Monday, September 30, 2019

Preserving Water is Preserving Life Essay

There are various resources that the Earth provides its inhabitants, but the most important natural resource is water. However, despite the fact that water is an irreplaceable natural resource, humans tend to abuse without knowing the implications. It is necessary to save water not only because it is a very manageable resource (Padmavathy & Malarvizhi, 2006), but also because of the fact that water provides life to every living thing on Earth. Without it, life cannot be sustained: humans can survive weeks without food, but without water, they will only be able to survive for a few days. Apart from this, water also sustains the growth of life in forests, jungles which are the habitats of other species. Unfortunately, as much as the world would like to believe that nature’s resources would last forever, such is not possible. Water is a finite source, and only about 0. 024% of all the water resources in the world is accessible, while the rest of the world’s water supply consists of oceans and inaccessible freshwater in the deep earth (Dauvergne, 2005). Humans, animals, and plant life will not be able to subsist without water; plant life would not be able to grow, and animals which eat plants will not have any food supply. These animals will deplete in numbers, they will devastate the food chain and bigger animals which eat these animals will also lose their food supply. If animals continue to thin in numbers, they would eventually become endangered, and unfortunately, it is possible that they may become instinct. In order to preserve life on Earth, every individual should have the initiative to save water. There is a need to educate people of the implications of losing freshwater on Earth, for the first step to understanding would be education. If people pitch in and do their part for the preservation of water, life on Earth may have a chance in subsisting for generations. References Dauvergne, P. (2005). Handbook of global environmental politics. Cheltenham: Edward Elgas Publishing Limited. Padmavathy, S. & Malarvizhi. (2006). Conservation of protected water resource in household. In G. Chandrakumar & N. Mukundan, Water resource management: Thrust and

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Speech ananysis

Communications Workshop: Evaluating a Speech Speech Analysis Worksheet Content Purpose: Speaker's background knowledge: the purpose of this speech Is to rally hope for the citizens of Berlin. Influences (traditional, cultural, historical): JEFF is a historical influence. Listener's background knowledge: I do not have much back ground knowledge upon listening to this speech. Delivery: Repeated words: 1. Berlin 2. Let 3. Them 4. Come 5. Beyond Emphasized words/phrases: 1 .There are some who say in Europe and elsewhere we can work with the Communists. Let them come to Berlin 2. â€Å"There are some who say communism is the wave of the future, let them come to Berlin† 3. â€Å"All free men, wherever they may live, are citizens of Berlin, and, therefore, as a free man, I take pride In the words â€Å"ICC bin nine Berliner†. 4. â€Å"ICC bin nine Berliners 5. † Freedom is indivisible, and when one man is enslaved, all are not free† Tone: the tone of this speech is firm well thoughtWord choice (positive or negative language): positive, JEFF wants to give the people hope. Rate of speech (fast, moderate, slow): Moderate, although the rate increases when he is short on breath. Appropriateness for audience, subject, occasion: yes, I believe so because it has no vulgar language and the occasion and topic of this speech is rather inspiring. Eye contact: moderate, looking around a lot. Facial expressions: he looks determined throughout the speech.Gestures: hand gestures Pauses: yes, to make his speech more meaningful and dramatic. Increases or decreases in speaking volume: no not really, it is at the same volume throughout the whole speech. Overall Impression Speaker: I think JEFF was a brilliant speaker. His word choice is incredible. The way he produces this speech is amazing. Speech: I think the speech is understandable and very clear and it inspired many people and gave them hope as it was intended to do.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Expand on a pervious piece, Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Expand on a pervious piece, - Essay Example I would like to admit that the various writing assignments that we have always been given in class coupled together with my extensive research on writing skills have influenced my approach to language. On the other hand, attitude is the determinant of success in each and every realm. Fundamentally, the word can be defined as an individual’s perception on a specified objective and the means by which he or she strives to achieve the goal. Geared to achieve comprehensive success in the second half of the class, I have decided to put my attitude and priorities right. I believe it all begins with me. Nobody was born perfect; instead each and every successful individual began from a point. I, therefore, believe that I can also make it to be the best writer in the world. As a result, I have promised to read widely and wildly in preparation for the next term. I hope my efforts shall not be in vain but instead shall sharpen my skills to the next level. Dales The beauty of the scenery o f the Youlgreave village in Derbyshire is unbelievable. I had never been to the gorgeous rural community before. However, mum’s glamorous and attractive depiction of the parish as a home of natural beauty often aroused my anxiety. As a result, I gradually developed a far-fetched desire to have a personal experience and a clear view of the Promised Land. For that reason, when I heard that my class was to visit the village, I was as blissful as a creepy-crawly in a hearth rug; perhaps the most happy in the class. Certainly, I was not going to sleep on the frivolous night before the D-day of pure magic. Just to ensure that everything was in place, I decided to pack my clothes in my travel bag. In addition, I was not going to put on any other dress other than the best outfit in my closet. My younger brother, James, could not believe that I was going for a trip to Dales. He was also an admirer of the virtually remarkably attractive village. Perhaps he felt jealous. However, he kne w I could not carry him with me and even if I would, I am sure he could not have put up with the large company of my classmates. On that wonderful morning, I woke up earlier than anybody else at home. I took a cold bath and dressed up in my favorite outfit. A few minutes later, mum got up from bed and immediately headed to the kitchen to prepare breakfast for the family. She was surprised to find me already dressed. She is always the first to get up from bed. She wakes up at around 5.00 am to prepare breakfast and clean the compound. However, to find me awake that early on that particular day was certainly untainted mystery. She had a reason to be that surprised. Mum is always a staunch cook; to me, she is the best chef in the world. So when she brought the breakfast to the table, I could actually guess how delicious it was going to be. Mum beckoned me over with a wave to join her in the kitchen to help carry the sweat smelling food to the dining hall. The dining table was pleasantl y arranged and within a few minutes; everybody sat around the table. James, my apparent admirer, sat next to me while mum and dad sat on the opposite edge of the table. The meal was extraordinarily mouth-watering. Perhaps mum prepared with a target of making me happy on my best day. Of course, she had succeeded. A few minutes later, I took off to the school compound where we had purposed to meet. I was not going to

Friday, September 27, 2019

Mycobacterium avium intracellulare (MAI) Assignment

Mycobacterium avium intracellulare (MAI) - Assignment Example From recent studies, however, its growth has been restricted to use of tumor necrosis factors. In the production of fetal malformation, Clarithromycin and azithromycin are some of the new-generation macrolides that have been accepted and approved (Nightingale et al. 1084). They are available in antibiotic state though their cost is substantially high. The species structure occurs in complex transparent or opaque morphology. The transparent morphology has a higher chance of affecting normal human monocytes than the opaque. It has been proven using the monocyte-bacteria cocultures. The transparent structure however has lower ability to induce intercellular secretion of interleukin (Nightingale et al. 1083). Since it is common for HIV patients, it is advised that precaution should apply to both infected and non-infected people through thorough cleaning using detergents to remove body secretions. Staff that work with such patients should wear simple cloth barriers always when handling the patients and disinfection of bronchoscopes for at least twenty minutes in alkaline glutaraldehyde after cleaning (Nightingale et al. 1085). In earlier days, about 30% of HIV patients suffered this infection but with the increased discoveries in the field, it has significantly reduced to about 5%. Young children between 1-4 years especially from developing countries have a bigger risk of infection (Nightingale et al. 1082). Nightingale, Stephen D., et al. "Incidence of Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare complex bacteremia in human immunodeficiency virus-positive patients." Journal of Infectious Diseases 165.6 (1992):

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Modern Business Research Methods Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Modern Business Research Methods - Essay Example through research. Research is all about fact gathering, relating facts with a focus idea, analysis, drawing conclusion and lastly acting and implementing. Over time, with technology emerging new avenues have been developed to collect data; each and every method of research is suited to particular requirements and factors and is used as per the benefit cost analysis of the situation. Some aspects of the past are studied either by perusing documents of the period or by interviewing individuals who have lived or have experienced during that time. An attempt is then made to study why certain things happened during that time and to explain as to why they happened. The documents that are generally consulted include newspapers, journals and magazines that were published and especially the data government and other private agencies maintain for both commercial and own use. The idea of conducting historical research does not indicate that it is unstructured; in fact, it is systematic process of searching for facts and then using the information to describe, analyse and interpret the past. The purpose of this research is to make people aware of what happened in the past so that they may learn from past failures and successes and to see whether they are applicable to present day problems and issues. It also assists in prediction and testing hypothesis concerning relationships or trends. FOCUS GROUPS: Focus groups are mainly interviews that let open discussion of the topic. They are generally used to develop new ideas. It has an objective and does not generally allow the discussion to deviate from it. People in focus groups openly share their thoughts, feelings, attitudes and ideas on the topic under the discussion. Generally, the focus group consists of 6-10 people at a time and a moderator who is responsible for facilitating the debate. The main advantage of focus group includes that views of many different people are gathered at one place. Since it is less formal than the structured interviews thus participants feel comfortable sharing their perspectives. Some of the drawbacks of focus group include that the views of individual participants are generally influenced by other participants and may indulge in group think. Moreover, it is difficult to gather people in one common location at a time. SURVEYS: This method involves asking the individuals questions which might be open or close ended. Surveys can be orally done or through written questionnaires. It is helpful in gathering primary data through a large number of audiences. The best part of using survey as a method of research is that they can be done face-to-face, via telephone, emails, fax etc. And thus it helps the researcher reach a mass number of respondents to gather information. Surveys can be cross-sectional or longitudinal Surveys are generally done to gather informa

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Why do some international joint ventures succeed whereas others fail Essay

Why do some international joint ventures succeed whereas others fail - Essay Example Hence owners can disagree on the international venture’s goals making the performance of the venture more difficult to define and measure than performance of conventional organizations. Therefore, dissolution of international joint ventures (IJVs) signals not only the failure of the joint venture but also a realization of agreed goals by involved partners. Various scholars draw upon various contextual and internal factors organised in various theoretical perspectives to explain instability and failure of international joint ventures. First, the study considers benefits of conceptualising IJVs as cooperative or expedient collaboration and secondly draws on the distinctions to examine differences between instability and failure theories through structural and processual lenses. International joint ventures as cooperation experience instability from factors that erode trust, commitment, forbearance and other similar partnership qualities. For instance, a venture that lacks compli mentary with the partner is bound to be unstable; moreover, the same applies to ventures associated with significant partner differences regarding values, identities, goals, interests and practices (Salk and Shenkar, 2001). The perspective of selecting the wrong partner reduces the possibility of developing trust, which compromises cooperation making the venture vulnerable to instability. Another view conceptualises IJV as transitional organization, whose initial structure and internal dynamism create inevitable tendency to instability, which results in dissolution (Peng and Shenkar, 2002). The approach presumes that partners engage in IJVs with expedient motives seeing the partnership as a short-term instrument for serving their competitive self-interests by exploiting other partners’ weaknesses or gaining at the expense of other partners. Within this view, one variant stresses structural factors to explain imminent instability of IJVs and the other theorises instability and failure as products of internal political processes. Early influential approaches emphasise the need for parent partner to establish appropriate governance structures because when expedience prevails, IJV pose great risks to the parents like the loss of technical or strategic capabilities to opportunistic behaviour (Noe, Rebello, and Shrikhande, 2002). Most scholars are persuaded that that dominant equity control by one parent likely leads to venture success since benefits are associated with the unitary control framework (Hauswald and Hege, 2003). Similar to equity shares, which have gained dominant management control associated with the success of IJV, equal division of management control is associated with inter-parental disputes, instability and failure. Hence, structures suggest IJV’s destiny avails itself in control structures established in the original bargain. However, another complementary perspective argues that venture instability is a process dev eloped by paren ts in the lifetime of the IJV. As competition for competence, the IJV process involves multiple ‘micro bargains’ between parents as each seek to acquire the strength to exploit weaknesses of the other, the processual approach accentuate the significance of bargaining power as each manoeuvre within the IJV structure to augment its control and attain its ends (Hamel, 1991; Inkpen and Beamish, 1997). Acquisition of knowhow appears to the central aspect in joint ventures, besides joint ventures seem to be temporary in nature since there is no competition where optimal contracts are used. Moreover, duration of joint ventures relies on the

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Business Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Business - Case Study Example Owing to this reputation, Toyota has been able to enjoy several benefits including financial strength, customer loyalty and market share. According to research scholars Steinmetz (2010) and Quelch, Knoop and Johnson (2010), the rapid growth of Toyota had created stress on the manufacturing, engineering and design which may lead to the consecutive occurrences of quality issues. This had in turn demanded the company to recall the vehicles at the beginning of 2003. However, the quality related problem of Toyota gained national attention in September 2009, after the public release of a recorded complaint which was associated with a certain incident. There had been a recorded call to 911 regarding a car crash which was being driven by an off-duty California highway patrol officer. The crash had resulted in the death of the officer along with his family members. This accident was caused by uncontrolled acceleration due to the floor mat problem which sticks to the accelerator pedals. Owing to this incident, the company recalled 3.9 million vehicles in US on September 29, 2009. The matter gained attention in January and early February of 2010, when 2.3 million vehicles had to be taken off the roads due to the sticking pedals (Fan, Geddes and Flory 2011). Toyota stopped selling eight of their models in North America, had shut down their production plant and increased their intensity of recalls in China and Europe. The CEO and the president of the company had apologised for the recalls. Another recall associated with Prius Hybrid, one of their best selling vehicles, was initiated due to some banking problems. After this third recall, the total amount of recall between 2009 and 2010 totalled to eight million that included six million in US itself (Madslien 2012; BBC News 2012; Couts 2011; Mackenzie and Evans 2010). Critical evaluation of the business response using evaluation criteria Reputation: Owing to the crisis related to the uncontrolled acceleration, the responses by the business of Toyota had aroused concerns regarding the reputation of the organization. The car accident had affected the reputation of the organization to a lesser extent than the damages done by the disclosure and communications, recalls and apologies previously. The confidence of the customers was seen to exhibit a sudden fall. The customer reports survey showed that the pre-eminent reputation of the organization plunged from 30 percent to 19 percent (Dietz and Gillespie 2011). In case of Toyota, the recalls were done in the years 2004, 2005, 2007 and 2009-10 due to different problems related to brakes, engines and accelerators, which had totalled to over 8.5 million vehicles (Dietz and Gillespie 2011). This staggeringly high number was considered to be sufficient to damage the trustworthiness of the organization. A positive reputation can be said to be as good as the effort that is taken to create and sustain it. The excellence in reputation fails if immediate action for tr ust building contradicts this reputation. In this case,

Monday, September 23, 2019

Technology Evaluation Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Technology Evaluation - Case Study Example Analysis of its environment identifies diversified issues such as security and technology issues, operational issues, and interoperability issues and development of an application of Oracle database is one of the recommended security measures against the issues. Evaluation of the technology’s capabilities, costs, maintenance requirements, flexibility, and feasibility is however necessary before implementing the technology for Bank Solutions Inc. Version 12c of the Oracle database is recommended for addressing the organization’s identified issues and the technology’s diverse capabilities supports its selection. One of the technology’s features, which also establish its capability to address the issues, is its architecture that allows for cloud operations. With the technology, Bank Solutions Inc. is able to consolidate its data from different data centers, for effective and centralized management. This does not however operate in the construct of centralized management because cloud computing allows for decentralized management with a centralized supervisory role. In addition to the cloud computing capability, the technology has â€Å"inn-memory data processing capabilities† that would facilitate storage and delivery aspect of the company’s scopes of business (Oracle, n.d., p. 1). Oracle Company also explains that performance and security capabilities are major characteristics of Oracle data base 12c. The technology also optimizes operations and ensures real-time enterprise delivery. Oracle’s general grid database architecture also identifies the technology’s ability to integrate data center and central management, on a demand basis, to ensure flexibility in data management (Oracle1, 2014). There are different offers for Oracle 12c technology and these range by product type and services rendered. Major product types are the standard edition,

Sunday, September 22, 2019

In-Class Assisgnment #3 (Social Science) Assignment

In-Class Assisgnment #3 (Social Science) - Assignment Example In our case study, we are going to use the Historical research design in finding out the number and different communities that operate within the Diablo Valley College by collecting, reviewing and synthesizing evidence from the past by use of secondary sources and a selection of primary documentary evidence including official records, archives, reports and non-textual information including maps. This will help in deduction of the fact on the existing cultures in the scope of the study (Saunders 2005). The subculture operates in a form of groups based on defining characters such as value, dress and song and are classified into college subculture such as nonconformist, academic, vocational, collegiate and perpetual teenager. Nonconformist type of subculture is involved with the idea of being identified with the adult community in college. They have the value of respect from the junior students who enroll after them. Moreover, their mode of dressing is very formal in order to gain respect from the juniors and to serve as their role model. Vocational culture is characterized by little attachment to the college â€Å"where† students buy their education like groceries. These students are resistant to intellectual demands demand on them beyond what is required to pass the course. They dress luxury clothes and are associated with expensiveness. They are seriously involved in learning especially the activities nad courses connected directly to skills they require to have in order to pursue their career of choice. Collegiate subculture involves those college students that consumes most of the time in college and mostly commute in college hostels having all the campus fun with them. These students are always in books as they have all the time in school without any off college activities to distract them. Similar to academic culture students, this group works hard in college and most ends

Saturday, September 21, 2019

The impact of increased life expectancy on community health, locally and nationally Essay Example for Free

The impact of increased life expectancy on community health, locally and nationally Essay There is constantly a rise in the life expectancy in the US, due to the improved healthcare system. New diagnostic interventions, treatment techniques, incorporation of preventive strategies, and drugs have enabled to increase the quantity of life. Deaths from several diseases including cardiovascular, cancer, etc, continue to decrease. In the year 2003, the life-expectancy of an American was found to be about 77.6 years, whereas in the year 1990, it was 75.4. There continue to be a rise in the life-expectancy. There is also a difference in the life-expectancy between men and women. As in the year 2003, men live about 5.3 years shorter than women. However, individuals in the elderly group are more often affected with chronic diseases such as hypertension, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, musculoskeletal diseases, etc. The problem has become more severe than ever before. About 50 % of the individuals between 55 to 65 years are affected with hypertension, and 40 % have obesity. As the health and the quality of life of the Americans are currently poor, the pressure on the healthcare system has all the more increased. People are having a very poor lifestyle and do not follow proper dietary and exercise patterns, which could increase the risk of chronic diseases. One of the huge impacts has been on the costs of providing healthcare. Inflation needs to be a major consideration. Considering inflation, providing healthcare for a year of increased lifespan, can increase spending by about $ 20, 000 a year. In the 1970’s, this cost was about $ 7, 400. Is it justified to provide healthcare when the effect is going to be severe on public savings? The costs of providing healthcare to senior citizens have increased drastically. The incidence of chronic disease on elders is even greater, and it would be very costly to provide healthcare to manage chronic diseases. An increased life-span would also mean greater need for healthcare professionals belonging to various fields and various specializations. The demand for healthcare in the US has constantly been rising, and an increased lifespan would mean employing more staff especially to care for seniors with special needs. There has been an increasing demand for institutions that provide health education and also students who find the healthcare field promising and would pick up a career in such a field. However, the need for individuals to join the healthcare sector is high and hence, an increasing life-expectancy would create an even greater problem. As the US cannot meet with the demand for healthcare professionals by itself, it would have to obtain the resources from outside the country. These human resources require further training to ensure that healthcare is provided according to the US standards. References: Medical News Today (September 4, 2006). U.S. Health Care System Offers Good Value In Terms Of Life Expectancy Gains Despite Rising Costs, Study Finds, Retrieved on August 22, 2008, from Medical News Today Web site: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/50922.php Stobbe, M. (2006). U.S. Life Expectancy Hits All-Time High, Retrieved on August 22, 2008, from Breit Brat Web site: http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8ECEHUO0show_article=1

Friday, September 20, 2019

How And When Children Acquire Language English Language Essay

How And When Children Acquire Language English Language Essay Introduction: The question to consider is how children acquire language and at which stage they could improve their speaking and listening skills. In particular, syntax and vocabulary are the main concern of the language acquisition domain. The task of psycholinguistics is to discover the relationship between language and the human mind (Field: 2003). Many theories, therefore, have emerged in exploring this relationship, which seek to explain the way in which children understand and acquire language. Over the last five decades these theories have offered various ideas and interpretations of the relationship. For example, in Behaviourist theory, which is associated to skinners research into language, language acquisition is considered a collection of habits. It is thought that children learn how to form correct utterances through positive reinforcement from the people around them (Patten and Benati: 2010). Cognitive theory, which is associated with Piaget, is considered a way of discovering how ind ividuals create and use language in their social context (ibid, p71). Interaction theory, related to Bruner, holds that language comes from the interaction between children and their environment (ibid, p99). There are, however, two theories in the relevant acquisition literature which oppose one another and provoke countless debates: Chomskys theory and Tomasellos theory. In Chomskys theory, children biologically possess an innate ability to acquire their language. This ability is mainly specific to language. Whereas, in Tomasellos theory language is acquired through language use by means of social skills, such as, joint attention and general learning mechanisms (Behrene: 2009). This paper seeks to explore these two theories in order to contrast them. The first and second parts of the paper present an overview of the main ideas in the two theories. The third part focuses on their different aspects, including the: poverty of stimulus argument, linguistic creativity, modularity and language specific domain versus domain- general learning mechanisms. The fourth and final part, discusses some weak points in the two theories. Overview of Chomskys (Innatist) theory: In language acquisition domain, Chomskys theory is called an innatist theory, because he proposed that children biologically possess suitable abstract knowledge for the task of first language learning .This abstract knowledge shapes the linguistic system which they learn. In fact, through this innate knowledge children can discover the rules of their language system and reduce hypothesis formation and guessing. (Patten and Benati: 2010). Chomskys main argument is that all human beings are born with an innate knowledge which is particularly designed for language acquisition (ibid). This argument is indeed, opposed to the one that language is a result of the interaction between human beings and the environment or item-usage learning (e.g. Skinner, 1957; Tomasello, 2003). Furthermore, The term Language Acquisition Device (LAD) was coined by Chomsky in this context to refer to such innate knowledge or the little black box (Patten and Benati: 2010).The (LAD) comprises the universal princi ples of all languages, by which children can be kept on track and not confused by all the complex rules of particular languages. When this (LAD) is activated, the child can discover the structure of the language s/he is to learn by matching the innate knowledge of basic grammatical relationships to the structures of the special language in the environment (Lightbown and Spada: 1999). However, since the 1960s, instead of (LAD) universal grammar hypothesis (UG) was introduced by Chomsky. It was given much concern by him instead of, the (LAD), because, in Chomskys view this hypothesis means that there is an innate knowledge source which governs the shape of natural language (Patten and Benati: 2010). It should be noted that the first appearance of Chomskys theory was in 1959 in his critical review of Skinners book Verbal Behavior in 1957. Chomsky in his review pointed out many shortcomings in applying Skinners theories to language acquisition. For example, Skinners experiment using rat boxes is not relevant to language because the behaviour of rats is unlike human behaviour. As a result, Skinner has a mistaken understanding of the nature of language. Furthermore, the environment considered solely as learning mechanism can not be the basis of language acquisition and therefore, mans ability to acquire language must be innate (Aitchison, 2007). Overview of Tomasellos theory (usage-based theory): The account of language acquisition provided by Tomasello comes under the umbrella of usage-based theories. Recently, a new view of language and human linguistic competence has emerged (Tomasello: 2003). This view comes from a set of theories usually called cognitive-functional linguistics, and also called usage -based linguistics in order to emphasize their main ideas that language structure is produced or appears from language use (e.g. Langacker, 1987a ; Croft, 1991; Tomasello, 1995, 2003). It is note worthy that this view stands in direct opposition to Chomskys innatist theory. Because, Tomasello in his theory is mainly concerned with the question of how children get from here to there from the constructions of infant level speech to the abstract constructions of adult thought through one set of processes of acquisition (Tomasello: 2003:3). In Tomasellos theory it is impossible that humans can have been born with a specific collection of communicative behaviours only for language . This collection more probably learned by children during their years from the linguistic conventions used around them. They must possess flexibility in order to learn both the different words and the suitable expressions of each language and the different types of abstract constructional pattern which historically these languages have grammaticized (ibid). Tomasello emphasizes, however, four points in his theory: First, the innate skills which people have are not specific to language but can be used as means for language learning. Second, theory of mind is central to symbol use, because humans can understand symbols while nonhuman do not possess this ability, because they use signal system. Thirdly, word-learning skills include: joint attention, which means the ability that children possess in their first year old whereby they can understand other people as intentional agents and interact socially through an object to which both pay attention; children note this attention to both it and themselves; Intention reading, means the ability to understand the social world around them through imitating adult acts; the construction-learning skills encompassing: analogy and pattern-finding. The latter means the distributional analysis based on statistical information in the primary linguistic data and the ability to form perceptual and conceptual figures of similar objects or situations (Tomasello: 2003). The differences between the two theories: It is noteworthy that the accounts provided by Chomsky and Tomasello comprise many opposed aspects, of which the main ones are as follows: 3.1. Poverty of stimulus argument: The basic argument of the nativist theory is based on Chomskys assumption of the poverty of stimulus (1965).This assumption means that the data provided by the input to which people exposed are not rich enough to account for language acquisition (Patten and Benati:2010). In other words, it means that the language to which children are exposed as their input or the primary linguistic data is solely a set of individual utterances yielding some abstract principles of grammar which seem ambiguous for language acquisition .The best solution he can provide is the universal grammar hypothesis (UG), which means that all humans are born with an innate universal language containing a number of abstract principles which can lead the acquisition process (Tomasello: 2003). Despite the fame of the poverty of stimulus argument in the language acquisition domain and childrens language research, it has certain, if we contrast it with the account provided by Tomasellos usage-based theory. We find that the research into the developmental psychology of language acquisition has provided many arguments which support the richness of stimulus in usage-based theories (e.g Clark2003, Tomasello 2003). In fact, the significance of social pragmatic interaction in language acquisition is evidenced by extensive findings in this domain (Tomasello: 2003). To put it more simple, Tomasello in his theory emphasizes that: There is no poverty of the stimulus when a structured inventory of construction is the adult endpoint (Tomasello: 2003:7). He notes that the hypothesis of an innate universal grammar has two major problems, namely, first, the linking problem and the problem of continuity. The first problem is how children can connect their abstract universal grammar with the particular language which they learn. The second problem deals with the developmental changes in childrens language, for example, how people can understand childrens language during their developmental change if we accept that universal grammar is always the same. It, therefore, seems useful to provide a description or explanation of child language acquisition which ignores any hypothesis of universal grammar which creates these problems (Tomasello: 2003). Accordingly, it is important to note that Chomsky and Tomasello are opposed on the argument of the poverty of stimulus. Tomasellos view, however, seems stronger, because nativists provide no support for their claims. As Pullum and Scholz (2002:47) point out, the poverty of stimulus argument still a waits even a single good supporting example. Moreover, Akhtar (2004) seems to agree with this criticism, in that she indicates that this argument was the basis for a number of nativist claims, yet indeed lack supporting empirical evidences. 3.2. Language is creative: Another difference between Chomsky and Tomasello is the formers belief that language is creative. From Chomsky perspective, creativity in language has three- fold support. First, people possess the ability to understand and produce strange sentences which they have never before heard or spoken (Aitchison: 2007). Second, the creative use of language is free from the external and internal affects of the stimulus control (Chomsky: 1968). Third, the way in which people use the language considered to be coherent and appropriate to the situation (Hegde: 1980). By the way of contrast, we can see that Tomasello does not ignore creativity in language, but he has little concern for it. According to him, it results from the attempt of humans to create categories in their own language (Tomasello: 1995). Chomsky asserts that the creativity in language is something which can not be acquired solely through environmental learning methods (Aitchison: 2007). Tomasello contrastingly asserts that, during a period of time, children obtain the communicative conventions are obtained step by step from the people around them. For example, their social cognitive skills and developing cognition are utilised to internalise these conventions. Childrens basic abilities are used to learn their first words. They create concepts so as to understand adult speech and then to produce suitable new words in their communicative contexts (Tomasello: 1995). It is thought, however, from the contrast between the two views that Chomskys view about the creativity of language has some limitations. For one thing, nativists assert that every utterance we hear and say is completely novel and accepted. This assertion seems to be wrong. The reason is that to accept it we would need to assume that each word or sentence has a separate existence. Moreover, we have to assume that our past language experience is sufficient to provide a clear understanding of the present utterances. But, if these assumptions are accepted, the result will be that human communicative behaviour has no continuity (Hegde: 1980). The second point, on the creativity of language free from the control of stimulus, seems to be weak, because, as discussed above in section (3.1) no evidence has been offered in its support. Furthermore, with regard to the third point, in Chomskys view the way that people use language is coherent and appropriate to the situation. It could be argued that this point is somewhat vague, since Chomsky admits that he can give no clear meaning to the terms appropriateness and coherent in this context (ibid). However, he stresses that the creative aspect of language is common. Humans constantly create novel utterances and many who lack this ability might be brain damaged (Aitchison: 2007). This view would be more popular if it took into account the effect of environmental learning methods in producing our utterances, since the one question that needs to be asked here is, how humans can produce them without communication with their input. 3.3. Modularity: In the areas of linguistics and philosophy of mind, the idea of modularity has raised a great deal of concern (Garfield: 1987). There seems to be another difference between Chomsky and Tomasello, about the modularity of mind in language acquisition. To illustrate, the definition of modularity according to Crystal (1998: 246) is: A term used in recent discussion of language in two slightly different ways. On the one hand, it is proposed, especially in J. A. Fodors The Modularity of Mind, that the mind is modular in the sense that it consists of a number of different systems ( modules) each has its own distinctive properties , such as the language system and the vision system. On the other hand, it is suggested, especially in government-binding theory that language system itself is modular in the sense that it consists of a number of different subsystems which interact in specific ways. The concept of modularity is that the brain is divided into separate parts, an idea to which Chomsky gives much attention (1965).He identifies the language area as a separate faculty of mind, in that language is autonomous in the mind and a separate module in the brain (Aitchison: 2007). Furthermore, he goes on to argue that the human mind is, like other complex biological systems, modular in its internal formation (Chomsky: 1984). The main idea of modularity, according to him, is that the modularity of syntax means that the structures of syntax are not the same as the structures exist in other cognitive (Chomsky: 1968 cited in Tomasello: 1995). By the way of contrast, we can see that Tomasello does not agree that language is a separated module in the brain, because, by his reasoning, in order to have a perfect grammatical theory the syntactic abilities should be combined into cognition and not like an autonomous sub-system (Parisse: 2005). To sum up, Chomskys view is a modular view in which there are different sub-parts in the mind each one possessing special characteristics. Tomasello, however, take the non-modular view that there are general principles employed in all cognitive domains which control the mind (Archibald: 1993). However, to return to the account of modularity provided by Chomsky, one of the difficulties with this account is the claim that syntactic structures are not like the structures which exist in other cognitive domains. This seems to be wrong, because it gives the idea that the syntax module is innate, yet if we give the example of the game of chess, we find that it possesses a number of unique structures, such as, the images of a knight fork or queen-a side attack- in human cognition. But there is no need to presume that this uniqueness chess- playing form needs an innate mental form (Bates et al. 1991). Moreover, the structures of cognitive thought which adults utilise in order to play the game of chess come through a process in which people employ general cognitive processes to face their problems in their social interaction which they may have had in learning to play a constructed game (Tomasello:1995). Hence, it is thought that Chomskys view seems to be weak because it is difficult to specify which part of the brain is responsible for language. As Bates asserts, it still far from knowing perfectly which parts of the brain are responsible for language (Bates in press, cited in, Tomasello 1995). 3.4. Language- specific versus domain- general learning mechanisms: Another point of difference between Chomsky and Tomasello concerns the way in which children acquire language. is another different point between Chomsky and Tomasello. The difference lies in the contention over whether language should be a specific domain or a domain general learning mechanism. A specific domain in this context means a domain specific to language, whilst, domain general refers to learning mechanisms which are not specific to language, yet applied generally. From Chomskys perspective, since, human beings are able to learn language and animals are not, this ability is considered genetically inherited (Aitchison: 2007). Nativist theory, in fact, hypothesises that children are born with universal grammar (UG), a set of innate principles and parameters. This possession helps children to learn language without making errors as they learn (Conroy and Thornton: 2005). Therefore, this assumes that children possess a pre- existing domain- specific innate form which specifies the form of their language knowledge. Moreover, in language learning in particular, syntax children obtain ability without exposure to adequate stimulus (Chomsky; 1986, Pinker; 1994). However, Tomasello believes that it is false to suppose that children have genetically endowed grammar (Tomasello: 2003). To his mind, children in order to learn their language employ item-based learning integrated with some general learning mechanisms that are used in other cognitive domains , such as, analogy (Conroy and Thornton: 2005). Moreover, in Tomasellos view the properties of language structure come from joint attention figures and not from innate language specific mechanisms (Segalowitz: 2001). As a result, Tomasello significantly did not ignore language universals; however, to him they not universals of form or a special type of syntax or linguistic symbols but are instead, the universals of human communication and cognition. For example, human beings use language in similar social contexts in order to provide solutions in language for communicative tasks, such as, describing specific entities (Tomasello: 2003). Consequently, Chomskys view that language has a specific-do main is weak , because languages differ in their grammatical relations, of subject and object, for example, Acehnese, an Indonesian language, and Tagalog, a Philippine language, do not possess these grammatical relations ( Tomasello:1995). 4. Some weakness in both theories: Tomasello, then, introduced a new model of usage-based theories in language acquisition in which he paid attention to a main set of skills, namely, intention reading, joint attention and pattern-finding skills. These skills are general skills utilised also in other types of cognition and not in language alone. Furthermore, although they are innate, they are not like the universal grammar (UG) invented by Chomsky, because they are not specific to language (Tomasello, 2003). But Tomasellos account seems to entail some limitations. It is thought that he does not provide a clear explanation for the fact that these skills are sufficient for language acquisition. As Wilson (2006:138) points out: Tomasellos central claim is that joint attention and intention reading are foundational and prerequisite for language acquisition. It does seems reasonable to assume that they are necessary for language development, but the big question is, are they sufficient? Can they entirely account for all of the complexities of language à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ from parsing speech stream to the emergence of complex grammatical structures? Hollich et al. (2000), on the other hand, seems to agree with this criticism, because they assert that Tomasellos theory, which is one of the social constructivist theories, does not possess a complete or sufficient explanation for the fact that children can produce increasingly inserted sentences in their utterances. Moreover, the problem with these theories is that they still offer no clarification of childrens ability to discover the relationships between language units. In contrast to this, Chomskys theory is considered one of the famous theories in the language acquisition domain. It has indeed, affected the entire literature language acquisition, because of the controversy surrounding it. Yet this theory too attracts a number of criticisms. In this section, we focus on four critical points made against this theory. A major criticism concerns the universal grammar hypothesis (UG) which has been discussed above. Although (UG) aroused widespread interest in language acquisition debates, it is thought, that it is based solely on abstract thinking and lacks empirical support. As Kadarisman (2007a) points out, the concept of universal grammar must be without meaning unless it has empirical evidence. But, without adequate explanations, it seems to be more a slogan than a scientific effort. Moreover, due to its abstraction, (UG) neglects the local importance of language used in the cultural context (Becker: 1995). Second, Chomskys theory is criticised for relying on logical arguments only. As Palmer (2000) indicates, Chomskys nativist claims remain are still the same as they have been fir the past two decades. Because his claims are based on logical arguments instead of, direct evidences or reasonable interpretations, his argum ents have no external support. Tomasello seems, agree with Palmer in this criticism because he states that Chomsky in his account relies strongly on logical arguments, not using the scientific study of human behaviour and cognition (Tomasello: 1995). Third, it is criticised because it can not be tested. This creates some contention around Chomskys account. The reason is that his theory has no clear cut procedures which could be examined. To put it more simple, Chomsky considered theory-construction in linguistics as similar to theory- construction in the physical sciences, particular, physics. Yet, there is a deference between these two domains, because, the mathematical model in physics depends on physical phenomena and is testable, whereas, Chomskys model relies on subjective judgments made by individual native speakers who may disagree with each other. Consequently, it can not be tested (Moor and Carling: 1987). Fourth, Chomskys theory is criticised in terms of its ideas, if considered as philosophical ideas, for instance the adoption of such innatist ideas as, the universal grammar (UG) hypothesis which is based on the hypothesis of an innate language faculty. Subsequently, many linguists (e.g. Hegde, 1980; Moore and Claring, 1987) have strongly criticised these ideas. For example, Hegde asserts that the concept of a nativist theory is merely part of an ancient philosophical idea. Furthermore, Moore and carling believe that Chomskian linguistics are linked by these ideas to philosophy, in particular, epistemology, the part of philosophy concerned with knowledge theories. Conclusion: The domain of language acquisition possesses a varied collection of theories. Their main concern is to discover the way in which people, in particular children, can acquire language. The accounts given by Chomsky and Tomasello can be critically contrasted, as seen above. They obviously stand on two opposite sides. In Chomskys theory, children are born with an innate ability by which they acquire their language, whereas, in Tomasellos theory, language is acquired through language use and not by biologically innate ability. Furthermore, the innate abilities which children have are not specific to language. However, the main aspects which have been contrasted in this paper comprised: first, the poverty of stimulus argument, in which, according to Chomsky, the input is not sufficient to acquire language, while, from Tomasellos perspective there is no poverty of stimulus; second, Language to Chomsky is creative, because it is free from the control of stimulus while in Tomasellos view lang uage results from the attempt of humans to create categories in language; third, modularity, Chomskys assertion that the mind is separated into sub-parts, whereas Tomasello believes, that general principles control the mind; and fourth, Language- specific versus domain- general learning mechanisms; either there are universals specific to language, as in (UG) hypothesis of Chomsky or, as Tomasello states universals is not specific to language but apply to all human communication and cognition. Hence, we can conclude that Chomskys account strongly relies on the hypothesis of universal grammar (UG) to support his view on the poverty of stimulus argument, creativity of language, modularity and the language- specific domain. It should be noted that the universal grammar hypothesis (UG) brought a great deal of debate among scholars of language acquisition, even though one of its limitations is that it has no empirical evidence to support it. Tomasellos account, conversely, depends on general skills in language acquisition, such as, joint attention, intention reading and pattern finding skills. Yet he did not provide adequate explanation to convince us that these are sufficient for language acquisition.

Thursday, September 19, 2019

The Philosophy of Science Essay -- Realism

The study of the philosophy of science explores whether scientific results are actually the study of truth. Scientific realism is an area of study in the philosophy of science and has a contrasting view called anti realism. The debate between the two revolves around their disagreement between the existence of an external world. A scientific realist believes that an external world exists independent of our minds whereas the anti realist, or the idealists, believes that no such world exists outside of ourselves. A stick underwater seems bent while railway tracks seem to meet in the distance, when they do not. Our vision plays tricks on us and therefore the phenomena appears misleading. Seeing as there are doubtful sources to our experiences we cannot know anything derived from our senses. Moreover, the anti realist believes that matter, objects and the world, all exist as electric signals occurring in our brain. To illustrate, envision yourself eating a strawberry. You do not actually face the strawberry but only its perception in the brain. Simply put, the fruit is nothing but the interpretation of electrical signals, regarding the smell, taste, shape and so on. More importantly, the two differ on their interpretation of scientific theories that refer to unobservable entities. A scientific realist maintains the belief that unobservable entities, which make up many scientific theories, are in fact real world entities. Meaning, a berry is a berry regardless of what we perceive it to be. Anti realists state that theories distort reality by building on premises that are only seen indirectly and therefore should never be considered true. Hence the disagreements, the anti realist claims that the only thing that exist in reality are our ... ...uccess is not a miracle. Science has contributed more tangible and intangible success than any other field, i.e. religion. From the industrial revolution to the information age science has created medicine, travel, communication; it has opened the world to us. It contributed everything to our modern world whereas other ‘fields’ presented us with doubt, controversy, and death. Other theories, such as creationism, do not accept different alternatives, is not open for criticism and is meant to be taken at face value. Whereas science is continuously evolving. Theories are constantly being redefined when new data emerges and rejected when results differ the second time. Over time advances in technology could possibly convert many theories into fact. But till than we should believe who we feel has the most logical, rational and reasonable answers to our questions.

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

The Physics Of A Crystal :: essays research papers

The Physics of a Crystal Most simple chemical compounds consist of crystals. If you were to examine a lump of crystalline material very closely, you would be able to see tiny individual crystals. All crystals have a definite geometric shape, determined by the way the atoms are linked together.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Mineralogists recognize 32 different classes of crystal, which are grouped into seven crystal systems. Crystal systems are described by their axis, which are imaginary lines that join the center of opposing faces of a crystal. For example, if a cubic crystal has three sets of opposing faces, it has three axes. They are all of equal length and are all at right angles to each other. Cubic crystals are described as being isometric, but not all isometric crystals are plain cubes. If the corners of a cube are cut off, the result is a polyhedron with six octagonal faced and eight triangular ones. Aside from the isometric system, there is also; a tetragonal, orthorhombic, monoclinic, triclinic and hexagonal system. Crystals may form when a solution of a substance evaporates. Crystals may also form when a vapor or molten substance solidifies. Allotropes are different forms of the same element. For Example, oxygen has two allotropes, normal oxygen and ozone. Pure carbon also has two allotropes, diamond and graphite. A crystal of diamond is in fact a single giant molecule in which every carbon atom is linked to four other, by four equal, strong bonds. These bonds are arranged tetrahedrally round each atom and there are no planes along which the giant molecule can easily be split. This quality is what gives diamond its tremendous hardness.

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Management and Leadership Essay -- GCSE Business Marketing Coursework

Management and Leadership What is leadership? Leadership is having the ability to give guidance to those that will follow. Those that follow will help to complete the mission. Leadership is a soft science, just as anthropology, sociology and psychology. It cannot be proven exactly what it is. Leadership is an art, the skillful application of leadership behaviors beyond techniques is much the same as the skillful application of brushstrokes by a master painter. Leadership is both rational and emotional. It involves both sides of human experience. It includes actions and influences based on reason and logic as well those based on inspiration and passion. Leadership is a social process shared among all members of a group. Leadership development comes through experience. We all learn from our different experiences. Whether positive or negative, they are our tools for growth and development. What is management? Management is a position of authority. Management says what need to get done and supplies the material to get it done. Management tends to be the more educated than the experienced. Managers can be trained to hold a position. Management is a position of leadership. Can leadership and management be the same? Leadership and management are not the same. Anyone can be a manager and not have any followers. Being able to manage is knowing the aspects of a mission. A leader knows the aspects, has the knowledge and the skills to accomplish the mission. But leadership and management work hand in hand with each other. The management sets the stage and the leadership makes it happen. Leadership is a human relationship process. No scientific method can be used for testing leadership. Leadership is based on human factors and no two humans are the same. Managers are not only interested in status quo, but also production, expansion and growth. Management was a system to control machines. Leadership can never be controlled. Where one sits in life determines what you see. To be a good manager one must look at views from different perspectives. As situations change, leadership relations change. Leadership cannot be transactional. It can only work if both parties keep their agreements. A class survey was held to compare leaders to managers. The overall opinion was that they are similar in many ways. A leader and a manager can be one in the same. The difference be... ...ent opinions. Many studies have been done and know one still knows what makes a true leader. We are far from finding conclusive answers to them. Even those individuals with extensive knowledge of leadership research may be poor leaders. Leadership does not occur without followers, and followership is an easily neglected component of the leadership process. Leadership is everyone business and everyone responsibility. Thinking about leadership can help a person become a better leader than you are right now. In conclusion, my opinion is as follows. The leadership process is a total learning process. We all are leaders in our own way at different times in our lives. For example a father or mother with children, their children look to them for guidance. They also learn their values and about their culture through them. That is having leadership abilities. Friends look to each other for advice and different experiences that each of them have done. Some people perform leadership acts on the daily basis and don ´t even realize it until they think about it or until someone brings it to their attention. That ´s why it ´s said that a part of learning about leadership is to always think about it.

Compare and Contrast the “White Public Opinion” Essay

Public opinion is simply the complex of preferences expressed by a significant number of persons on an issue of general importance. Blacks were included in national polls and surveys in numbers reflecting their proportion of the population, but typically these surveys yielded too few respondents to produce valid and reliable findings or to explore opinion differences internal to the black community in terms of such things as gender, class, age or region. Black opinion was seen as a mere derivative, secondary and less important compared to white opinion. Research shows that White Americans are not racist in the old fashioned way; instead they resent or are hostile to blacks because of the whites’ commitment to basic or core American values, particularly individualism. White Americans resist equality in the name of self-reliance, achievement, individual initiative and they do so not merely because the value of individualism provides a socially acceptable pretext but because it provides an integral component of the new racism. It’s a perceived belief that whites are more intelligent and better than blacks, but the problems facing the black community have been ignored, because they feel like the black community is inferior and don’t have anything better to do. So therefore they refuse blacks the resources they need for a good foundation, like education, jobs and so on. The pervasive and deep sense of alienation from and distrust of the American government as well as the deep racial divide between blacks and whites was reflected in public opinion on hurricane Katrina. There is a lack of attention and urgency in handling the problems which are facing the black community, both in the past and present. Another powerful function of the press was to attack and remake the stereotypes and negative characterizations that the white press visited on the community. They see the issues affecting the black community and use it to pass negative comments and judgments against them, Instead of addressing the situation and seeking amends. The mainstream or white media tend to ignore the internal life of the black community, thus the black media serve as a vehicle of intragroup communication and solidarity. The mainstream or mass media gathers and reports news of interest to the mass public, which are mostly middle class whites. Since the 1950’s, content analysis of the mass media has consistently shown that the routine, day-to-day coverage of African Americans is predominantly negative and stereotypical; blacks are portrayed as poor or criminal and they are shown as entertainers or athletes. The fact is that, black Americans have being fighting for equal rights and opportunities for some time, but discrimination against minorities still exist. We have to keep fighting for any changes we want done in our community and take it upon ourselves to transform some of those issues, because the mass media focus on the problems facing the majority of the American problems in the white community.

Monday, September 16, 2019

Cradle to Cradle Essay

In this book the authors and environmentalists William McDonough and Michael Braungart discuss how very un-eco friendly are the people that design our world, from our buildings to the products we use and consume. They talk about how our solutions for our environmental problems, such as recycling, are basically just a band-aid fix for broken bone. They discuss the negative effects that our daily lives have on our environment and offer some solutions of their own to help counteract the problem as much as possible, even the book Cradle to Cradle is printed on eco-friendly paper that does not use trees. In this book McDonough and Braungart urge its readers to take our environment into account and look for better solutions to our global environmental problems then the ones that we have been settling for for the last half-century. In this book McDonough and Braungart identify two major problems with the way that we live that negatively affects our environment. The first is the problem of t hrowing things away, because in fact when we throw things away, they do not just go away. The things that we throw out stay here on our Earth, soiling our precious and finite earth and affect its well-being. The second problem that they discuss the the harmful product that are used, which not only have negative impacts on our planet, but also on ourselves. In this book the authors urge us to learn from nature through bio-mimicry, an effort to design buildings like trees, cities like forests. They also challenge us to look at ants and the role they play in the world and their self-sustaining way of life and to learn from them. Ants are able to inhabit a diverse a range of environments, are able to hunt, scavenge, and grow their own food, build their homes, effectively handle their wastes, create powerful medicines, and produce biological and chemical weapons, all the while contributing to the health of the natural world. We live on this earth less-effectively than ants and should look to their way of living as a role model for how we as humans live on this earth. McDonough and Braungart offer some of their own suggestions for way that we can live effectively with the Earth in mind, such as rooftops covered with soil and plants that serve as natural insulation, non toxic dyes and fabrics, their current overhaul of Ford’s legendary River Rouge factory, and even the book itself, which is printed on a synthetic paper that does not use trees. While creating an ultimate solution to our environmental problem is a very involved and complicated ordeal, McDonough and Braungart do offer some simple solutions to help cut down on the harm we are causing our planet. One things that we can do is to cut out all chemicals and substances that are harmful and destructive both to humans as well as the environment. Also they discuss how we must abandon our current cradle to grave way of thinking and adopt a cradle to cradle way of thinking, meaning that we need to consider where the products and its packaging will end up after we are finished with it. When creating a product we need to begin to understand and think about where it will end up after the consumer is done with it. We must think about how our waste can be reused in order to cut back on unnecessary waste and contamination of our planet. McDonough and Braungart in this book urge us to start looking at our wasteful ways and see how it is harming our own selves as well as the environment and see that we must adopt a cradle to cradle way of thinking in order to save our planet and use the finite resources we have in a smart and truly eco friendly way. After reading this book I examined the wasteful way in which I live my own life, and when I think about how I live and times that by 6,973,738,433, it’s hard to fathom how much damage we must be doing to our planet. Our resource, clean air and precious earth are limited but humans are consumers and don’t consider much past our own immediate wants and needs. After reading this book I see how important it is to move away from cradle to grave thinking and truly take on a cradle to cradle way of thinking and see the long term effects of our consumerism. This book should be read by everyone because it gives a clear and simple way to see how we are living now, and then how we should be living in order to help save and protect the planet that we have been given.

Sunday, September 15, 2019

theories of international trade

No: 1 BPO – BANE OR BOON ? Answers: 1. Which of the theories of international trade can help Indian services providers gain competitive edge over their competitors? 1. Suggested Theory to gain dynamism and competitiveness   in Operation A. Developing executive leadership at three levels †¢ top team, †¢ the personal development of individual executives as leaders and †¢ the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) B.Success Brand Development and Brand Strategy : An effective  brand strategy  will create a unique identity that will differentiate from the competition. That is why it's often deemed as the heart of a competitive strategy C. Strategies for Working : Work avoidance is one of the major paradoxes, Making a complete Plan to work, setting a quota for a week or month and making them to execute will increase the overall growth D.Achieve learning through knowledge management: Knowledge Management efforts typically focus on organizational  objectives  such as i mproved  performance,  competitive advantage,  innovation, the sharing of lessons learned, integration and  continuous improvement  of the  organization. Knowledge Management efforts overlap with  organizational learning, and may be distinguished from that by a greater focus on the management of knowledge as a strategic asset and a focus on encouraging the sharing of knowledge. E.Achieve supply chain excellence : â€Å" The basis of competition for winning companies in today’s economy is supply-chain superiority,† â€Å" These companies understand that value-chain performance translates to productivity and market-share leadership. They also understand that supply-chain leadership means more than just low costs and efficiency, it requires a superior ability to shape and respond to shifts in demand with innovative products and services. 2. Productivity for   Ã‚  INTERNATION   TRADE   Competitiveness:The rapid changes in the context of the process of economic reform, globalization and liberalization have created greater compulsions for India to be productive and competitive than ever before. With rapid advancement in technology as well as Management Theory and Practice, the concept & techniques of productivity have undergone a change over time, thereby creating a need for devising fresh approaches, coining new message and adopting a new idiom to spread the message to the stakeholders.There is an urgent need to redefine and re-structure the Productivity Movement in such a way that it becomes a self perpetuating process, more so, because the general environment earlier was not very congenial for the desired productivity growth as lots of non-productive barriers & protective walls surrounded our economic system for a very long time. All these protective walls have come crashing down and now competition is the name of the Game.Keeping in view the stage at which it stands on the road to economic progress, promotion of productivity, i ts awareness creation and benefitable implementation should be the corner stone of productivity movement. Productivity in its new manifestation, as a culture of accepting and bringing about continuous change through teamwork having continued focus on the customer-need is an inescapable imperative. These Concepts have come to acquire greater significance in the current context of changes economic environment. 3. BUILDING   Brand India's Need Perspectives   STRATEGY: Need to move up the value chain- better R&D †¢ Need to project greater ROI on investment – better profitability †¢ Need to remove revenue dependence on any single resource such as human capital †¢ Need to carve a niche – IPR and Licensing †¢ Need for technological prowess and market knowledge – focused domain expertise †¢ Need to brand products and services – better marketing Every organization has its own distinctive approach towards development. Connecting these i nitiatives, there should be a commitment to enlarge the scope of innovation and to create environment conducive to Productivity.Productivity may be the outcome of techno-managerial practices, but eventually is the result of a mindset. Basic to this approach is the conviction that there is no limit to improvement. Even the best can be improved. The crucial ingredient is the preparedness of the human mind to change. Therefore, workers, managers, policy makers and others should be ready to continuously and collectively work for productivity improvement, not only in every economic activity, but also in every human endeavor for the development of the society as well as the country.Needless to mention, as we graduate further into knowledge era, traditional methods and principles will become increasingly ineffective and we will have to innovatively augment productivity both at micro as well as macro level to realize a global competitive edge. 2. Pick up some Indian services providers. With the help of Michael Porter’s diamond, analyses their strengths and weaknesses as active players in BPO. The Diamond Model of Michael Porter for the competitive advantage of Nations offers a model that can help understand the comparative position of a nation in global competition.The model can also be used for major geographic regions. Traditional country advantages : Traditionally, economic theory mentions the following factors for comparative advantage for regions or countries: 1. Land 2. Location 3. Natural resources (minerals, energy) 4. Labor, and 5. Local population size. Because these 5 factors can hardly be influenced, this fits in a rather passive (inherited) view regarding national economic opportunity. Porter says that sustained industrial growth has hardly ever been built on above mentioned basic inherited factors.Abundance of such factors may actually undermine competitive advantage! He introduces a concept called â€Å"clusters† or groups of interconnecte d firms, suppliers, related industries, and institutions,that arise in certain locations. Porter Diamond Nations: According to Porter, as a rule competitive advantage of nations is the outcome of 4 interlinked advanced factors and activities in and between companies in these clusters. These can be influenced in a pro-active way by government.PORTER   Ã‚  argued   that   a   nation   can create new   advanced   factor endowments   such as   skilled   labor, a   strong technology   and  knowledge base, government   support, and culture. PORTER used   a   diamond   shaped   diagram   as a   basis   of   Ã‚  a   framework to illustrate   the   determinants   Ã‚  of   national   advantage. The   diamond represents   Ã‚  the   Ã‚  national playing   Ã‚  field   that   the countries   establish   for their  industries. The points of the diamond are described as follows FACTOR CONDITIONS: †¢ a country creates its own important factors such as skilled resources and technological base. these factors are upgraded / deployed over time to meet the demand. †¢ local disadvantges force innovations. new methods and hence comparative advantage. DEMAND CONDITIONS: †¢ a more demanding local market leads to national advantage. †¢ a strong trend setting local market helps local firms anticipate global trends. RELATED AND SUPPORTING INDUSTRIES: †¢ local competition creates innovations and cost effectiveness. †¢ this also puts pressure on local suppliers to lift their game. FIRM STRATEGY , STRUCTURE AND RIVALRY. local conditions affect firm strategy. †¢ local rivalry forces firm to move beyond basic advantages. THE DIAMOND AS A SYSTEM †¢ the effect of one point depends on the others. †¢ it is a self-reinforcing system. THE ROLE OF THE GOVERNMENT IN THIS MODEL †¢ to encourage †¢ to stimulate †¢ to help to create †¢ growth in industries. †¢ In Terms and Conditions Let us take the organization â€Å"TCS†' 1. BPO/ KPO Business BPO is established and is on development stage. KPO is on Threshold of Growth The Passive Analysis of The Active/Proactive Analysis ofFACTOR CONDITIONS: †¢ TCS has created its own important factors such as skilled resources and technological base for expanding BPOs / KPOs †¢ TCS is upgrading / deploying resources over time to meet the demand. †¢ New innovations. New methods has given the local industry the comparative advantage. DEMAND CONDITIONS: †¢ a more demanding local/ global market has given ‘TCS' the international / national advantage. †¢ a strong trend setting local market has helped local firms anticipate global trends.RELATED AND SUPPORTING INDUSTRIES: †¢ local competition has created innovations and cost effectiveness for the TCS . †¢ this has also put the pressure on local suppliers to lift their game. FIRM STRATEGY , STRUCTURE AND RIVALRY: à ¢â‚¬ ¢ local conditions have affected TCS various strategy. †¢ local rivalry have forced TCS to move beyond basic advantages. THE ROLE OF THE INDIAN GOVERNMENT IN THIS MODEL: †¢ INDIAN GOVERNMENT is encouraging more TCS . †¢ INDIAN GOVERNMENT is stimulating with paperwork reforms. INDIAN GOVERNMENT is helping to create more skilled labors. †¢ INDIAN GOVERNMENT is providing infrastructures to attract more industries. 3. Compare this case with the case given at the beginning of this chapter. What similarities and dissimilarities do you notice? Your analysis should be based on the theories explained. †¢ If you’re not faster than your competitor, you’re in a tenuous position, and if you’re only half as fast, you’re terminal. †¢ The idea is to concentrate our strength against our competitor’s relative weakness. The opportunities and threats existing in any situation always exceed the resources needed to exploit the opportun ities or avoid the threats. Thus, strategy is essentially a problem of allocating resources. If strategy is to be successful, it must allocate superior resources against a decisive opportunity. †¢ It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change. †¢ Organizations pursue strategies that will disrupt the normal course of industry events and forge new industry

Saturday, September 14, 2019

Morality without religious belief is impossible Essay

Many would agree with the statement that morality without religious belief is impossible, because religions provide an unchanging moral code whereas secular morality varies depending on society and culture. Documents such as the Decalogue transcend time, but constitutions and laws of man are constantly being amended and reviewed. Morality without God is merely subjective; two people will have different ideas on what is to be considered moral. This will only lead to confusion. For example, some cultures today still regard the beating of wives and children to be moral even though our western society would disagree. Without a religious standard, who is to say we hold the correct opinion? It is worth noting that majority of people that are revered for their good works and ethics are religious, such as Mother Theresa and the Dali Lama. Correspondingly, some of the most notorious criminals such as Hitler and Stalin were staunch atheists – this is not to say that all atheists are on the level of these men, but it is evident that when a society attempts to crush religion rampant immorality will soon follow. You cannot look to a leader of a country for your morals because they are fallible humans just like you. You need a perfect standard to look up to: God. Atheists lack this perfect standard to base their morality off. On the other hand, many would assert that you can be moral without a religious belief. In Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, he states that morality can be achieved once five basic conditions are met: food water, shelter, homeostasis and sex. Religion is not one of his points. Additionally, atheists have a conscience. They feel guilt just like a religious person would when they do wrong. Even the smallest child knows that certain actions are wrong without any understanding of religion. This suggests that an adult’s morality could owe more to upbringing than religious understanding; this would explain why standards of morality vary between people. Moreover, religions have been known to cause vast immorality. An early example of this would be the Crusades, when Christians butchered Muslims in the name of religion. A more modern example would be the rise of Islamic extremism, causing incidents such as 9/11 and the 7/7 bombings. If religions are supposed to inspire morality, why do they cause so much harm and bloodshed? Finally, morality can be achieved through legal means. Human laws prevent us from harming ourselves or others through our actions. An atheist can follow these laws and be a good person without religious beliefs.

Friday, September 13, 2019

Arbitration Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 1

Arbitration - Coursework Example The advantage of arbitration is that parties can manipulate it to suit their specific requirements. In the present world, majority of lawyers and business people frequently encounter the concept of arbitration. When a dispute first arises, none of the parties may think about resorting to arbitration in the initial stages. However, any one of the disputing parties may propose that instead of the going through the usual legal procedure, the dispute can be resolved by the method of arbitration under the mutual agreement. Again, there are certain cases of dispute, where arbitration clauses are included in the standard agreement. In such cases, the parties involved in the dispute are needed to go through the arbitration process irrespective of whether arbitration can provide a mutually agreeable solution to the case. In the present world, many courts of law are exploring the option of sponsoring an arbitration process themselves. These processes are expected to resolve a number of pending cases and thus reduce the huge burden of the courts.123 The table below shows the different legislation processes that are included under ADR and also classifies them according to their formality. Arbitration is considered to be a more formal form of ADR. 4 The various legislation relating to arbitration give an idea about its international character. ... After The Act came into effect, both England and Wales witnessed an increase in the number of dispute cases settled by arbitration, while London developed into a renowned hub for international arbitration. A report published in 2007-2008 reviewing this Act declared that the legislations under the Act had been prevalent in the regions for more than ten years and were successful in providing out-of-court solutions for a large number of cases. Therefore, the Act was not required to be subjected to any significant alterations. However, the report also stated that there was still significant opportunity for the arbitrators in the country to implement strong and rational practices in the process of arbitration. The English Arbitration Act was actually an instrument which was required to be utilized effectively by the arbitrators while resolving disputes. Till the year 2007, the legislation governing arbitration in England and Wales has remained more or less the same. However, arbitration c ases in Scotland were subject to a separate legislation framework, from that of England and Wales. The Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provision) (Scotland) Act 1990 monitors the application of the UNCITRAL Model Law to commercial arbitration cases in Scotland that fall within the area of international jurisdiction. 7 Therefore, the mandatory legislations enumerated in the English Arbitration Act, 1996 can be applied to the arbitration cases which originate in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. However, the arbitral agreements do not fall under the jurisdiction of the English Law. The fundamental legislations in the Act exhibit that the process of arbitration is not a

Thursday, September 12, 2019

Pros and Cons of Online Education Thesis Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Pros and Cons of Online Education - Thesis Example This paper stresses that online education is technology dependent. This form of education relies on technologies of the certain specification as dictated by the service provider or e-learning supplier. This may become a huge challenge for students because not every student has technological appliances that meet those specifications. The ability of e-learning to become effective depends on the ability of students to utilize it. Online learning requires high bandwidth capabilities, which is not readily available. The speed of bandwidth varies significantly from one service provider to the next, which can affect learning. Material incompatibility is another factor that affects online learning. Most online learning materials are designed to suit a particular system, for instance, Microsoft, which is not compatible to with systems that use Apple Macintosh system. Although, setting standards will help in this area, it will also restrict the access to online education. Online education is n ot for everyone, especially people with disabilities. This essay makes a conclusion that the University was not just introduced to impart knowledge; it is a place where leisure and work existed side by side, shaping one another, and each playing its role in generating a graceful and well-formed personality. A reader today, is more likely to accept Newman’s views about university, as he describes it; it is an institution of irreplaceable value.

Wednesday, September 11, 2019

IMPACT OF FEEDBACK ON JOB PERFORMANCE AND JOB SATISFACTION Essay

IMPACT OF FEEDBACK ON JOB PERFORMANCE AND JOB SATISFACTION - Essay Example However, if pay raises are related directly to performance, an employee who receives a healthy pay increase will more than likely also experience feelings of accomplishment and satisfaction. On the other hand, feedback is the information people receive about their performance. It conveys an evaluation about the quality of their performance behaviors. Giving feedback could be done by providing information to employees regarding their performance on job expectations. This makes feedback is an important part of the education process. For instance, in the school environment, test grades let students know what they have achieved and what they must learn to do better next time. People at work give feedback to reinforce others' good behavior and correct their poor behavior. The recipient of feedback judges its value and determines whether to accept and act on the feedback, reject it, or ignore it. Feedback has different purposes at different career stages. It helps newcomers learn the ropes, mid-career employees to improve performance and consider opportunities for development, and late career employees to maintain their productivity. Managers are an important source of feedba ck because they establish performance objectives and provide rewards for attaining those objectives. Other sources of feedback are co-workers, subordinates, and customers (London, 2003, p. 11). The impact of feedback on job satisfaction could be derived in the fact that it is linked to the psychological reception of an employee. Cullen and Sackett (2003) cited Hackman and Oldham's job characteristics model that has identified the five core task dimensions-task identity, task variety, autonomy, task significance, and feedback-are seen in a number of psychological states, such as job satisfaction and subsequent organizational events (like absence and turnover). Research has indeed established that these attributes are useful predictors of job satisfaction (Cullen & Sackett, 2003, p. 169). The problem with feedback is that, generally, people tend to perceive and recall positive feedback more accurately than they do negative feedback. However, as opposed to what many people think, a feedback with a negative sign (e.g., being told your performance is below average) can have a positive motivational impact. In fact, when employees are told they were below average on a creativity test, they subsequently drove to outperform those who were led to believe their results were above average. This is why negative feedbacks can serve as a challenge and could motivate employees to pursue higher goals. Those receiving positive feedback apparently were less motivated to do better. Nonetheless, feedback with a negative sign or threatening content needs to be administered carefully to avoid creating insecurity and defensiveness. Self-efficacy also can be damaged by negative feedback, as discovered in a pair of experiments with business students. With this, Louie (1999) concluded that "t o facilitate the development of strong efficacy beliefs, managers should be careful about the provision of negative feedback. Destructive criticism by managers which attributes the cause of poor performance to internal factors reduces both the beliefs of self-efficacy and the self-set goals of recipients." The traditional top-down feedback programs have now been replaced by two newer approaches, the upward

Tuesday, September 10, 2019

Cadez and Guilding (2008) Organization Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Cadez and Guilding (2008) Organization - Essay Example Costing a. Attribute Costing b. Life cycle Costing c. Quality Costing d. Target Costing e. Value Chain Costing 2. Planning, control, and performance measurement a. Benchmarking b. Integrated Performance Measurement 3. Strategic Decision Making a. Strategic Costing b. Strategic Pricing c. Brand Valuation 4. Competitor Accounting a. Competitor cost assessment b. Competitive position monitoring c. Competitor performance appraisal 5. Customer Accounting a. Customer Profitability Analysis b. Lifetime Customer Profitability Analysis c. Valuation of Customers as Assets In this paper the strategic management technique of Benchmarking has been presented and defined, along with its benefits for the organisation. Benchmarking and its Benefits for the Organisation: This is the process of comparing ones internal processes with the processes of a company in the same industry, to identify discrepancies. The aim of this activity is to identify the best ways of carrying out a process. When undertakin g this process a company can also analyse the business practices of firms in different industries, and find out what are the key processes in these industries, by doing this a firm can know which processes can be tailored to fit their business model and what are the most effective ways of performing these processes. There are numerous measures which can be assessed in this way, for instance financial parameters, management parameters etch. However the most focused business variables that are subjected to this tool are time, quality and cost (Zairi, 1998). Through the process of benchmarking a company can find out the potential a process carried out by it can achieve. For instance if a competitor is carrying out the same business processes and is achieving a larger output as compared to the company, than there exist some problem with the company’s internal processes. Since the productivity level that can be accomplished is not being accomplished, the company needs to take corr ective measures to raise its productivity (Cooper and Kleinschmidt, 1995). From a competitive point of view, if a company is competing for a order that needs order fulfilment in a lesser amount of time, than the order placing firm will check the production capacity of each of the competing firms. In case a company has remained oblivion to the production capacity of its competitor, who presumably is having a higher production capacity, it can fairly be inferred that the order placing entity will opt for the firm which has greater production capacity. Thus, ever company is obligated to explore the processes of its competitors and other firms in different industry so that it can continually upgrade its own internal processes (Vorhies and Morgan, 2005). After a company decides, which business process it wants to benchmark and how it is going to benchmark it, than it needs to analyse the leader firm in this process and specifically find out how they accomplished such proficiency (David,à ‚  1995). The practice of benchmarking is not an end in itself. It is a part of a bigger initiative, to undertaking business process re-engineering. This process redefines and reconfigures the standard operating procedures of the company’s department or process that is being benchmarked. By doing this the company is trying to neutralise the competitive or process advantage of its competitor firm

Monday, September 9, 2019

Advising the client,site and location analysis Assignment

Advising the client,site and location analysis - Assignment Example While the initial construction of factories was solely based on their functionality as a mechanism for the mass production of goods, giving little consideration to the environmental or social ramifications of its existence, the architects of the MAS Intimates facility sought to counteract this trend by creating a structure that would allow every occupant to enjoy the fresh air, natural light, comfortable surroundings, and beautiful outdoor views of intact natural settings within their work environment (Holcim, 2008). Such considerations have allowed MAS Intimates to surpass the traditional model of the factory to create an extraordinary facility that is not a detriment to the environment, but an asset to the ecosystem in which it occupies (Holcim, 2008). From the humble beginnings of a small factory sweatshop in Ratmalana with 26 sewing machines and 60 employees purchased by three brothers in 1986 (Business Superbrands) and revitalized by MAS Holdings in 2006, MAS has grown into a wo rkplace in unison with nature that has significantly diminished its carbon footprint through carbon-neutral power sources and uses 25-40% less energy than companies of the same magnitude (Holcim, 2008; MAS Intimates Thurulie, 2009). ... This plan was initiated as a 340 million (USD), five-year, company-wide environmental and social sustainability program consisting of a hundred points to be achieved by 2012, including establishing green factories that supply goods to Marks & Spencer (MAS Intimates Thurulie, 2009). MAS Intimates Thurulie was the first purpose-built green clothing factory in the world to be designed in compliance with USGBC (U.S. Green Building Council) standards for green buildings and to attempt to qualify for LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification (Holcim, 2008). MAS Fabric Park cost 2.66 million (USD), which Marks & Spencer partially financed in the amount of 400,000 (USD), paying for the majority of the green design and the largest photovoltaic system in Sri Lanka (MAS Intimates Thurulie, 2009). The concept of sustainable construction seeks to incorporate the concepts of fairness and respectful treatment to everyone throughout the design, construction, use, and recycli ng of buildings and cities (Holcim, 2008) and the ecological design of the factory was conceived as an ethical response to consumers demanding stronger environmental stewardship from the businesses they patronized (MAS Intimates Thurulie, 2009). The new MAS Fabric Park factory has renewed a historic industrial center and reestablished a local economic base while providing sustainable long-term employment for 1,300 neighborhood inhabitants (Holcim, 2008). In the renewal of the Thulhiriya Textile Mills, 75% of the MAS Intimates Thurulie spatial area has been left in its natural state left to nature and managed as a habitat for the native flora and fauna (see Appendices 1-5) (Holcim, 2008). In the landscaping of the new site, approximately 400 trees

Sunday, September 8, 2019

Biorefinery Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Biorefinery - Coursework Example Switch grass is current used for the production of biofuel (Jefferson, McCaughey, May, Woosaree, & McFarlane, 2002). Biomass in Alberta Province of Canada (Jefferson, McCaughey, May, Woosaree, & McFarlane, 2002) Biomass Mean annual yield (Mg/h) Prairie sand reed 9.5 Switch grass 7.0 Big bluestem 5.5 Western wheat grass 8.8 Mammoth wild rye 7.7 Green needle grass 15.8 wheatgrass 7.5 Thick spike 6.7 Question 2 The following bio-products can be obtained from the bio-refinery: bio-diesel, ethanol, modified proteins, adhesives and resins, solvents and lubricants as well as industrial plant-based oil products (such as fertilizers, plastics), and plant-made industrial products (such as composites), Propose conversion technologies that can be applied in the biorefinery to produce the identified products; at least two different paths to ethanol should be included Biomass handling technologies for the production of different bio-products from the biomass listed in the Table above involved harv esting, transportation, storage and pre-processing and fermentation or anaerobic digestion. Pretreatment is carried out by hydrolysis of lignocellulosic material with dilute sulphuric acid (0.7-5% v/v) in two stages to yield fermentable sugars such as D-glucose, D-mannose, D-galactose, L-rhamanose, D-xylose, L-arabinose, and uronic acids. The first stage is carried out at 140 Â °C for 15 min to hydrolyze the hemicelluloses and in the second stage proceeds at 190 Â °C for 10 min to breakdown the cellulose. Any residue cellulose is hydrolyzed enzymatic ally. The bioconversion of D-xylose into ethanol from hemicellulosic materials is limited by the presence of toxic compounds, such as phenol, furfural, 5-hydroxymethylfurfural and acetic acid. These toxic compounds decrease the bioprocess productivity. The toxic compounds are removed by use first adjusting the pH to 9-10 by using Ca(OH)2 to facilitate the removal of the toxic compounds and this is followed by readjusting the pH back t o 5. The hydrolyzed hemicellulosic material will be fermented with S. cerevisiae for ethanol production. Alternatively, ethanol can be obtained from the biomass by carrying the pretreatment process by means of steam explosion at 160-290 Â °C, 0.7-5 MPa. The process depolymerizes the cellulose and the hemicellulosic materials. Detoxification and fermentation processes as describe above is carried out to yield ethanol. For each possible path, estimate how much ethanol can be produced per year. Use theoretical yield if the actual conversion efficiency is unknown. Theoretical yield Percentage of cellulose in Switch grass is 40.2% (Jefferson, McCaughey, May, Woosaree, & McFarlane, 2002) Percentage of hemicelluloses in Switch grass = 32.5% (Jefferson, McCaughey, May, Woosaree, & McFarlane, 2002) Hydrolysis of 1 kg C6 sugar polymers gives 1.11 kg monomer sugars Hydrolysis of 1 kg C5 sugar polymers gives 1.14 kg monomer sugars Fermentation of 1 kg glucose (C6) gives 0.511 kg ethanol Theore tical yield = ([(40.2 *1.11) + (32.5*1.14)] * 0.51) Theoretical yield = 41.65/100 = 0.42 kg/kg feed = 0.55 L/kg feed Comment on the logistic aspect (mainly the transportation of feedstock) of the biorefinery, taking into account the scale of operation, the distribution of feedstock, and

Saturday, September 7, 2019

Identify and describe 4 additional items that can be added to improve Assignment

Identify and describe 4 additional items that can be added to improve the STEP criteria for assessment of SOCIAL,ECONOMIC,ENVIRONMENTAL,impacts - Assignment Example Apart from the internal green team, which oversees the institutions sustainability initiatives (David,2011), the company should establish external independent evaluators who will constantly inform the management on the progress towards achievement of sustainability activities and strategies. The business entity should have a written service delivery charter, which shows the standards of service delivery which the business pledges to the community especially for offsite tourism activities. This should supplement the business code of conduct as indicated in the STEP criteria(Patterson, 2005). This is a good framework for a sustainable business development as it provides a criterion for both the business its customers and the community to evaluate the performance of the business. There should be a well set communication plan which indicates the mechanism through which the entity cascades its sustainability plan to the community. Chief among them is through the organization of a get together of the business management, employees and stakeholders. As such, the business should come up with a plan showing how often such activities will be held and consequently adhere to its plan. This can be evaluated by ascertaining the existence of such a plan at the time of evaluation. To ensure that there is proper monitoring of the sustainability plan, the business should formulate the policy or strategy implementation matrix. The matrix should indicate the employees and stakeholders involved in its implementation, and the time frame and resources required. In addition, it should indicate the economic implication to all stakeholders involved. This is vital in ensuring that the local community can ascertain their benefit if they assist in achievement of entities objectives. The existing STEP criterion indicates that the company should indicate the volume of garbage it recycles. However, it is important for the