meet food requirements of varied people all over the world with ease. Through cyberspace, people are able to do many new things, for example, when using the internet to learn distance courses in our colleges and one also takes online courses through the internet which has made the education life easier. Moreover, with the rise of internet technology the world knows one is able to carry business and trade has become very fast and easy and more reliable since it enables people to transact business with someone who is far. Lastly, with the creation of automobile vehicles that assists us to carry out

Monday, October 28, 2019

Benefits of Electric Vehicles Essay Example for Free

Benefits of Electric Vehicles Essay 1: Problem Statement The market for plug in vehicles is growing more competitive since variety of manufacturers are increasingly offering plug in hybrid and battery electrical vehicle. However, the initially adopted two key drivers, lower operating cost and zero emission driving, are not proving to be as effective as expected. The market for Electrical Vehicle is still struggling to expand towards more mass-market. The purpose of this research is to acquire knowledge and get a better understanding of the cost- benefit of plug in electrical vehicles as well as its’ impact on environmental and financial policies. Questions!! What are the cost and benefits of Electric Vehicles? What is the environmental impact of electric vehicles? How can environmental and financial policies influence on consumer support? 2: Popular sources [IF USED—THESE DON’T COUNT TOWARD THE FIVE SOURCE REQUIREMENT] Write a brief summary of the key information found from your bridge sources and popular source phase of the research. Source cited Give the key points and issue that have broadened you understanding into the problem you are researching 1. Green vehicle. http://en.wikipedia. org/wiki/Electric_vehicle An electric vehicle is any motor vehicle that uses one or more electric motors or traction motors as a driving force. There are three main types of electric vehicle exist, those that are directly powered from an external power station, those that are powered by stored electricity originally from an external power source, and those that are powered by an on-board electrical generator, such as an internal combustion engine (a hybrid electric vehicle) or a hydrogen fuel cell. These vehicles are environment friendly as they release almost no air pollutants at the place where they are operated. They also have less noise pollution than an internal combustion engine vehicle. EV gives the greater degree of energy resilience as electricity is a form of energy that remains within the region where it produced. 2. Green Cars and Todays Economy. http://www. consumerenergyreport. com/green-cars-and-todays-economy/ According to this article, plug-in hybrid electrical help the economy and personal expenses can determine which green car to buy. The article specifies the pros and cons of having an electric vehicle. Among the advantages are low insurance cost, low gas cost, job creation and better air quality. The disadvantages include maintenance, initial cost and battery life. 3. Negative Environmental Impacts of Hybrid Vehicles. http://greenliving. lovetoknow. com/Hybrid_Vehicles_Negative_Environmental_Impact This article describes the negative environmental impact Hybrid vehicles. It defines different kinds of hybrids. It questions the source of electrical power for hybrids. According to the article hybrid cars are not emission free. The batteries contain nickel in them and are considered toxic. Two other negative aspects that are covered include the negative impact of high voltage wiring and the initial cost associated with the green Car. 3: Scholarly sources List of sources broken down by discipline: Source cited Research process Qualitative/quantitative Framing or norm/post/critical Key insights/theories/points How does this understanding conflict with any other insight/theory or concur 1. Ecology a) R. Socolow, V. Thomas (2000). The Industrial Ecology of lead and electrical vehicle. Journal of Industrial Ecology. Volume 1, issue 1, Pages 13-36, January 2000 b) Title, author? Journal of Environmental Planning Management; Jan 2009, Vol. 52 Issue 1, P79-96. According to this paper, a common risk analysis of electric vehicles is misguided, because it treats lead batteries and lead additives in gasoline on the same footing and implies that the lead battery should be abandoned. The authors stated that â€Å"The use of lead additives in gasoline is a dissipative use where emissions cannot be confined: The goal of management should be and has been to phase out this use. The use of lead in batteries is a recyclable use, because the lead remains confined during cycles of discharge and recharge. † Clean recycling of the lead batteries should be the goal.. A management system closely approaching clean recycling should be achievable. The lead battery has the potential to become a hazardous product managed in the world. The tools of industrial ecology are helpful in identifying the key criteria that an ideal lead-battery recycling system must meet maximal recovery of batteries after use, minimal export of used batteries to countries where environmental controls are weak, minimal impact on the health of communities near lead-processing facilities, and maximal worker protection from lead exposure in these facilities. This research paper explores quantitatively Californians interest in hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) based on a statewide phone survey conducted in July 2004 by the Public Policy Institute of California. The paper develops factors that summarize beliefs about energy and the environment using principal component analysis. This study result concludes that the Californians concerned about the environment, energy efficiency, global warming and recent increases in the price of gasoline state a higher interest in hybrids. Another important reason for considering hybrid electric vehicles, however, is the possibility of using high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes while driving alone, especially for people with potentially long commutes to work. The findings also suggest that beliefs about energy and the environment should be included in vehicle type choice models. First article is emphasizing on the negative impact that electric vehicle has on the environment whereas the latter one highlights on the eco-friendliness and the popularity of the EVs. Source cited Research process Qualitative/quantitative Framing or norm/post/critical. Key insights/theories/points How does this understanding conflict with any other insight/theory or concur 2. Technology. c) Systems for hybrid cars. Otmar Bitsche et. al. Journal of power sources 127 (2004) 8-15. d) The state of the art of electric, hybrid, and fuel cell vehicles. C. C. Chan. Proceedings of the IEEE, Vol 95, No 4, April 2007. The Otmar article gives us a detailed understanding of what plug-in hybrid electrical are and how their drive trains offer a wide range of benefits such as multifaceted performance improvements, reduced emissions and reduced fuel consumption compared to the internal combustion engine. It demonstrates how important the battery is in different hybrid cars for the right specific automotive application. It describes the cost and safety aspects in terms of battery type and performance of such vehicles. Competition alongside with legislation is pushing hybrid technology towards the future. The paper describes different types of hybrid vehicles and their advantages. It should therefore be considered to have a positive perspective to the reader. However one weakness to the article is that is is relatively technical and may not be appeasing to the general reader in order to understand hybrid cars in a nutshell. Also, the kind of hybrid that would be considered the best in terms of performance is not mentioned. The most significant aspect of the article is it describes all the different modes of hybrid operation and how regenerative braking affects the performance of the battery hence the author develops an important concept. The author approaches the subject matter through a unique method in which he describes stop-start hybrids followed by mild hybrids and full hybrids before focusing on purely electrical cars. The author argues while safety comes first, it is the cost that determines the most important factor to buying a hybrid. In contrast, the Chan paper describes the different state of the art hybrid vehicles in particular. These include Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, Ford Escape, Saturn vue, ISE transient buses and Honda FCX. Chan describes a detailed history of Evs, HEVs and FCVs which the Otmar paper tends to lack. The article describes the differences among Electric vehicles, hybrid electric vehicles and fuel cell vehicles and points out the advantages and disadvantages of each. The paper describes how a better understanding of control theory is essential for the future development of these vehicles. This article is useful in order to choose the right green car for ones individual needs. It describes the hybrid system car by car and is therefore very useful for understanding what is available in the auto market and what to expect from each individual model. The paper is more geared towards the general reader and offers a positive perspective. The most significant aspect of the article is that it is focused on individual car model. It is also in agreement with other sources on hybrid vehicles. The author makes a informative comparison in the form of a table where he compare and contrasts battery electric vehicles, hybrid electric vehicles and fuel cell electric vehicles in terms of propulsion, energy system, energy source and infrastructure, characteristics and major issues. These factors may arise to a debate on which type of green car is superior in overall performance. Source cited Research process Qualitative/quantitative Framing or norm/post/critical Key insights/theories/points. How does this understanding conflict with any other insight/theory or concur Economics. e) Fredrik Carlsson (2003) Costs and Benefits of electric Vehicles. A 2010 perspective. . Journal of Transport Economics and Policy, volume 37, part 1, January 2003, pp. 1-28. f) Consumer support for environmental policies: An application to purchases of plug-in hybrid electrical vehicle. Alex Coad et. al. Ecological Economics 68 (2009), 2078-2086. The Fredrick paper describes a social cost-benefit analysis with respect to the increase in electric vehicle number within the Swedish transport sector by the year 2010. According to the paper electric cars are socially unprofitable in spite of having a lower life cycle cost compared to their gasoline counterparts. This is due to government subsidies on electric cars which outweigh the benefits related to low fuel consumption. Despite the environmental advantages, electric vehicles are not very common and different means of financially supporting them is often subject to debate. The paper uses a cost benefit model to determine consumer welfare or utility and can be looked upon as having a normative perspective. The weakness of the paper is that it assumes too many assumptions which is not always realistic. It is a technical paper and therefore the mathematical section is not suitable for the general public. The most significant aspect of this research is to answer the question as to whether governments should subsidize electric vehicles and the conclusion is negative. In his conclusion the author states that due to too many uncertainties the case for public subsidies becomes uncertain. In contrast, the Alex paper describes how consumer motivation can be used to encourage the adoption of cleaner technologies. According to the author intrinsic motivation such as energy labels for cars and extrinsic motivation such as subsidies or fines can be used to encourage the adoption of cleaner technologies. The paper analyzes a survey data set of Swiss households. The results of this survey are of particular interest to policy makers who are keen on guiding consumers towards cleaner technology. This paper gives us a better understanding of intrinsic motivation which is the kind of motivation that comes from within ourselves and not from an outside source that rewards money or grades. Extrinsic motivation is guided by some type of external subject or reward. The paper analyzes to what extent consumers are willing to support public policies in order to promote energy efficient cars. The nature of the article is of normative perspective. The weakness of the article is that the survey was conducted on 1500 Swiss households. Nothing about the age or nature of these households are mentioned in the serve. The most significant aspect of the paper is that it gives one a better understanding of different motivation to get a job done. Although both these papers discuss about the economic perspective of plug-in hybrid electrical, they do so in very different way. While the former article is a cost benefit description of electric vehicles by utilizing an economic model, the latter can be considered as an article that describes the motivation that drives consumer support towards the purchase of a green car. 4: Disciplinary Overlapping: In all sources except for the Cost and benefits article it is mentioned that plug-in hybrid electrical are more cost effective than their gasoline counterpart. However, Fredrik Carlsson in his article mentions that electrical vehicles are socially unprofitable in spite of having a lower private life cycle cost and external cost compared to petrol cars. All six articles do however agree that plug-in hybrid electrical are more fuel efficient and environmentally friendlier than gasoline cars. give us a better understanding on what plug-in hybrid electrical are like and how they have evolved with time. mentions the different systems in hybrid vehicles while describes specific models helping us to choose which green car to buy. The cost benefits of buying a green car is discussed in, however, the source is based on many assumptions and the paper itself is very technical. focuses on intrinsic and extrinsic motivation that leads to support of environmental policies. The articles in general give us a better understanding of the problem statement. However one aspect that was overlooked by all the sources involves the environmental effect of different kind of battery systems, their waste and disposal. Category /Element Criteria Range: (Na)(No)(A)(M) Purposefulness (20) identifies a clear research problem and explains it; Readings chosen are relevant to the problem as defined (10-12),(13-15), (16-18),(19-20) 15 Grounding (40) identifies and adequately summarizes the constituent elements of each source: insights, theories or concepts, methodologies, sources of evidence; connects each source to a part of the problem that it helps illuminate (10-12),(13-15), (16-18),(19-20) 0 The selection of sources gives appropriate â€Å"coverage† of the problem (10-12),(13-15), (16-18),(19-20) 17 Critical Awareness (20). Student recognizes and explains how the different elements of each source affect the findings—methods, theories, concepts, assumptions; Student identifies meaningful conflicts or commonalities among different sources (10-12),(13-15), (16-18),(19-20) 17 Integration (20) Student makes intelligent comparisons between insights, theories, methods or data across disciplinary lines to support an improved understanding or cognitive advancement; explains how different ideas could be applied to an improved understanding (10-12),(13-15), (16-18),(19-20) 16 Total: 65.