The Epitome of the 21st Century American Family Essay

The Epitome of the 21st Century American Family - Essay Example The visit to the lake is an annual family ritual and in White’s comparison of his visit as a child as compared to visiting it with his son, he illustrates how the family tradition continues, with many of the same elements recurring. For instance, as a child, he used to â€Å"dress softly as not to wake the others and sneak out into the sweet outdoors and start out in the Canoe† (White 198) and he finds his son doing the same thing, hearing â€Å"the boy sneak quietly out and go off along the shore in a boat.† (White 198). The lake culture is a representation of the family culture, especially when a thunderstorm occurs and the campers run out to swim in the rain, their â€Å"bright cries perpetuating the deathless joke about how they were getting simply drenched †¦..and the joke about getting drenched linking the generations in a strong, indestructible chain.† (White, 202). White thus views the family as a continuing unit, he views himself repeatedly in his own father’s role as he walks and goes fishing with his son, and he reflects upon his son will one day take over his own role at the lake, becoming the father who bring his son for a visit to the lake. White represents the family and its bonds through the symbol of the annual visit to the lake. There are common practices that occur through the years, for instance the camper with the soap at the lake side, or the fly that settles on the fishing rod, or the practice of getting drenched in the rain. These symbolize the enduring nature of the family, some things will never change. The author also uses the lake as the background against which he examines the changes that are being brought about by technology. For instance, families drive up to the lake in their cars rather than in their wagons and the unpacking is completed in a matter of minutes without the fuss that would

Comprehensive and Continuous Evaluation Pattern Essay Example for Free

Comprehensive and Continuous Evaluation Pattern Essay It is ironic that Kapil Sibal declared at 125th Birth Anniversary celebrations of great Mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan that exam-centric education system would have to go. One wonders what Ramanujan himself would say – â€Å"Mr. Minister, even I am a product of exam centric education system†? Kapil Sibal says he would like to replace the current system with a child-centric one. Now that is a very interesting term. So how does the minister define the term? Expressing his determination to do away with rote learning and the â€Å"archaic† examination-oriented system, he said: â€Å"We are endeavouring to reform this with emphasis on skill development and unlocking the creative talent within the child. † The Ministry’s decision to do away with examinations at the end of the year, replacing them with a Comprehensive and Continuous Evaluation (CCE) system in a bid to de-stress children, was a step in that direction. [Link] Comprehensive and Continuous Evaluation has its benefits. It has to be, however, said that CCE will not de-stress the children all by itself. Students are under stress due to the range of competition. Imagine a candidate appearing for IIT JEE during +2. He faces at least 7 lakh others across the country. Imagine what goes on in the family, forget the candidate! Every IIT graduate has a story to tell as to how many sacrifices the complete family makes for success at the exam! CCE has its benefits and can de-stress the students but in an autonomous organization with tight controls within the organization. For example, some engineering colleges at graduate level and almost all of them at post-graudate level use it to the maximum benefit of both students and professors. The system is a success at these places because of the autonomy. JNTU implemented CCE in engineering colleges affiliated to it. It had limited impact and yet, it couldn’t do away with the final exam. The final exam had to cover 80% of the total score. CCE makes sense when the number of institutions involved is less. Another important factor that influences the impact of CCE is the physical proximity of affiliated institutions. Otherwise fraud and cheating would happen as the case is with JNTU’s example. Understanding the issue JNTU faced several issues with implementing CCE is more than 100 colleges in AP affiliated to it at the time of introduction of the system. They started with 80% external evaluation in the form of final comprehensive exam and 20% internal evaluation across the semester via 5 exams conducted by the instructor. Due to lack of feedback mechanism between students and the governing body – JNTU, the system led to several problems. There were cases of cheating and fraud. JNTU wanted to solve this problem by making internal evaluation â€Å"not so internal† through online objective evaluation. For this, an internal evaluation question bank was created through suggestions from all its professors, assistant professors, associate professors across the affiliated institutes. The online evaluation software would throw random questions on the screen to be answered in stipulated amount of time. This system again failed at several institutions due to infrastructure issues but the major problem was again cheating and fraud. The issue is quite clear – large educational bodies with centralized governing body cannot use CCE effectively. Effective use of CCE can happen with decentralized model. JNTU understood this and divided colleges between JNTU Hyderabad, JNTU Kakinada and JNTU Ananthapur. The division was purely based on physical proximity of the institute to the governing body. This system still faces the issues that it had initially. It will continue to face them. Take another example. IITs. For evaluating graduate students, IITs dont have a common examination across all the IITs! Even BITS Pilani which has its campuses in Pilani, Dubai, Goa and Hyderabad doesnt use CCE across all four via a common evaluation body. Closed loop within each campus is used. In fact in all these institutes, swift justice in case of any fraud/cheating via committees within the institutes ensures better evaluation, without hindering the process of education. The key phrase – â€Å"checks and balances†. One then wonders why such a tight loop cannot be framed within the schools or a set of schools within close physical proximity! What is happening now? In our current system of school education, we have CBSE at national level and as competing bodies we have State Education Boards. Schools are allowed to choose one of the bodies. The chosen body not just dictates syllabi but also evaluates students in a final examination with a common exam held on a common date at all affiliated schools. So by design CCE is missing. Private schools, so far bridged this gap by having internal evaluation which does not affect scoring at final exam but will only help students to be ready for the final evaluation. Government schools on the other hand, have been busy serving meals at noon to children rather than conducting classes regularly. All government education bodies across India have a common goal – syllabus. Core of the problem lies in this – skill development has never been the area of interest of these bodies. Skill development was and still is the school’s responsibility to compete with other schools. Students who make it top notch institutes across India via JEE, AIEEE, BITSAT etc. , generally have a set of skills in some area or the other. But it has to be understood that they do not make it there due to those skills. They acquire those skills at school, due to their own enthusiasm and sometimes due to the school’s stress on extra-curricular and co-curricular activities. Fortunately or unfortunately, skill development is not due to the governing body. Some exceptions do exist in places like Kerala though! In terms of the system of education, both geography and demography have a huge role to play. Before CCE Implementation†¦. Sibal’s megalomania and grandiose plans lack substance just because of one of his very fundamental assertion – centralization. For a country of the size of India, with such a large population, centralization of education is a disaster to start with. Decentralizing and allowing that little freedom to schools would be a very important step. Such a decentralization process must be addressed before CCE can be implemented. If we are supposed to get anything useful from implementation of CCE, what Governments at class X, +1, +2 level in Government Schools needs to Allow more freedom to schools to collaborate and spool resources – they are already in severe resource crunch. Leaving out examinations completely would be a recipe for disaster. As it is, drop out rates in Class X, +1, +2 across states like AP is too high. Any hasty introduction of CCE without first correcting some fundamental flaws in organizing schools would only bring about faster drop out rates at these levels. CCE is already available in an abstract way in private schools. Several aided and government schools tried to emulate it to see marginal success. But the issue remains. CCE it self will not reduce stress on students. In conclusion, CCE would make sense only with a proper mechanism to address drop-out rates at class X, +1, +2 levels across government schools in India. Acts proposed by Sibal like RTE only make it worse as they attack Private schools which have a decent CCE model already in place. Bottom line – leave private institutions alone. If possible allow them a % share of total evaluation points/score. Don’t scrap examinations, even if you introduce grading. Meanwhile, ensure Government and Aided school improve standards w. r. t infrastructure and faculty. Form conglomerates of schools within a certain radius and allow them to frame, organize and evaluate their students through proper resource spooling.

Hingham, Massachusetts :: Hingham Massachusetts

Hingham, Massachusetts In 1633 settlers from Hingham, England landed on the south shore of Massachusetts. Soon after, my relatives arrived in Hingham, Massachusetts and our heritage has remained intact ever since. Eleanor Roosevelt traveled down Main St. Hingham and described it as the most beautiful Main Street in America. Ancestors of 16th president, Abraham Lincoln were among the first to arrive in Massachusetts and his massive statue in downtown Hingham helps people remember that. The oldest church with continuous use in the United States built in 1681 is located in Hingham also. The Old Ordinary, a tavern used by 17th century travelers is also among the historical features in Hingham Mass. Wompatuck State Park draws many naturalists and outdoor junkies with its 7 square miles of forest once used as an ammunition depot during WW II. These landmarks bring a unique group of tourists to the South Shore. The South Shore is also full of endless natural beauty. The surrounding secluded beaches and harbors on ly compliment the gorgeous lakes, rivers, cranberry bogs and acres of forest. The colors that appear in Hingham during autumn are exemplary of the New England autumnal foliage for which many travel to see. This historically cultured area is a beautiful, yet expensive home for thousands of people. Hingham, Massachusetts generally remains quiet and free from any intense excitement and terror. While walking down the shores of Hingham one can hear the quiet crashing of the waves and look out and see the big lights of Boston. Hingham and the rest of the south shore act as a safe haven from the big city life. The tourism that does affect Hingham is limited and does not significantly affect the local economy. There are activities of people that live within the surrounding areas that may affect the economy. Water sports become popular in the summer months which will affect boat sales, gas usage and smaller companies that operate around the use of boats such as yacht clubs. There is more activity in the areas that surround Hingham. To the south of Hingham is Hull, where the majority is built of people in the working class and others who only enjoy spending the pleasant summer days at there home. Hull attracts significantly more people in the summer time as it is a peninsula and a large part of the coast is beach. There are several small businesses that solely rely on summertime business.

Water Supply Project Brief

Contents Table of Contents†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 1 Task†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 2 List of Abbreviations†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢ € ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 3 TASK2 1. 1Project Title4 1. 2Introduction4 1. 3Project Location Map5 1. Terms of Reference6 1. 4. 1Project Details6 1. 4. 2Reporting Structure6 1. 4. 3Personnel Duties7 1. 5Schematic Layout7 2. 1DELIVERABLES8 2. 1. 1Dam8 2. 1. 2Water Treatment Works9 2. 1. 3Elevated Steel Tank10 2. 1. 4Water Transmission10 2. 1. 5Metering11 3. 1Project Management Process12 3. 1. 1Initiating12 3. 1. 2Planning12 3. 1. 3Executing13 3. 1. 4Controlling14 3. 1. 5Closing14 List of references†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 16 List of AnnexureAnnexure 1 – Project Budget Annexure 2 – Work Breakdown Structure Annexure 3 – Project Network Diagram Annexure 4 – Project Gantt Chart Annexure 5 – Project Summary TASK You are a consultant of a firm that has won a tender to develop a turnkey water project in Kajiado County. Using necessary tools including Ms Project prepare a WBS, and do a schedule of project tasks, their resources and assume a tracking of the project progress. Hence do a status report in a PDF file. The completed work should not exceed 20. LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS WBS- Work Breakdown StructureWARMA – Water Resource Management Authority NEMA – National Environmental Management Authority ToR – Terms of Reference GI – Galvanized Iron RCC – Reinforced Cement Concrete 1. 1Project Title Proposed Water Supply Project in Kajiado Town 1. 2Introduction A project is one-time, multitask job with a definite starting point, definite ending point, clearly defined scope of work, a budget and usually a temporary team. A project is therefore a series of activities which are meant to achieve particular goals or objectives using specifi ed resources and in a specified period of time.A turnkey project refers to a project that is built and handed over ready for use. The proposed water project in Kajiado County being a turnkey project will entail the consultant to take up construction from the initial stages of the project and hand it over when water has been connected to individual residents and/or users. Kajiado town lies at the intersection of the Nairobi – Kajiado road along the A 104 highway, and the railway line that serves Magadi Soda Company in Magadi. The town is situated 80 KM South of Nairobi. It is the administration centre for Kajiado County.Kajiado Town has a mean annual rainfall ranging from 450mm to 900mm. The major rivers found in Kajiado are among others Athi River, Ewaso Ngiro South River, Olekejuado River, Nool-Turesh River, Esokota River. The project involves construction of a dam along Olekejuado River, a water treatment plant, an elevated tank, a generator room, water transmission and dis tribution lines and water meter chambers. The presenter intends to use tools of Project Management Information Systems including MS Project 2010 software in achieving the implementation framework.The paper will be guided by Project Management processes of Initiating, Planning, Executing, Controlling and Closing to achieve set deliverables of the proposed project. 1. 3Project Location Map Figure1 – Map of Kajiado County 1. 4Terms of Reference This contractual document outlines the terms and conditions for the contracted project team. The process of initiating a project starts when the Client contacts the Contractor either with an already drawn ‘Terms of Reference' or with intent for a joint process in drawing the Terms of Reference. 1. 4. 1Project DetailsEmployerMinistry of Water and Irrigation Funding agencyGovernment of Kenya (Development Vote) EngineerGeneral Manager (Design & Construction) ConsultantsKiama Consortium Limited Contract No. MOWI/001/2011-2012 Contract A rea20 Square Kilometres Water Meters2000 Residents Contract Value (USD)USD 2,000,000 Capacity Required2,000,000 Litres/day ContractorPentacon Limited Award Date2 December 2012 Commencement Date1 January 2013 Completion Date4 October 2015 Project Duration2 Years 1. 4. 2Reporting Structure 1. 4. 3Personnel Duties The following will be the Key personnel for the project: Project Manager – Overall supervision of the project ?Financial Controller – Financial supervision ?Human Resource Officer – staff recruitment ?Procurement Officer – acquisition of resources (material) Monthly and Quarterly reports will be submitted to the client. The monthly report shall be submitted by the 5th of every month while quarterly report shall be submitted after every three months of the project duration. 1. 5Schematic Layout 2. 1DELIVERABLES Deliverables are the end results or outputs of undertaking a project. They may include reports, manuals, actual working systems or actual pr oducts.In this project deliverables include a dam, a water treatment plant, an elevated water tank, water distribution mains and water meters. 2. 1. 1 Dam ?Diversion of River The dam is designed to hold 10,000, 000 liters of water at its full capacity. The dimensions shall be 100m x 100m x 2m. During the construction of the dam, River Olkejuado will be temporarily blocked up stream and water diverted until the dam construction is completed. ?Intake Chamber The intake will be constructed and an allowance velocity of 0. 45m/s will be provided that will direct water to the pumping station. ?Spill WayThe spill way will allow water to overflow in case the dam fills up excessively. ?Embankment An embankment will also be constructed to safeguard the walls of the dam from failing. Reinforced Cement Concrete retaining wall works will be done as an embankment to safeguard and strengthen the dam walls. ?Pump House A pump house shall be constructed to provide for a stand by generator to cater f or 50% of the maximum pumping capacity and incase of power failure. It should also be noted that a generator can work for a maximum of 16 hours a day, therefore that should be considered in case of a total power failure in case of electrical faults. . 1. 2Water Treatment Works The assumption is, the water being harvested contains 50 – 50, 000 coli form count, a figure that requires water to undergo full treatment before consumption. ?Coagulation Tank This is the first tank, where water is chemically coagulated by adding alum and soda ash. The tank contains flocculation chambers. The water passes through baffles so that it can mix up well with the chemicals. ?Sedimentation Tank The sedimentation process will be aided by addition of alum in the coagulation tank. The baffles help the formation and in turn settle finer particles such as silt and colloids.The sedimentation tanks designed as upward hydraulic velocity and downward settling velocity enable sludge concentration. The d esign flow rate is proposed at 222m3/hr and the surface loading rate velocity is proposed at 1. 5m3/m2/hr. The allowed detention time is 3 – 4 hours. ?Rapid Sand Filter The proposed rapid gravity filters are back washed with air and water. The design flow rate is recommended at 222m3/hr and a filtration rate of 5m3/m2/hr. The storage time is about 10 – 20 minutes. ?Disinfection Tank pH correction will be done by adding soda ash.It could be due to dissolved carbon dioxide (CO2) or excess amount of alum was added into the water during the coagulation process. Disinfection of the water will be necessary to lower health risk and infection with water borne diseases. In that case, Calcium Hypochlorite will be added to the water as per the calculated quantity depending on the volume. ? Reinforced concrete storage tank After water has been successfully disinfected, it will be pumped to the storage tank and allowed for chemical reaction for about 30 minutes before it is pumped to the elevated water tank ready for distribution. . 1. 3Elevated Steel Tank The elevated water tank is dependent on the highest level in the region. This also allows for water flow by gravity therefore, there will savings of electricity and fuel cost that might have been used for pumping water. 2. 1. 4 Water Transmission ?Transmission Main Galvanized iron (GI) pipes of 250mm diameter are preferred since they withstand high water pressures. The pipe velocity is set at 2. 0 m/s and set at a depth n. e. 1000mm deep below the ground level. Reflux valves are allowed at a distance of 3-4 km spacing to ease repair and maintenance. ?Distribution MainThe minimum diameter of pipes recommended is 100mm diameter. uPVC pipes shall be used and the maximum 60m and minimum pressure of 10m. The pipe velocity is set at 06 – 1. 0 m/s, and service valves are set every 1km for ease of inspection, repair and maintenance. 2. 1. 5Metering Meters are installed in all 2000 houses or users to monitor water consumption. This will also helps in billing as per the actual amount of water consumed. The Meters will assist in curbing vandalism of water. 3. 1Project Management Process Project management is the process of initiating, planning, executing, controlling and closing a project.The project goal is the desired outcome it should be short and simple yet clearly communicate scope, time frame and budget. To achieve the goal of supplying water to 2000 users in Kajiado county, the management process outlined above will be adhered to. 3. 1. 1 Initiating It involves recognizing that a project should begin and committing to do it. Feasibility concerning technical, financial, operational, legal, environmental and social aspects of the project shall be carried out. Using MS Project 2010 the project start and finish date were identified. Legal issues such as NEMA and WARMA licensing were identified and dealt with accordingly.Approval of the project by the County council was also sought. The start date was 1st January 2013 while the expected completion date is 4th October 2013. The budget for the project was also drawn; it is envisaged that the project will cost Ksh. 179,445,100 (USD 2,000,000) This is shown in annexure 1 of this paper. 3. 1. 2Planning Initially, the project scope was defined and the appropriate methods for completing the project were determined. Following this step, the durations for the various tasks necessary to complete the work were listed and grouped into a work breakdown structure; this is attached in annexure 2.The logical dependencies between tasks were defined using an activity network diagram as shown in annexture 3 that enables identification of the critical path. Float or slack time in the schedule can be calculated. Then the necessary resources were estimated and costs for each activity allocated to each resource, giving the total project cost. At this stage, the project schedule was optimized to achieve the appropriate balance between re source usage and project duration to comply with the project objectives. Once established and agreed, the project schedule became the baseline schedule.Progress will be measured against the baseline schedule throughout the life of the project. Planning Involves devising a workable scheme of a schedule of tasks and resources. In the planning process, the project activities were identified and entered in the Gantt Chart. Timelines for the activities were drawn and subdivisions identified, milestones were also noted. Restrictions and relationships of predecessor and successor activities were also considered. Resources were then assigned to the tasks identified. The Gantt chart is shown in annexure 4 of this paper. ?AssumptionsWhen planning for this project, a few assumptions were made. They include the following: i. Land for the development of the dam and excavation of trenches for pipes’ distribution is already procured by the Olkejuado County Council. ii. River Olkejuado is a temporary river and the dam is being excavated during the dry season. The river does not, therefor, need diversion but, only blocking. iii. The electrical work cater for all the structures iv. Each tank will have a booster pump. v. All hired machines and equipment comes fully with operators vi. The shilling is exchanging at the dollar rate of 90 Ksh. ii. The dollar sign in the budget represents Kenya Shillings. 3. 1. 3Executing This phase will involve carrying out the scheduled plan while coordinating the people and resources to achieve the project goal. It will also involve reporting on a monthly and quarterly basis as stated in the ToR. Reporting will involve progress, resource usage, achieved milestones and challenges encountered if any. Milestones and Critical Path are shown in annexure 5. Creating project records and presentations will also be done at this stage. Adherence to the drawn out plan will be key to achieve the desired results. henever necessary, changes will be reque sted and improvements recommended. 3. 1. 4Controlling It ensures that the project remains within the objectives, tracking performance and taking necessary corrective measures. During this phase, achieved progress is compared to the scheduled progress and any slippage is noted. Tracking for activities especially at the preliminary stage of the project has been assumed. The tracking Gantt Chart has been observed to give progress in percentage. Corrective measure suggested in case of slippage is crashing of the project activities.Crashing will involve identifying activities with float and slack times and interrogating the resource allocation and dependencies therein. (24 hour days in shifts) Though it may imply increase in project cost, it may be the only way to ensure timely finishing of the project. Ensuring timely procurement of materials and hiring of equipment whenever required is also key in controlling the project. Effects of weather changes will also need to be taken into consi deration. 3. 1. 5Closing It involves formalizing the acceptance of the project and bringing it to an orderly end.Users are trained and handover of the project is conducted together with necessary documentation which aid in support and maintenance in future. The project audit and commissioning has been scheduled for the last month of the project duration as indicated on the Gantt chart shown in annexure 4. This being a turnkey project, cut-off handover is proposed. List of References www. imestopedia. com/terms/r/risk. asp en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Risk breakdown – freecover. blogpost. com www. mastery-project-management. com/project closure,html Uher, T. (2003) Programming and Scheduling Techniques, UNSW Press, Sydney

Ebusiness Wgu

To: Hiring Manager Thank you for taking the time to read this letter and for considering me for employment at your organization. As a college graduate with international work experience, I have demonstrated an ability to effectively communicate with diverse types of people and quickly adapt to new work environments. My degree in Economics from the University of South Florida provided me with the ability to develop critical thinking and problem solving skills that are essential to an effective educator, leader, and role model. Also I played and coached on many sports teams, mostly American football in the USA.My experience of working abroad, education, and experience teaching ESL at Korean public schools has provided me with many tools that would be applicable for this position. Being a new teacher in South Korea, I had no working knowledge on how to lead an effective classroom. Not only was there the stress of being a new teacher, but also the anxiety of living in a completely differ ent culture. Through ambition and hard work, I self learned how to create an optimal learning environment that fostered motivation and inquisitiveness from students.Comparably, I learned how to live and thrive in a new country by learning the language and customs. The skills I obtained from this job, such as, leadership, organizational skills, effective communication skills, modern ESL pedagogy, advance computer proficiencies, and the ability to adapt, will help me thrive as an educator at your school. In addition, I have many years experience working in a customer oriented environment, which included sales and shift management positions. At 717 parking I was involved directly with many customers on a daily basis.At this job, I established effective communication with all customers and was liable for the security and protection of vehicles that were sometimes valued at over $100,000. I demonstrated leadership and management skills by employing teamwork and accountability standards. This experience, in concurrence with teaching, I hope proves that I have the potential to be a successful teacher and role model. This winter I was a ski instructor in Aspen, Colorado. I taught students aged 4-60 years old.This experience offered many opportunities to execute effective teaching methodologies while educating kids and adults that have never skied before. Communication skills and patience helped me provide the best training to my students. I am confident that I can successfully execute the responsibilities of this position. I want to continue my progression of success and would look forward to speaking with you about how my qualifications may fulfill the requirements of your staffing needs. Thank you in advance for your consideration. Sincerely, Mr. James Watson *

Themes of The Crucbile essays

Themes of The Crucbile essays In Arthur Millers, The Crucible, many themes are expressed throughout the play. Themes are the undertone of the story. A theme of a book usually sets the mood and describes what is happening during the time that the story is written. The Crucible has many themes that show how everything was and how everyone acted in the year of 1692, in Salem, Massachusetts. Mass hysteria is the most obvious theme in the story. Mass hysteria is represented everywhere trouble was. One example is at the end of act one when the girls are screaming, crying, and starting to accuse people of being with the devil. When this happens, everyone gets scared and calls the marshal. The marshal begins to arrest people and brings them to court. The whole reason mass hysteria broke out is because of Abigail. One vengeful accusation from Abigail to her rival, Elizabeth Proctor, turns the whole village upside down. This confusion and madness is one of the main reasons so many lives were taken at the trials. This becomes a place where reasonable human beings can become released in an environment that allows little opportunity for relaxing. Another theme during the play is how much religion ruled these peoples lives. The court was the main ruling body of justice and was run by the church. The concept of justice in 1692 is shown when Arthur Miller dedicates the entire third act to the courtroom. Abigail pressures the girls to lie in court in order to accuse everyone that they didnt get along with of witchcraft. The separation of church and government didnt exist in 1692 in Salem, Massachusetts. Theocracy meant that Massachusetts was to be governed by God's laws. But this mixing up of the laws of God and the laws of government set up the chaos of the Salem witch trials. Greed and revenge was another major aspect that was shown in the story. Several characters find profit in this mass hysteria and try to change some events ...

Free Essays on On An Experience Of A Life Time

On My Experience of a Life Time On a Sunday afternoon, last January, I was enjoying the Super Bowl with my family. While watching the game, something made me remember of the times I used to watch soccer games with my host parents. My brother shouting with a glee as his team scored a goal and my father clapping, reminded me of the days in Brazil where the football craze and support for their national teams pushed emotions to a fever-pitch. That afternoon get-together with my family brought back all my memories as an exchange student to Brazil. I had been sent to Brazil as an exchange student. An exchange student is a student from one country received into an institution in another country to learn about the culture and the tradition of that country. On a personal level, these programs teach relationship skills, build a positive attitude towards life, and raise confidence during difficult times. Before I was sent to Brazil, I was a very different person- Different in the sense of personality as we ll as in my outlook towards life. I was an extrovert and a timid kind of person. Until then I never knew how challenging life could be. My mother always encouraged me to learn different activities but I was never interested in learning new things. They encouraged me to learn the folk dance and music of India, in which I was never interested. My dad wanted me to see the world and understand that there are different cultures other than where I was brought up. He wanted me to understand that cultures could be extremely different from the place to place. They might be friendly or they might not be and some practices might seem outrageous to me, while some might make me wish that I were born in that culture. All these experiences add up to make you a more complete individual. He thought that sending me to Brazil was a wonderful opportunity, which could push me to get out of the cocoon that I had built around m... Free Essays on On An Experience Of A Life Time Free Essays on On An Experience Of A Life Time On My Experience of a Life Time On a Sunday afternoon, last January, I was enjoying the Super Bowl with my family. While watching the game, something made me remember of the times I used to watch soccer games with my host parents. My brother shouting with a glee as his team scored a goal and my father clapping, reminded me of the days in Brazil where the football craze and support for their national teams pushed emotions to a fever-pitch. That afternoon get-together with my family brought back all my memories as an exchange student to Brazil. I had been sent to Brazil as an exchange student. An exchange student is a student from one country received into an institution in another country to learn about the culture and the tradition of that country. On a personal level, these programs teach relationship skills, build a positive attitude towards life, and raise confidence during difficult times. Before I was sent to Brazil, I was a very different person- Different in the sense of personality as we ll as in my outlook towards life. I was an extrovert and a timid kind of person. Until then I never knew how challenging life could be. My mother always encouraged me to learn different activities but I was never interested in learning new things. They encouraged me to learn the folk dance and music of India, in which I was never interested. My dad wanted me to see the world and understand that there are different cultures other than where I was brought up. He wanted me to understand that cultures could be extremely different from the place to place. They might be friendly or they might not be and some practices might seem outrageous to me, while some might make me wish that I were born in that culture. All these experiences add up to make you a more complete individual. He thought that sending me to Brazil was a wonderful opportunity, which could push me to get out of the cocoon that I had built around m...

Common English Spelling Pronunciation Problems

Common English Spelling Pronunciation Problems Spelling words in English is challenging work. As a matter of fact, many native speakers of English have problems with spelling correctly. One of the main reasons for this is that many, many English words are NOT spelled as they are spoken. This difference between pronunciation and spelling causes a lot of confusion. The combination ough provides an excellent example: Tough - pronounced - tuf (the u sounding as in cup)Through - pronounced - throoDough - pronounced - doe (long o)Bought - pronounced - bawt Its enough to make anyone crazy! Here are some of the most common problems when spelling words in English. Three Syllables Pronounced as Two Syllables Aspirin - pronounced - asprinDifferent - pronounced - diffrentEvery - pronounced - evry Four Syllables Pronounced as Three Syllables Comfortable - pronounced - comfrtableTemperature - pronounced - tempratureVegetable - pronounced - vegtable Words That Sound the Same (Homophones) two, to, too - pronounced - tooknew, new - pronounced - niewthrough, threw - pronounced - throonot, knot, naught - pronounced - not Same Sounds - Different Spellings Eh as in Let letbreadsaid Ai as in I Isighbuyeither The following  letters are silent when pronounced. D  - sandwich, WednesdayG  - sign, foreignGH  - daughter, light, rightH  - why, honest, hourK  - know, knight, knobL  - should, walk, halfP  - cupboard, psychologyS  - islandT  - whistle, listen, fastenU  - guess, guitarW  - who, write, wrong Unusual Letter Combinations GH F: cough, laugh, enough, roughCH K: chemistry, headache, Christmas, stomachEA EH: breakfast, head, bread, insteadEA EI: steak, breakEA EE: weak, streakOU UH: country, double, enough

How will China look to sustain economic growth in the future Essay

How will China look to sustain economic growth in the future - Essay Example (Hu and Khan, 1997: Harder, 2010, p.1) The nation has been able to sustain the growth inspite of minor fluctuations. The economy had been experiencing a 6 percent annual growth before it underwent an economic reform in 1978, which changed to 9 percent post reform. It witnessed a above 13 percent per capita growth in its peak years- a nearly quadrupled figure. The country experienced a growth in its capital accumulation in the form of ‘stocks of capital assets’ and the setting up of new factories, developing machinery, and logistics systems which was an important factor in the growth of the economy. The growth in the number of Chinese workers also resulted in a sharp and sustained increase in the productivity, which was also a major factor for the economic growth of the country. The key driving force of the growth has mainly been the unremitting expansion in the production of the economy, which accounted for more than 42 per cent during the period 1979-94. This also broke the traditional myth that an economy can only grow with the growth in its capital accumulation. ... It has been argued that productivity driven growth are more sustainable and the ‘market oriented reform’ taken up by the country had resulted in creating the ‘productivity boom’. The reform brought in the introduction of ‘profit incentives to rural collective enterprises, family farms, small private business and foreign investors and traders’, which stimulated the efficiency of the economy. Many enterprises were also exempted from the state authority intervention, which resulted in an increase in the share of the collective enterprises from 42 percent to 50 percent and the share of the private business and joint ventures from 2 percent to 10 percent, while the output of the state owned enterprises declined from 56 percent to 40 percent. The profit motive of the producers increased the investment in their business in order to improve its performance. Reforms in the economic policy had also extended property rights in the countryside as the rural people started of non-agricultural business. The post reform period was marked with more competent use of labor and more fruitful farms as a result of de-collectivization and high priced farming products. This resulted in fast growth of village enterprises driving many people into ‘higher value added manufacturing sector’ from the ‘traditional agricultural sector’. The reform granted the enterprise managers with greater freedom as they were free to place their own production goals, sell the products in the private market with competitive prices, and give bonus to the employee who works better and fire the one whose performance is not good. The reform also entitled them to retain some of the firm’s earnings for further

My Success Strategies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 12

My Success Strategies - Essay Example My ability to rise from failure, learn lessons from it and try all over again to me is the success. If however, I keep making the same mistakes over and over again that is the failure. That is why I have to come up with a strategy to ensure success. In its simplest form, the strategy is a bridge for getting from where you are today to where you want to go. Whether in business or in your personal life, the strategy is how you plan to get from your current position to your desired goals. Just as we need a strategy for business and academic success, we need to plan for our lives to be successful. Without a strategy to success, we allow all kinds of forces to push, pull, twist, and turn us into mental and emotional pretzels. Our inability to say â€Å"no† pushes us into time-wasting activities; a lack of strategic direction allows us to be pulled down a career path we never wanted; good intentions to volunteer in the community are twisted into negative comments when we’re not able to meet the time commitments; and we’re emotionally turned around when the relationship we let wither finally ends. With a solid strategy in place, however, we can harness the everyday forces to lead us where we want to go. I like to think of strategy as a bridge—a way to get from where you are to where you want to be. A bridge provides passage over a gap—something that’s missing. For many of us, there are gaps in our lives—things that are miss ing, things that we’d like to have more of, such as more time with family and friends, more purposeful work, a healthier lifestyle, and greater spirituality. The strategy can help us fill those gaps. I have created a five-step plan to achieve the kind of life that I want. This framework takes the foundational principles of business strategy and helps you apply them to your life. The result is a simple plan you can follow to become effective, successful, and happy at work and at home.  Ã‚  

Research and Referencing Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Research and Referencing - Assignment Example devices are made of extremely trendy design and size so as to persuade the target customers to purchase the specific brand as compared to competitors within the region of Hawassa. This might prove effective for the mobile phone selling organization to amplify its customer base and loyalty in the market among others. Consumer behaviour is a very important term for the industry players of mobile phone segment in this era as it solves all the queries related to buying such as taste and preference of the customers, price margin, feasible time of purchase, the effective ways followed at the time of purchasing and the specific reasons for purchasing etc. If all the above mentioned queries might be analysed and evaluated by the marketer or the entrepreneur of a mobile phone, then the demand and total sales of the product lines might get increased as compared to their rival players. Certain other factors that influence the buying behaviour of a customer are individual and environmental (Sata, 2013). Among individual factors such as knowledge, perception, personality, attitude, life style etc offers high influence at the time of purchasing. Similarly, environmental factors like social class, culture, family etc also need to be determined at the time of launching or developing a specific mobile phone dev ice. Thus, from the above mentioned points, it might be clearly analysed that the prime factors that affect consumer buying decision are price, social factors, durability, brand name, features of the product and after sales services offered by the

Why Was America Taken by Surprise on 11 September 2001 Essay

Why Was America Taken by Surprise on 11 September 2001 - Essay Example The country itself is guarded by strong defenses. With a land army of total weapons of 56,269, air power of 18, 234 aircrafts and naval power of 2,834 ships1 she has become a symbol of military might. Furthermore, with a resilient intelligence network comprising of CIA, the country is apparently able to keep threats away. The story of 9/11 developed very interestingly. On the morning of September 11, 2001 four commercial planes were hijacked by terrorists affiliated with Al-Qaeda, an Islamic extremist group. The number of terrorists was expected to be around 19 that carried suicide attacks in three different places. The first two planes crashed into the World Trade Center in New York, the third destructed a part of the Pentagon while the fourth crashed in a field of Pennsylvania. This was a massive and atrocious attack on the land of America causing immense collateral damage.2 Who would have expected the day when America crippled into the depths of shock and horror with strong defens ive shields mentioned above. A major chunk of the American economy flourishing in the WTC was deflated. The Pentagon that is the central decision making body of the country was so vulnerable and the trans-border security on the airports was so weak that no one could keep a check on any unusual activities. All of these loopholes resulted in the death of more than 3000 civilians3 on 9/11. When the episode of 9/11 is dug deep, one comes across a lot of questions. For instance, why did a non-state actor attack America? How did it get the capability to penetrate inside the country? Was there an insider involved? Does it prove the failure of President George W. Bush’s administration or was it another excuse to wage war like the Pearl Harbor attack in 1941? All of these questions have affected the lives of Americans itself. Right after the country was attacked, President George W. Bush declared war on terror and put forward a proposal of â€Å"either you are with us or them (terror ists)† before the world making states choose between the devil and the deep blue sea. President Bush invested heavily to wage the war against Osama Bin Laden, the culprit responsible for planning and executing the attacks. He started off with bombarding Afghanistan in 2001 which hasn’t stopped yet even after a decade. The attacks had huge impact on the lives of each and every American. If one goes back in time, he will realize that the impact was equally large six decades ago when the Empire of Japan attacked Pearl Harbor toppling U.S Navy on the Hawaiian coast. Like 9/11, the attack on Pearl Harbor came as a surprise and both the attacks took approximately 3000 lives. On the second day of the attack President Roosevelt declared war on Japan starting World War II4. It was the first time ever in the history of mankind that a nuclear bomb was dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Similarly, President Bush announced to hunt down every terrorist in the world right after the WT C crippled. Hence, the defense budget started increasing at the cost of human lives. The most striking and ironic fact about these two attacks was that both the Presidents knew about them in advance. They knew that their country was under threat and could be attacked at any moment. It was in a newspaper on 30th November 1941 that warned of Japanese strike on the American homeland when the naval fleet came under attack on 7th December 1941. The President was questioned regarding knowledge of the attack beforehand. It was later investigated and revealed that it was the President himself and some members of his administration that delayed the conveyance of the warning messages given by the United Kingdom to Hawaii. 5 President

Criminal Justice System in the USA Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Criminal Justice System in the USA - Assignment Example As the paper outlines, this is obviously the wrong direction that the prison system is taking and represents an unethical way in which the offenders are being treated. Although the conditions in these prisons meet federal and local standards, the overall issue of human rights and equality is fundamentally flawed due to the fact that the people who are being locked away are not viewed with respect to how they should be punished or reformed; rather, they are only viewed with respect to the overall level of profitability that can be extracted from the state, regional, or federal government for their tenure in the penal system. The following analysis will discuss this to some length and highlight the unethical nature as well as some prescriptions for change that could be instituted in order to have a positive impact on the current criminal justice system. The ethical issue that exists is the fact that the prisons and penal institutions within the United States are supposed to be interest ed only in punishing and rehabilitating the criminal. Instead, what is taking place throughout the country is a situation in which the prison complex itself is making a massive amount of money based upon the individuals that it incarcerates. As one might expect, this means that there will be little if any focus upon seeking to rehabilitate the criminal; instead, the focus is upon only trying to expand the size of the prisons so that a further and further level of profitability is made.  As such, the primary ethical/moral issue that one must consider relates to the issue that has evolved from what this author will deem â€Å"incarceration for profit†. Although few individuals in the United States are aware of this practice, the fact of the matter is that it has grown from an isolated incidence to a multi-million dollar a year industry. The central issue can be explained as a system whereby overburdened municipalities cannot immediately afford the massive expense that is call ed for in order to build a new penitentiary system. As a way to bridge this gap while making a substantial profit, private firms enter into the equation and offer the municipality a joint venture which is oftentimes hard to resist. These firms offer to front the necessary capital to build the facility as well as staff it with private contracting security firms. The catch then comes as the municipality agrees to an extended lease of the facility. Although at face value this may seem an ingenious way for a private firm to work to alleviate the strains that a municipality may have with relation to prison overcrowding, it is however slightly more sinister than one would at first presume. Due to the fact that a private firm now has the stake in the criminal justice system, a system that arguably the state and the state alone should have prevued over, the interests of rehabilitation and reform are placed as secondary to overall profit (Brickner et al. 11). Such a situation is counter to t he very foundations of what the criminal justice system is supposed to provide to society.  In this way, incarceration has become the primary focus of policymakers and local leaders whereas the needs of those incarcerated as well as the secondary objectives of rehabilitation and reform are all but forgotten in a drive to provide more â€Å"bed space† for existing and incoming offenders.   This issue has been compounded by a host of policy decisions; some of these are beyond the scope of this individual analysis.   However, two of the complicating factors will be discussed at greater length within this analysis.

Manager should be considered a stakeholder Essay

Manager should be considered a stakeholder - Essay Example Thus, in 1984 Freeman offered a stakeholder theory, claiming that an organization can maximize its value only through common benefits of all the relevant persons and groups. Not only stockholders should complete control over a firm, while investors, employees and suppliers also take part and risks in creation of the business’s success. Stakeholder theory is based on doctrine of Fair Contracts, Feminist Standpoint Theory, and ecological principles. R. Edward Freeman shares his observations concerning business ethics, pointing out to the facts that: â€Å"organizations without a history of mutually accepted shared values tend to come apart during stress†, while â€Å"people in touch with core values can deal with change, ambiguity, stress, and tough times†. He also suggests that â€Å"people tend to avoid the ambiguous yet that is what tends to be the most rewarding† and that â€Å"individuals need organizational support to act morally† (Freeman 1984) . Freeman, Wicks, Parmar (2004) state that capitalism should be understood as â€Å"creating value for stakeholders† (p.366). At that â€Å"the goal of creating value for stakeholders is decidedly pro-shareholders†, while a manager creates shareholder value through creating qualitative products and services for customers, offering excellent jobs for employees, building favorable relationships with suppliers and competitors, and being a good citizen in the community. Finally, under such conditions an organization is not likely to have problems with governments. Creating stakeholder value managers are able to assume potential entrepreneurial risks. First of all, considering all the possible interests and stakeholders you avoid potential conflicts. Further, it is possible to cooperate with suppliers and customers to jointly test new products and services. Working in the name of increased profitability for the shareholders

Criminal Justice System in the USA Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Criminal Justice System in the USA - Assignment Example As the paper outlines, this is obviously the wrong direction that the prison system is taking and represents an unethical way in which the offenders are being treated. Although the conditions in these prisons meet federal and local standards, the overall issue of human rights and equality is fundamentally flawed due to the fact that the people who are being locked away are not viewed with respect to how they should be punished or reformed; rather, they are only viewed with respect to the overall level of profitability that can be extracted from the state, regional, or federal government for their tenure in the penal system. The following analysis will discuss this to some length and highlight the unethical nature as well as some prescriptions for change that could be instituted in order to have a positive impact on the current criminal justice system. The ethical issue that exists is the fact that the prisons and penal institutions within the United States are supposed to be interest ed only in punishing and rehabilitating the criminal. Instead, what is taking place throughout the country is a situation in which the prison complex itself is making a massive amount of money based upon the individuals that it incarcerates. As one might expect, this means that there will be little if any focus upon seeking to rehabilitate the criminal; instead, the focus is upon only trying to expand the size of the prisons so that a further and further level of profitability is made.  As such, the primary ethical/moral issue that one must consider relates to the issue that has evolved from what this author will deem â€Å"incarceration for profit†. Although few individuals in the United States are aware of this practice, the fact of the matter is that it has grown from an isolated incidence to a multi-million dollar a year industry. The central issue can be explained as a system whereby overburdened municipalities cannot immediately afford the massive expense that is call ed for in order to build a new penitentiary system. As a way to bridge this gap while making a substantial profit, private firms enter into the equation and offer the municipality a joint venture which is oftentimes hard to resist. These firms offer to front the necessary capital to build the facility as well as staff it with private contracting security firms. The catch then comes as the municipality agrees to an extended lease of the facility. Although at face value this may seem an ingenious way for a private firm to work to alleviate the strains that a municipality may have with relation to prison overcrowding, it is however slightly more sinister than one would at first presume. Due to the fact that a private firm now has the stake in the criminal justice system, a system that arguably the state and the state alone should have prevued over, the interests of rehabilitation and reform are placed as secondary to overall profit (Brickner et al. 11). Such a situation is counter to t he very foundations of what the criminal justice system is supposed to provide to society.  In this way, incarceration has become the primary focus of policymakers and local leaders whereas the needs of those incarcerated as well as the secondary objectives of rehabilitation and reform are all but forgotten in a drive to provide more â€Å"bed space† for existing and incoming offenders.   This issue has been compounded by a host of policy decisions; some of these are beyond the scope of this individual analysis.   However, two of the complicating factors will be discussed at greater length within this analysis.

Theoretical Skirmish Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Theoretical Skirmish - Essay Example 115), while Condit did not clearly define the term, but stated that hegemony resisted â€Å"the exclusive and narrow focus on the economic base that pervaded earlier Marxist theories† (Condit, 1994, p. 206). Condit stated that the earlier Marxist theories held that in capitalism, dominant classes imposed their capitalism ideology on the working class, and that, since capitalism flourished around the globe, while Marxism failed, the ideology had to have been spread by â€Å"coercive military force of the State proper and the leadership exerted in the civil society on behalf of the world view of the group in power† (Condit, 1994, p. 206). In other words, according to this theory, capitalism is maintained in these societies by coercion and by leadership. The leaders must have allies with whom they have active assent, while also maintaining passive assent from the governed. In this way, there is a distinction between power and leading – power is something that a person obtains, while leading is the quality the person exerts. It is this latter quality that stabilizes a society. Leading takes into account that there are a spectrum of interests in the populace, and that the leadi ng groups interest is not the only one. If a society does not take this into account, but, rather, that the leader merely dictates his own worldview on the populace, this is dominating, as opposed to leading, and this results in â€Å"dictatorship without hegemony† (Condit, 1994, p. 207). Thus, hegemony is defined as a way to stabilize society by generating some kind of consent by the populace to the ideological bent of the leader. Condit and Cloud take slightly different tacts in illustrating the concept of hegemony, however. Condit states that hegemony in the United States is accomplished by concordance. In pre-industrial societies, hegemony was accomplished in a different way. Because these societies were more

Ralph Waldo Emerson Essay Example for Free

Ralph Waldo Emerson Essay Note: Nineteenth Century American Transcendentalism is not a religion (in the traditional sense of the word); it is a pragmatic philosophy, a state of mind, and a form of spirituality. It is not a religion because it does not adhere to the three concepts common in major religions: a. a belief in a God; b. a belief in an afterlife (dualism); and c. a belief that this life has consequences on the next (if youre good in this life, you go to heaven in the next, etc. ). Transcendentalism is monist; it does not reject an afterlife, but its emphasis is on this life. The Assumed, Presumed, or the Self-Identified Transcendentalists: Central Points of Agreement: NOTE: The Transcendentalists, in keeping with the individualistic nature of this philosophy, disagreed readily with each other. Here are four points of general agreement: Basic Assumption: The intuitive faculty, instead of the rational or sensical, became the means for a conscious union of the individual psyche (known in Sanskrit as Atman) with the world psyche also known as the Oversoul, life-force, prime mover and God (known in Sanskrit as Brahma). Basic Premises: 1. An individual is the spiritual center of the universe and in an individual can be found the clue to nature, history and, ultimately, the cosmos itself. It is not a rejection of the existence of God, but a preference to explain an individual and the world in terms of an individual. 2. The structure of the universe literally duplicates the structure of the individual self all knowledge, therefore, begins with self-knowledge. This is similar to Aristotles dictum know thyself. 3. Transcendentalists accepted the neo-Platonic conception of nature as a living mystery, full of signs nature is symbolic. 4. The belief that individual virtue and happiness depend upon self-realization this depends upon the reconciliation of two universal psychological tendencies: a. the expansive or self-transcending tendency a desire to embrace the whole world to know and become one with the world. b. the contracting or self-asserting tendency the desire to withdraw, remain unique and separate an egotistical existence. Correspondence. It is a concept which suggests that the external is united with the internal. Physical or material nature is neutral or indifferent or objective; it is neither helpful nor hurtful; it is neither beautiful nor ugly. What makes one give such attributes to nature is that individuals imposition of her/his temperament or mood or psyche. If Im feeling lousy, I may dismiss a gorgeous day; if Im feeling bright and cheerful then the most dreary of days becomes tolerable. And so, the Transcendentalists believed that knowing yourself and studying nature is the same activity. Nature mirrors our psyche. If I cannot understand myself, may be understanding nature will help. Here is Darrel Abels take on this concept: Since one divine character was immanent everywhere in nature and in man, mans reason could discern the spiritual ideas in nature and his senses could register impressions of the material forms of nature. To man the subject, nature the object, which shared the same divine constitution as himself, presented external images to the innate ideas in his soul. (American Literature, Vol. 2, 1963, 4-5. ) Transcendentalism and the American Past. Transcendentalism as a movement is rooted in the American past: To Puritanism it owed its pervasive morality and the doctrine of divine light. It is also similar to the Quaker inner light. However, both these concepts assume acts of God, whereas intuition is an act of an individual. In Unitarianism, deity was reduced to a kind of immanent principle in every person an individual was the true source of moral light. To Romanticism it owed the concept of nature as a living mystery and not a clockwork universe (deism) which is fixed and permanent. A subtle chain of countless rings The next unto the farthest brings; The eye reads omens where it goes, And speaks all languages the rose; And, striving to be man, the worm Mounts through all the spires of form. Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nature, 1836 Transcendentalism was a 1. spiritual, 2. philosophical and 3. literary movement and is located in the history of American Thought as (a). Post-Unitarian and free thinking in religious spirituality (b). Kantian and idealistic in philosophy and (c). Romantic and individualistic in literature. A Brief Chronology of Events. †¢ 1832 Emerson resigns the ministry of the Unitarian Church unable to administer the holy communion. †¢ 1836 The annus mirabilis of the movement, during which Emerson published Nature (the gospel of transcendentalism); George Ripley published Discourses on the Philosophy of Religion; Orestes Brownson published New Views of Christianity, Society, and Church; Bronson Alcott published Record of Conversions in the Gospel (based on classroom discussions in his Temple School in Boston, and provoking severe criticism); the Transcendental Club, also known as Hedges Club, met for the first time. †¢ 1837 Emerson delivers his Phi Beta Kappa address on The American Scholar at Harvard, which James Russell Lowell called an event without former parallel in our literary annals. †¢ 1838 Emerson delivers his Divinity School Address at Harvard which touched off a great storm in religious circles. †¢ 1840 The founding of the Dial, a Transcendental magazine, which enjoyed its obscurity, to use Emersons words, for four years. †¢ 1841 The launching of George Ripleys Brook Farm a utopian experiment. Hawthorne was a resident there for a short time and wrote The Blithedale Romance based upon his experience there. †¢ 1842 Alcotts utopian experiment at Fruitlands. †¢ 1845 Thoreau goes to live at Walden Pond. †¢ 1846 Thoreau is put in jail for his refusal to pay poll tax. †¢ 1850 Passage of the Fugitive Slave Act. The Transcendentalists found themselves increasingly involved in abolition of slavery. †¢ 1855 Walt Whitman publishes his Leaves of Grass. †¢ 1859 Charles Darwins Origin of Species is published. †¢ 1862 Henry David Thoreau dies. Basic Tenets of American Transcendentalism: Note: This list must not be considered to be a creed common to all transcendentalists. It is merely a grouping of certain important concepts shared by many of them. †¢ 1. Transcendentalism, essentially, is a form of idealism. †¢ 2. The transcendentalist transcends or rises above the lower animalistic impulses of life (animal drives) and moves from the rational to a spiritual realm. †¢ 3. The human soul is part of the Oversoul or universal spirit (or float for Whitman) to which it and other souls return at death. †¢ 4. Therefore, every individual is to be respected because everyone has a portion of that Oversoul (God). †¢ 5. This Oversoul or Life Force or God can be found everywhere travel to holy places is, therefore, not necessary. 6. God can be found in both nature and human nature (Nature, Emerson stated, has spiritual manifestations). †¢ 7. Jesus also had part of God in himself he was divine as everyone is divine except in that he lived an exemplary and transcendental life and made the best use of that Power which is within each one. †¢ 8. Miracle is monster. The miracles of the Bible are not to be regarded as important as they were to the people of the past. Miracles are all about us the whole world is a miracle and the smallest creature is one. A mouse is a miracle enough to stagger quintillions of infidels. Whitman †¢ 9. More important than a concern about the afterlife, should be a concern for this life the one thing in the world of value is the active soul. Emerson †¢ 10. Death is never to be feared, for at death the soul merely passes to the oversoul. †¢ 11. Emphasis should be placed on the here and now. Give me one world at a time. Thoreau †¢ 12. Evil is a negative merely an absence of good. Light is more powerful than darkness because one ray of light penetrates the dark. †¢ 13. Power is to be obtained by defying fate or predestination, which seem to work against humans, by exercising ones own spiritual and moral strength. Emphasis on self-reliance. †¢ 14. Hence, the emphasis is placed on a human thinking. †¢ 15. The transcendentalists see the necessity of examples of great leaders, writers, philosophers, and others, to show what an individual can become through thinking and action. †¢ 16. It is foolish to worry about consistency, because what an intelligent person believes tomorrow, if he/she trusts oneself, tomorrow may be completely different from what that person thinks and believes today. A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds. Emerson †¢ 17. The unity of life and universe must be realized. There is a relationship between all things. †¢ 18. One must have faith in intuition, for no church or creed can communicate truth. †¢ 19. Reform must not be emphasized true reform comes from within. Reasons for the Rise of American Transcendentalism There was no one precise cause for the beginning of Transcendentalism. According to Paul Boller, chance, coincidence and several independent events, thoughts and tendencies seemed to have converged in the 1830s in New England. Some of these were: †¢ 1. The steady erosion of Calvinism. †¢ 2. The progressive secularization of modern thought under the impact of science and technology. †¢ 3. The emergence of a Unitarian intelligentsia with the means, leisure, and training to pursue literature and scholarship. †¢ 4. The increasing insipidity and irrelevance of liberal religion to questing young minds lack of involvement in womens rights and abolitionism. †¢ 5. The intrusion of the machine into the New England garden and the disruption of the old order by the burgeoning industrialism. †¢ 6. The impact of European ideas on Americans traveling abroad. †¢ 7. The appearance of talented and energetic young people like Emerson, Fuller, and Thoreau on the scene. †¢ 8. The imperatives of logic itself for those who take ideas seriously the impossibility, for instance, of accepting modern science without revising traditional religious views. Important ideas from: Warren, Robert Penn, Cleanth Brooks, and R. W. B. Lewis. A National Literature and Romantic Individualism. in Romanticism. eds. James Barbour and Thomas Quirk. NY: Garland, 1986, 3-24. 1. Transcendentalism was a philosophical, literary, social, and theological movement. 2. Its origin is traced to the relaxing of Puritan Calvinism into Unitarianism a belief very much like Deism. From its early liberalism, Unitarianism developed, for some of the young intellectuals, into a new orthodoxy of smug social conformity that denied the spiritual and emotional depths of experience corpse-cold Unitarianism, as Emerson was to call it. (11) 3. German and English Romanticism provided some inspiration towards the search for some deeper truth. 4. Transcendentalism represented a complex response to the democratization of American life, to the rise of science and the new technology, and to the new industrialism to the whole question, in short, of the redefinition of the relation of man to nature and to other men that was being demanded by the course of history. (11-12) 5. Influences: a. From Plato came the idealism according to which reality subsists beyond the appearances of the world. Plato also suggests that the world is an expression of spirit, or mind, which is sheer intelligibility and therefore good. b. From Immanuel Kant came the notion of the native spontaneity of the human mind against the passive conception of the 18th c. sensational theory (also known as the philosophy of empiricism of John Locke and David Hume; the concept that the mind begins as a tabula rasa and that all knowledge develops from sensation). c. From Coleridge came the importance of wonder, of antirationalism, and the importance of individual consciousness. d. From Puritanism came the ethical seriousness and the aspect of Jonathan Edwards that suggested that an individual can receive divine light immediately and directly. 6. Transcendentalism was, at its core, a philosophy of naked individualism, aimed at the creation of the new American, the self-reliant man, complete and independent. (22) 7. The achievement of the transcendentalists has a grandeur. They did confront, and helped define, the great issues of their time, and if they did not resolve those issues, we of the late twentieth century, who have not yet resolved them, are in no position to look down our noses at their effort. (23) Towards a Definition of Transcendentalism: A Few Comments: from Henry David Gray, Emerson: A Statement of N. E. Transcendentalism as Expressed in the Philosophy of Its Chief Exponent, 1917 1. The spirit of the time is in every form a protest against usage and a search for principles. Emerson in the opening number of The Dial. 2. I was given to understand that whatever was unintelligible would be certainly Transcendental. Charles Dickens in American Notes 3. I should have told them at once that I was a transcendentalist. That would have been the shortest way of telling them that they would not understand my explanations. Thoreau, Journal, V:4 4. The word Transcendentalism, as used at the present day, has two applications. One of which is popular and indefinite, the other, philosophical and precise. In the former sense it describes man, rather than opinions, since it is freely extended to those who hold opinions, not only diverse from each other, but directly opposed. Noah Porter, 1842 5. Transcendentalism is the recognition in man of the capacity of knowing truth intuitively, or of attaining a scientific knowledge of an order of existence transcending the reach of the senses, and of which we can have no sensible experience. J. A. Saxton, Dial II: 90 6. Literally a passing beyond all media in the approach to the Deity, Transcendentalism contained an effort to establish, mainly by the discipline of the intuitive faculty, direct intercourse between the soul and God. Charles J. Woodbury in Talks with Ralph Waldo Emerson 7. Transcendentalism was not speculative, but essentially practical and reformatory. John Orr in The Transcendentalism of New England, International Review, XIII: 390 8. Transcendentalism was a distinct philosophical system. Practically it was an assertion of the inalienable worth of man; theoretically it was an assertion of the immanence of divinity in instinct, the transference of supernatural attributes to the natural constitution of mankind. Transcendentalism is usually spoken of as a philosophy. It is more justly regarded as a gospel. As a philosophy it is so far from uniform, that it may rather be considered several systems than one. Transcendentalism was an enthusiasm, a wave of sentiment, a breath of mind. O. B. Frothingham in Transcendentalism in New England, 1876 9. The problem of transcendental philosophy is no less than this, to revise the experience of mankind and try its teachings by the nature of mankind, to test ethics by conscience, science by reason; to try the creeds of the churches, the constitution of the states, by the constitution of the universe. Theodore Parker in Works VI: 37 10. We feel it to be a solemn duty to warn our readers, and in our measure, the public, against this German atheism, which the spirit of darkness is employing ministers of the gospel to smuggle in among us under false pretenses. Princeton Review XII: 71 11. Protestantism ends in Transcendentalism. Orestes Brownson in Works, 209 12. The fundamentals of Transcendentalism are to be felt as sentiments, or grasped by the imagination as poetical wholes, rather than set down in propositions. Cabot, A Memoir of Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1887, I: 248 13. First and foremost, it can only be rightly conceived as an intellectual, aesthetic, and spiritual ferment, not a strictly reasoned doctrine. It was a renaissance of conscious, living faith in the power of reason, in the reality of spiritual insight, in the privilege, beauty, and glory of life. Frances Tiffany, Transcendentalism: The New England Renaissance, Unitarian Review, XXXI: 111. 14. The Transcendentalist adopts the whole connection of spiritual doctrine. If there is anything grand or daring in human thought or virtue, any reliance on the vast, the unknown; any presentiment, any extravagance of faith, the spiritualist adopts it as most in nature. The oriental mind has always tended to this largeness. Buddhism is an expression of it. The Buddhist is a Transcendentalist. Shall we say then that Transcendentalism is the Saturnalia or excess of Faith; the presentiment of a faith proper to man in his integrity, excessive only when his imperfect obedience hinders the satisfaction of his wish? Ralph Waldo Emersons lecture on The Transcendentalist, Works I: 317-320 15. (Transcendentalism was) a blending of Platonic metaphysics and the Puritan spirit, of a philosophy and a character taking place at a definite time, in a specially fertilized soil, under particular conditions. H. C. Goddard, Studies in New England Transcendentalism, 1908. 16. If I were a Bostonian, I think I would be a Transcendentalist. Charles Dickens in American Notes.

Computer Graphics Effect On Animation

Computer Graphics Effect On Animation The history of computer animation can be traced back many decades to such films as Peter Foldes 1971 film Metadata, or even a 1968 attempt by Soviets to animate a cat. It was in the 1980s, however, that the techniques became more widely used and the industry truly began to experience big changes in how things were done. The advent of this new technology meant that machines could do more of the work, much like with the use of robots in manufacturing. While this machinery is a godsend for productivity, it brings with it concern for peoples jobs and the survival of the traditional way of doing things. One animator by the name of Bill Kroyer brought these concerns to the forefront in 1988 with his own animated interpretation of the ongoing development of this threat. Bill Kroyers Technological Threat serves as an excellent metaphor for the advent of computer animation and how it affected the animation industry and validity of the fears it brought forth. From its infancy up until recent decades, traditional animation techniques were the only methods of animation available before the advent of more powerful computers. Much of it requires each frame to be hand-drawn or, in the case of stop motion, each character or object has to be sculpted and moved little by little for each frame that is captured. It is tedious work. These traditional techniques take a lot of time and patience to do successfully. Throughout the decades there have been attempts to minimize the work involved with animation, such as the introduction of cel animation which put characters and objects on clear celluloid which would then be animated on top of a background image. This meant that a background would only have to be made once, whereas beforehand it had to be redrawn completely with each passing frame. Another time-saving innovation came in the form of Walt Disneys multiplane camera system, which took cel animation even further by making the creation of depth mu ch easier by separating and moving each individual part of the scenery independently and at varying distances from the camera. Even with these advancements, however, the same traditional techniques were required to actually animate anything. Computers brought forth a drastic change in the playing field, essentially turning the art into a science. Soon one of the first instances of computer animation would come in 1960 when John Whitney developed his analog computer to make title sequences for movies and television, using surplus anti-air guidance hardware from World War II. While computers became widely used in animation during the 1980s, there were still quite a few instances of it in the preceding decades, starting with the aforementioned machine developed by Whitney. The computer technology of the time was rather limited and therefore usually only used for experiments. For instance, Peter Foldes used the first implementation of key frame software to create Metadata in 1971. While it entailed the use of a data tablet, which was surprisingly modern for the era, it was limited to two-dimensional animation and could only show simple line drawings of objects in a couple of colors. This film was merely experimental, however, and was followed 3 years later by Hunger in 1974, which was intentionally done in black and white line dr awings. Computers would quickly become powerful enough to render much more realistic imagery, as was exemplified by Loren Carpenters Vol Libre which he presented at SIGGRAPH in 1980, a computer graphics conference held annually. It used fractals to generate breathtaking mountainous scenery and instantly landed him a job at Lucasfilm. Of the animators that worked during the era that computer animation became more widespread, one particularly interesting perspective is that of Bill Kroyer. Bill got his start in animation in the mid-1970s, just before the computer revolution of the 1980s. He originally was denied a job at Disney, but would later be hired by them in 1977, during a time when Disney Animation, and the animation industry as a whole, was in the midst of a slump. He did not stay with Disney long, as he soon left to work with Steve Lisberger on Animalympics. The major milestone in Bills career, however, came in 1982 when they developed Tron which they teamed up with Disney to work on. As Kroyer himself put it, Tron was the beginning. It was the moment when computer graphics made its first contact with the animation industry-like the sperm and the egg. It was neat, because nobody had ever done it before. There were no experts around (Kroyer). It was the first time computer animation would be used so extensi vely on a feature film, and it became almost a prophecy of what would develop in the coming years. Jobs that used to take hundreds of people to do, such as painting backgrounds, can now be accomplished cheaply and quickly by using computers. While Kroyer enjoyed working with computers to animate, he longed for the illusion of hand-drawn cartoons and decided to start Kroyer Films with his wife in 1986 with the intention of combining traditional and computer animation. He became a pioneer in combining the two techniques. While Kroyer was skilled at animating, he was also knowledgeable about writing computer programs, and developed one with his wife that could use a plotter to draw out the computer animations on paper. Such use of computers for animating made many animators begin to fear it taking over and forcing them out of their careers. In response to these fears, Kroyer made Technological Threat in 1988. In it, a group of hand-drawn cartoon dogs are employees at a company and are threatened by their seemingly inevitable replacement by highly efficient robots, which are computer animated. This paranoia culminates into a struggle for survival that ultimately ends in the last remaining dog employee taking down his now-robotic boss with the help of one of the robots, which he proceeds to double-cross to eliminate the threat altogether, leaving him the only remaining employee, the top dog as it were. The film was essentially about traditional animators ultimately working in harmony with this new techn ology and ultimately being highly successful in their careers, perhaps more so than they would have previously. The dog protagonist, symbolic of traditional animators fearing the loss of their job, defies the odds and in the end triumphs, rising in rank to become the new boss. The robots represent the computers used to do computer animation, appearing innocent and diligently going about their work, but ultimately are no less susceptible to losing their jobs than the dogs are. Kroyers approach to animating goes against traditional animators fears by combining both methods and using them to their fullest potential. According to the theories of Paul Wells, this film would be considered developmental animation, as it maintains many traditional aspects of orthodox animated films but mixes two different styles of animation in a more modern approach. According to him, Developmental Animation operates as a mode of expression combining or selecting elements of both approaches, representing t he aesthetic and philosophical tension between the two apparent extremes (Wells, 35). There was no doubt a tension between the two approaches during the time this film came out. Kroyer goes on to explain that, despite this new and highly capable tool, the artistic vision of the animator is still crucial to a films success. Computers are merely another tool in the animators arsenal. Throughout the 1980s, computers went into widespread use, from businesses to residential homes. These machines revolutionized everybodys lives and had far reaching effects on many peoples jobs, not just those of animators. While computers have increased productivity almost everywhere, they have threatened to eliminate many jobs and force many to either learn to use the new technology or remain unemployed. It is truly a situation where we are made to keep up with changes in the workplace or else risk being left behind in a dust cloud of our own stubbornness. This was an especially trying time for many animators as computers had finally reached the point where they would be practical to use in animation. But unlike many jobs that were completely taken over by computers, animation allows for the coexistence of computers with traditional techniques. Understandably, one would think traditional animation to be doomed through the development of this amazing new technology. This could not be farther from the truth, however, as traditional animation remained strong through the 1980s and continues to grow. In fact, it has seen a sort of revival in recent years. In 2009, Disney released The Princess and the Frog, their first traditionally animated feature since they made Home on the Range in 2004. During the 1990s, the Disney Renaissance brought us multiple wildly successful films using traditional techniques, including such films as The Lion King and Mulan. Even with the massive success of Toy Story in 1995, Disney continued to make traditionally animated films on a yearly basis even after the end of the renaissance in 1999. While the renaissance did die out and Disney seemingly put traditional animation on the backburner after Home on the Range, they have shown us that it really is not dead after all with Princess and the Frog and ha s promised to release a traditionally animated film every 2 years from now on. Similarly, Hayao Miyazaki, a highly acclaimed animator from Japan, has built his career off of creating fantastical feature films primarily using traditional animation, and has won various prestigious awards for his creations. Since creating Princess Mononoke, he has begun to implement computer animation in some sequences of his films. Despite this, he retains traditional 2D cel animation as his primary medium of choice. Through all of this it is also important to note that traditional animation still continues to garner critical acclaim insofar as receiving awards and nominations for awards. The medium, while requiring a greater amount of labor and time, still produces many high quality films worthy of critical praise. For instance, Disneys recently released Princess and the Frog was nominated for a Golden Globe, and Miyazaki has been nominated for or won awards for a lot of his films. Bill Kroyer was also nominated for an Acedemy Award for Technological Threat. This just goes to show that the look of traditional animation is not seen as obsolete and can be beautifully done, as has been shown for countless decades. Another important aspect of these two techniques to consider is the overall cost of production for films that use either technique. There has been a growing misconception that computer animation is far more cost-effective overall than traditional animation. While this is true in some instances, in actuality it is subjective to the films being compared. One good comparison to make that disproves this fallacy is between two feature films released by Disney: Bolt and Mulan. Bolt was Disneys CGI major feature released a couple of years ago in 2008, while Mulan was their traditionally animated feature of 1998, which happened to come out towards the end of the Disney Renaissance. Both films have about an hour and a half of runtime. There is a staggering difference in production budgets, however. While Mulan carried a production budget of 90 million dollars, Bolt had an astonishingly large budget of 150 million, 60 million more than Mulan! This clearly shows that the cost of production is s ubjective to the film being worked on and can change in favor of either computers or traditional techniques. Despite the hype for computer animated features following the massive success of Toy Story in 1995, there have been CGI films that have been less than successful, such as Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within in 2001. This film, despite having ultra-realistic CGI and a budget of 137 million dollars, was a total flop, with revenues not even covering the production costs for the film. A films financial viability can depend on many factors, like the quality of what is being animated, and of course how it is marketed, but that is another issue entirely. In short, CGI-animated films can be cheaper than those made with traditional animation in some cases, but often can cost just as much if not more. The costs of each are comparable to each other, the only major difference is traditional techniques tend to take longer. Much like in any other industry, computers drastically changed the way animation can be done and people feared losing their jobs because of the changes brought forth by them. But, as is exemplified by Kroyers film Technological Threat, there is little need to fear the future. Today, traditional animation and computer animation coexist and are often even used in combination on some films. Traditional animation remains a prominent form of animation to this day, and continues to grow with new animators joining the ranks. Computer graphics is not meant as a replacement for the old fashioned hand-drawn and stop motion styles, but rather another tool in their box of tricks. Just because one owns a drill does not make a screwdriver obsolete. They each have important purposes as well as advantages and disadvantages. After all, a tool is only as good as the person trained to use it.

Essay --

Education is closely associated in determining a person’s life chances. Socioeconomic status (SES) plays a critical part in higher education today in America. Socioeconomic status (SES) refers to the ranking based on occupation, income and other social components like education. The inequality in college enrollments and degree completion has been a major concern in our society. The students’ SES seems to actuate the opportunities and the achievement they will fulfill in postsecondary school. Sociologists tend to acknowledge that social course is still an important aspect in today’s society. Also, it affects our life chances and choices. Education contributes to income attainment and occupational prestige. Moreover, there is an inequality between men and women from contrasting social backgrounds in terms of education, particularly in college. Education serves as a ladder to success and social mobility. In America, students from low socioeconomic status (SES) families have always been a part of the nation’s higher education and are few in number. Socioeconomic status has crucial effects on students and their performance in college. The subject of SES and how it affects college education has been debated for decades. The social ranking is parallel to whether one will succeed in college. SES insinuates more immense impact on low SES students than high SES students. Low SES students are deprived in schools due to the lack of academic environment and limit their chances of academic success in school. Those circumstances cause low SES schools to be low compliant and impose the notion that only determined and flexible students can avoid low academic achievement. Low SES students are said to be â€Å"similarly u... ...and men. Mention history of gender inequality: how history affect our society. â€Å"Let’s not forget about the history of Women’s Rights. Women are not mentioned in the Constitution†¦ There are natural differences in men and women; Women are viewed weaker and are expected to stay home, take care of the family. Also, might want to squeeze in a little detail about the role of Economics in our society. Accomplishment in college of students from different socioeconomic background varies. If the social deprivation decreases, low SES students should have similar experiences and accomplishments. Social backgrounds continue to negatively affect their college achievement if low SES students have different outcomes or lower achievements (Walpole viriya.net 2003). Different opportunities are brought about by differences of resources and status (Linkon diversityweb.org 2008).

Managing Financial Resources Essay

SUMMARY RESULTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS The proposed refrigerator manufacturing and sales project for Tesca Works, Inc. is a financially complicated project which on the surface, given the increase in energy costs and customer demand may seem like a winning proposition. However, when we delve further into the details of the financial projections along with projections of the future of the refrigerator market we are able to make a confident recommendation to Mr. Burton and the executive staff at Tesca Works, Inc. Using the information provided by the Tesca team we were able to create a comprehensive capital budget and cash flow analysis for the proposed refrigerator project. Through our analysis we found that the cost of capital of the project to be 13.487% and a Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC) to be at a value of 9.70%. Factoring in the WACC into our projections we found that if the demand maintains at an average rate the project will be at a positive Net  Present Value of $5,997,505.31 with an IRR of 13.21%, a profitability index of 8.84, and an approximate payback period of 6.84 years. Please see Exhibits below for a snapshot of the capital budget and NPV values. This information seemed to be very promising for the project in general. However, our continued analysis showed the project to be very sensitive to the sales price per unit of the refrigerator. We used the average demand scenario to produce a sensitivity analysis and found that with just a 5% decrease in the sales price of the refrigerator the NPV quickly dipped into a negative value thus showing the project to be extremely sensitive to the sales price of the refrigerator. Our scenario analysis also exposed a strong probability of the project giving a negative Net Present Value and giving a probable low Internal Rate of Return of only 4.01%. This is mainly due to the projects sensitivity to the sales price of the refrigerator and the potentially lower sales in the event of weak demand for the product. Because of the high probability for a very low IRR and negative NPV we are recommending that the project be rejected. The information we have uncovered through detailed financial analysis showed that the project is far too sensitive to lower demand and lower sales prices per unit. This is especially true for a lower sales price for the refrigerator. We found that even a small decrease in the sales price of just over 1% would cause the project’s NPV to become negative, even with an average unit sales demand. There may be potential for an average or strong demand in the marketplace, however there is too much risk to recommend project acceptance. A decision to move forward with the project would be mainly based on a ‘gut-feeling’ rather than on sound financial reasoning. Thus it is our official recommendation that Tesca Works, Inc. reject the project. 1) IMPORTANCE OF ENERGY COST SITUATION The question of energy cost being a factor of the decision to move forward with this project is of critical importance. This is because whether or not consumers are inspired to purchase a new appliance may be spurred by  increases in energy costs as well as possible tax benefits or rebates from power generating companies. Some consumers may be aware of the benefits of energy efficient appliances which may cause an increase in the normal demand for refrigerators. Tesca is in a unique position to be able to offer high efficiency refrigerators to the United States public at a time when the public is looking to reduce their use of electricity and other utility costs. When we look at the graph above it can be seen that the cost of electricity has steadily increased over the last 10 years. The price per kilowatt hour has increased almost 50% in 10 years (EIA, 2014). Thus to the consumer the price of energy is a big concern and the costs will most likely continue into the future. There is potential for an increased demand to replace aging inefficient appliances that are causing increased electrical bills for consumers. The energy cost and potential benefits to the consumer are of importance when determining the future of this project. The project is forecast to be of a positive value if the demand for refrigerators is at an average or strong demand from consumers. However, the realization of a high or average demand is mainly based on ‘gut-feeling’ rather than on sound financial information. There are too many variables in the marketplace that could cause demand to be weaker than projected. Such variables as a weak economy or recession could cause sales to drop which in turn would cause the project to lose its value quickly. 2) What is the project’s cost of equity? What is the appropriate discount factor to use for evaluating the refrigerator project? As seen in Exhibit I below, the project’s cost of equity (COE) is calculated to be 13.487%. We found this value by using the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) formula by adding the treasury note yield with the beta value, then taking the market return rate and subtracting the treasury note yield. We then multiply those values together to attain the cost of equity value of 13.487%. This means there is a rate of return on investment of 13.487%. The Beta for Tesca Works, Inc. is fairly consistent with their competition. Tesca’s beta value is at 1.3 which means that Tesca’s value has been more volatile than the market. While this means there is more risk when investing in Tesca there is also a greater possibility for higher rates of  return. Exhibit I also shows the table used to calculate the Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC) or discount factor which we used to evaluate this particular project. We used the following formula to calculate the WACC for this project. We know that the higher the weighted average cost of capital the less likely it is that Tesca will be creating value for its investors. The WACC helps us to determine if a company is creating value and presents the minimum return to satisfy investors and creditors. 3) Which of the two compressors should be used in the refrigerator if you decide to go ahead with the project and why? As seen in Exhibit II we determined that the CM-004 compressor should be used for this particular project. We came to this conclusion by finding the present value of the five year compressor warranty and adding that to the cost of the compressor. We used the weighted average cost of capital as the rate in our present value calculations. While the TS-L12 has a less expensive purchase price it has a more expensive warranty cost for the five year warranty period thus making it a more expensive overall compressor. When we use the present value calculations on both compressors, factoring in the warranty, we found that the present value of the CM-004 is $18.21 less expensive than the TS-L12 compressor. This makes the CM-004 compressor 4% less expensive to purchase for the warranty life of the compressor. It was important to take calculate the present values of both compressors to get an accurate comparison of the costs of the two compressors for the five year warranty costs of each compressor. While on the surface the TS-L12 may have seemed less expensive the overall cost in present dollars was higher when we factored in the value of the five year warranty on both compressors. 4) Forecast the project’s cash flows for the next twenty years. What assumptions did you use? Once we selected the appropriate compressor to use we were able to plug in  certain input values into our equations to create a cash flow projection for the entire project lifetime. We used the weighted average cost of capital value found in our earlier calculations as one of our input values. We also found the present value of the refrigerator, see Exhibit IV, by using the input values given in the financial information from Tesca such as the labor, parts, and compressor costs. We found the cost of the refrigerator to be $1,269.36, see Exhibit III. ASSUMPTIONS MADE: Certain assumptions were made when calculating the projected cash flows for the refrigerator project. We assumed inflation would remain at 2.5% and used that value to increase the sales price, variable cost, and administrative fixed costs each year. Please see Exhibit IV for a breakdown of the inputs used for the cash flow projections. This allowed us to gain a more a more realistic forecast of the project’s potential cash flows for the entire project. We also used the average demand as our base projections for the project. This is because the average demand scenario has the highest probability of 45%. We used straight-line depreciation with regard to depreciating the investment in the project over time. We detailed the first three years of the project, years zero through two with the appropriate investment amounts during each of those years. Since production and sales did not begin until year three we were able to make an assumption of potential tax returns on the invested dollars for years one and two. We used the tax rate of 25% to calculate the tax returns along with the taxable amounts for all years. See the attached spreadsheet for the detailed cash flow projections. We also assumed that since the refrigerators could be produced for a total of 20 years the entire life of the project would span from year zero through year 22. This is because the production of the refrigerators could not begin until year three, thus making the projects timeline from year zero through year 22. With this information and assumptions we found that when the units are in production and being sold the project will yield a positive annual cash flow. The working capital was found by taking the 11% and carrying it over  for each year. We used the initial Net Operating Working Capital (NOWC) found in year two then calculated the difference using 11% of the difference of the sales each year and calculated that for the entire life of the production. 5) Use the appropriate capital budgeting techniques to evaluate the project. As seen in Exhibit V we used the appropriate capital budgeting and performance measures to evaluate the life of the project. Exhibit VI displays the results of the capital budgeting analysis. We found the NPV for the average demand scenario to be $5,997,505.31 which is a positive value for the project given the average demand inputs. The Internal Rate of Return was calculated as 13.21% which, again, is a positive value and could provide for a nice rate of return on the project since it is higher than the weighted average cost of capital and the market return rate. The profitability index was found to be at a value of 8.84. Because the profitability index is higher than 1.0 that shows that the project present value is greater than the initial investments in the project. We then calculated the number of years for a payback on the initial investments in the project. We found that the simple payback of the initial investments would take 6.48 years for the average demand scenario. In simple terms, and if we only used the average demand assumptions, this project would seem to provide positive net results for Tesca. Using the average demand inputs the NPV, IRR, Profitability Index, and Payback Years are at an acceptable level. However, as we will cover in later sections, when we include probability analysis of the other demand scenarios we find that the project is less than desirable. 6) Use the average demand scenario to evaluate the sensitivity of the project’s NPV with respect to sale price of the refrigerator and the cost of the compressor.  We used the average demand scenario to produce a comprehensive sensitivity analysis of the project. We utilized three variables when conducting our sensitivity analysis, the sale price of the refrigerator, the cost of the compressor, and the project’s weighted average cost of capital. We included the weighted average cost of capital as an extra variable to get further details on the sensitivity of the project. We used a scale of 5% increments from -25% to 25% which allowed us to produce a sensitivity analysis with adequate details. Please see Exhibits VIII and IX for the numerical details and sensitivity graph for the project. The sensitivity analysis uncovered the following critical information with respect to how sensitive the NPV of the project was to the given variables. Sales Price Sensitivity We found that even a small decrease in the sales price of the refrigerator of just over 1% caused the project’s NPV to become negative. The graph in Exhibit IX shows the steep sensitivity line with respect to the change in the sales price per unit. Even with an average sales demand, if the price dropped to 15% which is approximately the same sale price of our weak demand scenario the NPV was substantially below zero at a negative value of $-57,667,920. With each 5% increment the NPV values sometimes increased or decreased at a rate that doubled or more because of the projects extreme sensitivity to the sales price of the refrigerator. The profit margin on the refrigerator of 19.41% and markup of only 24% does not leave much room for a price reduction in the sales price of the refrigerator. The data also points to a wide range in NPV with respect to the sales price of the units. There was a total range of over $212 million for the sensitivity of the sales price per unit. This d ata leads to the discovery that the project is extremely sensitive to the sales price of the refrigerator. Compressor Cost Sensitivity The project was not as sensitive to the cost of the compressor, however, it did not take a large percentage increase in the cost of the compressor to throw the NPV of the project into a negative value, just over 5%. Exhibit IX’s graph shows the sensitivity lines for the project. The compressor sensitivity is not nearly as steep as the price sensitivity per unit. Because the cost of the compressor affects the profit margin on each refrigerator the lower the cost of the compressor the better the NPV because  of the increased profit margin per unit. 7) Based on the scenario and sensitivity analysis you performed above, comment on the overall riskiness of the project. Based on the scenario and sensitivity analysis we were able to determine that the project is of a high risk nature. There are several factors that make this project such a high risk which include the narrow profit margin per unit, the uncertainty of the future market, the high cost per unit, and the high administrative costs. Through a scenario analysis we analyzed the three potential demand scenarios for this project. We used the weak, strong, and average demand scenario variables to formulate the probabilities for the project. We found that the probability of the NPV is a significant negative value of $-6,300,213, see Exhibit VII for details of the scenario analysis. We also found that the probable IRR of the project was very low at 4.01%. Given the low IRR probability of 4.01% that means it is significantly lower than the S&P 500 market return of 11% and barely a point higher than the 10-year treasury note yield of 2.71%. The low probable internal rate of return is another red flag for the riskiness and viability of the refrigerator project for Tesca Works, Inc. The weak demand scenario produced significant negative values for the NPV and the internal rate of return (IRR). The weak scenario also produced a non-existent payback period within the 20 year production lifecycle of the project. With each scenario the selling price and unit sales were changed, however, the high cost of each unit and administrative costs remained the same, thus adding to the risk of the project since it is highly reliant on an average or strong demand and higher sales prices per unit. While the project has the potential of a very high NPV, IRR, and payback period with a strong demand, the projects sensitivity to price and market demand make this a very risky project to undertake at this time. If there were ways to increase the profit margin or decrease the fixed costs of the project that may help decrease the risky nature of this particular project. 8) Would you recommend that Tesca Works accept or reject the project? What is the basis for your recommendation? We would not recommend this project for Tesca Works, Inc. Our recommendation is for Tesca management to reject the project. Our analysis has shown this project to be too sensitive to market shift and too risky to undertake at this time. While there is excitement across the country for more energy efficient appliances, we feel that the project poses some significant risks for Tesca. The successful outcome of the project truly relies on the demand from consumers. Their demand will determine the selling price and sales volume of the refrigerator units. If this demand is barely below the average demand we will see a negative NPV for the project and thus a negative result for Tesca Works, Inc. Recent economic history in the United States has shown the economy to be unstable and may not provide an average or strong demand for the product. While we feel the energy costs across the country could be of significant importance for a project of this nature we do not feel that there is enough lee way in the profit margin of the project to be economically feasible should demand be lower than anticipated. Our analysis showed the project to be very sensitive to the sales price per unit value of the refrigerator. We used the average demand scenario to produce a sensitivity analysis and found that with just a 5% decrease in the sales price of the refrigerator the NPV quickly dipped into a negative value thus showing the project to be extremely sensitive to the sales price of the refrigerator. Our scenario analysis also exposed a strong probability of the project giving a negative Net Present Value and giving a probable low Internal Rate of Return of only 4.01%. This is mainly due to the projects sensitivity to the sales price of the refrigerator and the potentially lower sales in the event of weak demand for the product. The project’s profit margin is too close to allow for market demand fluctuations which would cause the project to have a negative net present  value. If Tesca were to offer the refrigerator at a higher sales price this would yield a stronger profit margin and may alter the recommended rejection of this project. As we discussed the project is far too sensitive to changes in the sales price of the refrigerators. Even with an average demand of sales volume, if we reduce the sales price we begin to see a negative NPV for the project. Thus, the project is too sensitive to minor changes in the profit margin of the refrigerators. Which is why we are recommending a rejection of this project for Tesca Works, Inc.