Writing Prompts

Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Parents are the best teachers. Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer. Children spend a lot of time watching television. Have you thought much about the programs and advertisements you watch. Can you tell the difference between what happens on television and what is real? Write a passage that demonstrates that you do know the difference. Customizing the Questions You can modify the questions by changing the audience. I've generally focused the writer's attention on writing a letter to the editor of a local community newspaper or the school paper. You can modify the assignment by asking students to write a letter to the principal, to a teacher, to the school board, to the governor, to a state senator (or similar politician), to the city board, to their classmates, to the PTA president (or other officers), and so on. College students might write to students attending the high school that they graduated from. 1. [School Uniforms] There has been a problem in local schools with discipline and violence. Your school board has decided to institute a school uniform policy in order to cut down on these problems, based on the positive examples that they have seen at other schools. What is your position on this issue? Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper stating your position on this issue and supporting it with convincing reasons. 2. [Locker Searches/Personal Searches] The principal at your school has instituted random locker and backpack/bookbag searches to check for guns, knives, and other weapons. Anyone caught with these weapons will be immediately suspended. The principal argues that the random searches will not only guard against illegal weapons at school but will also will help students feel safer. What is your position on this issue? Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper stating your position and supporting it with convincing reasons. 3. [Too Much Homework] Some of the parents at your school have started a campaign to limit the homework that teachers can assign to students. Teachers at your school have argued that the homework is necessary. What is your position? Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper stating your position and supporting it with convincing reasons. 4. [Censorship] Your local public library has come under criticism for allowing patrons under the age of 18 to check out books that are unacceptable. The books are either explicit, describe graphic violence, or use questionable language. Most recently, a high school senior checked out James Joyce's Ulysses. The student's parents did not approve of the student reading the book and complained to the town council. As a result, the council is considering removing all questionable books from the library. What is your position on this issue? Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper stating your position and supporting it with convincing reasons. 5. [Litter] A litter problem has developed on your school's campus. Students are throwing trash on the ground, leaving empty soda cans and bottles outside on benches, and dropping napkins and other trash on the cafeteria floor rather than carrying them to the trash can. Your principal has asked students to take more care, but the litter problem persists. The principal has reacted by canceling all after-school activities until the problem is taken care of. What is your position on this issue? Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper stating your position and supporting it with convincing reasons. 6. [New Highway Exit] The state has created a plan to add a second highway exit to help shoppers access a busy shopping mall. The only problem is that the new exit will move the access road 500 yards closer to a near-by elementary school. Teachers and parents at the school complain that moving the road closer will increase noise at the school and provide unnecessary distractions. The state planners have included privacy fences to help cut down on the problems, but the protesters are unsatisfied. What is your position on this issue? Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper stating your position and supporting it with convincing reasons. 7. [Computers in the Classroom] As part of a new technology initiative, your local school district is increasing the number of computers in every school. The district plan provides for two computers in every classroom. Teachers at your school are lobbying instead to place all the computers together, creating two computer-based classrooms so that all students in a class can work at the computers together, rather than only one or two students at a time. The district is worried about the additional cost of creating and maintaining these special classrooms and is concerned about how access to the classrooms can be provided fairly and efficiently. What is your position on this issue? Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper stating your point of view and supporting it with convincing reasons. 8. Bilingual Education] As part of a proposed educational initiative in your state, local school districts are responsible for providing required courses in both English language and Spanish language in order to increase the success of their programs. Because your state has a large population of Spanish speakers, the state education department believes that teaching these students in their first languag e will help them learn better and more quickly. Because of the limited budget, however, the local school board is concerned that they may not be able to provide the additional teachers or training needed for this program. They fear that they will lose state funding and accreditation even though 90% of the district's students pass their achievement tests on the first try. What is your position on this issue? Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper stating your point of view and supporting it with convincing reasons. 9. [Grade Scale Change] One of the biology teachers at your school has decided to change from a ten-point grade scale (100 to 90 is an A, 89 to 80 is a B, etc. ) to a seven-point grade scale (100 to 93 is an A, 92 to 85 is a B, etc. ). The teacher is trying to encourage students to put more effort into their classes by raising the requirements. What is your position on this issue? Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper stating your position and supporting it with convincing reasons. 10. [Online Schools] The state department of education has provided funding for an experimental online school. All the classes will take place on the Internet, using email, online chat, and the world wide web. The students taking classes at this new online school will never meet each other face-to-face. They will only interact online with each other and with their teachers. The state is hoping this program will provide fairer educational access to students in outlying, rural areas. Opponents of the program argue that because of their lack of interaction with other students in a traditional classroom, the students who attend this online school will not develop the social skills that should be a component of their education. What is your position on this issue? Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper stating your position on this issue and supporting it with convincing reasons.

Islam, Terrorism and the Role of Media Essay

Terrorism – Islam, the Most Widely Misunderstood Religion and the Role of Media Increasing terrorism across the globe can be contributed to many factors such as extremism, poverty and literacy rate just to name a few; however, widely misunderstood religions have been the focus of the blame, disregarding the root causes. It has been over a decade since Islam is being openly criticized for promoting terrorism. Islam is the only religion that has been constantly associated with terrorism; however, it does not promote terrorism, but actually condemns it. The only possible way to eliminate terrorism is if media and super powers such as United States, China and Russia stop taking advantage of general public and start playing a positive role in this whole blame game. Individuals from the west view that Islam promotes terrorism, have their own point of view. They trust that western values are in conflict with the Islamic values, resulting in a clash of eastern and western cultures. According to the western view point, Muslims have an aversion to the west for its successful secular state and therefore, express their hatred in the form of terrorism. There is no doubt that the values of western people are in conflict with the values of Islam. Muslims do not seem to like the idea of secularism; however, this is not the main reason for terrorist activities carried out by Muslims. First, we need to understand how terrorism arises. What is the main cause of terrorism? As Woodberry J. Dudley (2002) points out, â€Å"Terrorism is a response to built-up grievances, real or imagined. Therefore, one cannot drive out terrorism without dealing with the grievances that have led to it. The most obvious of these issues is the Israel-Palestine conflict.† Another major point raised by Western media is the doctrine of Jihad in Islam. They claim that the doctrine of Jihad in Islam plays an important role in promoting terrorism. Raphael Israeli argues in ‘The Islamic Doctrine of Jihad Advocates Violence’ and Jennifer Hurley quotes him, â€Å"Jihad has principally one meaning: a military action designed to expand the outer borders of the realm of Islam or to protect the borders of Dar al-Islam from encroaching unbelievers† (Hurley, 2000). Although it would easily appear that Jihad advocates violence, and thus results in terrorist activities from Muslims, this is untrue. One cannot come to the conclusion that Jihad  promotes terrorism just by looking at the actions of Muslims, but instead need to understand the concept of Jihad. First of all, Jihad does not mean Holy War. It means to strive for something. As Mohammed Abdul Malek points out in the following: â€Å"In reality jihad is a duty of Muslims to commit themselves to a struggle on all fronts – moral, spiritual and political – to create a just and decent society. It is not a ‘holy war’ against the Muslims during the time of the Crusades (a war instigated by the Church for religious gain). There are other words in Arabic which are more appropriate to use in a war situation, if war was the principal purpose of Jihad. Examples of such words are ‘harb’ (war) and ‘maaraka’ (battle).The Holy Quran could have used these instead of Jihad, if the intention was the declaration of war.† (Hurley 2000). Hence, it is clear that it is the misinterpretation of Jihad that has led Muslims and Non-Muslims to believe that Jihad advocates terrorism. It is understandable if the doctrine of Jihad is misinterpreted by Non-Muslims, because they may not have enough knowledge about the laws of Islam or they may not have an understanding of the teachings of the Holy Quran, the holiest book for Muslims. Yet how come various Muslims misinterpret the doctrine of Jihad? As Pervez Amir Ali Hoodbhoy, a Pakistani nuclear physicist, notes that, â€Å"Maulana Abdus Sattar Edhi, Pakistan’s preeminent social worker, and the Taliban’s Mohammad Omar are both followers of Islam, but the former is overdue for a Nobel Peace Prize while the latter is an ignorant, psychotic fiend.† (Schafer, 2002). These two men represent the two ways of understanding Islam. One understanding is what Islam says. The other is the way it can be explained so that it fits in with one’s own beliefs. The difference between the two is very obvious. Many Muslims tend to believe or explain things that fit in their beliefs. Unfortunately, this approach of understanding Islam has led to the misinterpretation of not only jihad, but the whole of Islam. On the other hand, right after the terrorist acts of 9/11, journalists were seen as being biased. Apparently, they were just doing their jobs but the after effects of the incident put them into a severe patriotic state. There is nothing wrong with being patriotic about your country and hating your enemies but while doing a job that makes you stand in front of the millions, patriotism came out as a controversial factor. (Hess, Kalb, Brookings & Shorenstein, 2003). As John McWethy, the chief national security  correspondent for ABC News, responded: â€Å"When you are on television, you are a symbol for your network. I would no more wave an American ï ¬â€šag while I am trying to report in a nonbiased way about conï ¬â€šict overseas than I would a Canadian ï ¬â€šag or a British ï ¬â€šag if I were a citizen of those countries. I’m a reporter.† (Hess, Kalb, Brookings & Shoranstein, 2003). At the same time, a majority of population residing in the Middle East and South Asia, condemn the western media for being biased against Islam. One has to agree to a certain level that American Republicans, who are known to be conservative, have control over few news channels and those channels only show one side of the story. In these critical times, the media’s role should be to help resolve the conflicts and show its audience the real face of terrorism. As Red Batario writes, â€Å"From where I stand, as a citizen and media consumer, the stories that come my way are bereft of one important thing: context and empowering information. They do not allow me to make sense of what is happening around me. The stories tell me of problems, they do not tell me that something can be done. They tell me that everything is wrong but nothing about what’s working. Other stories cite Muslim terrorists but I have yet to come across a news item identifying para-military groups who assassinated their victims as Christian terrorists.† (Batario, 2012). Western media is also responsible for not appreciating the efforts made by Muslim community on daily basis. Those journalists and new anchors have totally ignored the anti-terrorism, anti 9/11 and anti Al-Qaeda attitude shown by Muslim patriots of the west. How come they do not see how it is like to grow a beard or wear hijab and curse the terrorists; the enemies of the west at the same time. As Kamran Pasha, an author and a Hollywood filmmaker writes, â€Å"Thomas Friedman wrote an outrageous column in The New York Times claiming that no major Muslim cleric or religious body has ever issued a fatwa condemning Osama Bin Laden.† (Pasha, 2009). Fatwa means a legal pronouncement in Islam usually given by an Islamic scholar to clarify a question. (Wikipedia, 2013). The surprising part is that a ‘fatwa’ had already been issued by some Spanish Scholars in March 2005 yet Friedman chose to lie and misguided his fellow Americans and an unknown number of souls all over the world. Pasha further elaborates, â€Å"There is a real political agenda inside the media itself to keep Islam as the enemy, and to portray mainstream Muslims as a fifth column inside America. The idea that  your Muslim neighbors are silently supporting Bin Laden sells newspapers. It captures the attention of viewers of the nightly news. And it furthers the ambitions of politicians who need a rallying point to get votes.† (Pasha, 2009). It is true that most of the actions taken by the Muslims in the west go unnoticed. For example, Pakistan, a country located in South East Asia, has been fighting the war on terror for last 12 years and has lost the lives of thousands of soldiers and civilians but still media keeps portraying Pakistan as a terrorist country. My question is, what would make their voices get heard? What exactly do they have to do in order to justify that they equally condemn terrorism? I guess no one better than media can answer these questions. Media definitely needs to play a more positive role instead of neglecting the real facts. The great minds in the media who create controversial stories should emphasize on coming up with creative ideas to illuminate the audience with truth. With the help of them and general public, many atrocities can be avoided by conveying the right message to the public. As Cerge Remonde said and Batario writes, â€Å"We (the broadcast media) generate a lot of heat but very little light.† (Batario, 2012). In conclusion, Islam has widely been misinterpreted both in the western world and the Islamic world. To solve this problem, one cannot resort to war as a resolution or change the values of Islam, but instead there needs to be a change in western diplomacy to take into account the grievances held by many Muslims. The United States needs to change its foreign policies, especially concerning the Arab-Israeli conflict, which would help many Muslims believe that the United States really wants to solve the issue at hand. Not only does the responsibility lie in the hands of United States, but also the Muslim Umma (society), who as a whole need to step up and realize that what they believe in is wrong and they need to find out the truth. The authorities of Islam need to step up and take a stand. They need to educate the Muslim society and create more awareness about the true meaning of Jihad and other similar complicated concepts. If not, certainly this is only the beginning of terrorism in Islam. Not to mention, if media cooperates and stops being biased and one sided, issues bigger than terrorism could be overcome without wasting billions of dollars and many innocent civilian lives. References Batario, Red. (2012, May 21). Media’s Role in Conflict and Terrorism. Center for Community Journalism and Development. Retrieved from http://ccjdphils.wordpress.com/2012/05/31/medias-role-in-conflict-and-terrorism/ Fatwa. (2013, March 8). Wikipedia, . Retrieved September 26, 2013 from http://simple.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fatwa&oldid=4211834. Hess, S., Kalb, M. L., Brookings, I., & Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, P. (2003). The Media and the War on Terrorism. Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution Press. Hurley, J. A., & Hurley, J. (2000). Islam: opposing viewpoints. Greenhaven Press. Israeli, Raphael. (2001). The Islamic Doctrine of Jihad Advocated Violence. Jennifer A. Hurley (Eds.). Islam Opposing Viewpoints. (20-115) San Diego: Greenhaven Press. Malek, Mohammed A. The Islamic Doctrine of Jihad Does Not Advocate Violence. Jennifer A. Hurley (Eds.). Islam Opposing Viewpoints. (24-121). San Diego: Greenhaven Press. Pasha, Kamran. (2009, April 20). The Big Lie about Muslim Silence on Terrorism. The Huffington Post. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kamran-pasha/the-big-lie-about-muslim_b_188991.html Schafer, D. (2002). Islam and Terrorism. Humanist, 62(3), 16. Woodberry, J. (2002). Terrorism, Islam and Mission: Reflections of a Guest in Muslims Lands. International Bulletin of Missionary Research. (1), 2.

Gender Differences in Communication Essay

Communications styles have always been different between men and women. As children our communications styles have been taught to us. According to John Gottman â€Å"Boys learn to suppress and bury their feelings, especially fear and other emotions that make them feel vulnerable. Girls are encouraged to express and talk about their feelings. † (whymarriages). Women and men may share some similarities but, we can all agree that when it comes to the aspects of communication there is a significant difference. Since childhood the communications between men and women have been different. This is evident in the upbringing of males and females â€Å"Boy and girl infants are treated differently by both parents. Both mom and dad speak louder voices to boys, caress and coo at girls more, show greater facial disapproval to girls’ anger, and use more aggressive physical play with boys. † (Lathrop) When boys are raised they are taught certain aspects of a relationship are not as important whereas, with women that is the main focus. For example, â€Å"Typically, boys are not taught skills relating to intimacy and emotions while girls are carefully taught to focus primarily on these. (Lathrop) Although, that is what boys are taught it’s all based upon how the parents raise or model â€Å"correct† behavior at a young age. But, boys are naturally problem solvers unlike women. When men are communicating they come into the conversation looking for solution to the problem at hand. According to Marlene Lathrop, â€Å"Boys develop visual-spatial-logical and problem-solving skills sooner than girls and tend to talk about things and activities, while girls develop talking-reading-vocabulary and interpersonal skills sooner than boys and tend to talk about people, feelings and developing friendships. (Communicationsstyle) Unlike men, women are not the problem solvers, they are more sensitive and emotional when it comes to communication women relate more to the emotions of the issues rather than the logistics like men. Women are and Men are very different non-verbally when it comes to communication. Body language in communication is one of the biggest factors. If you ever notice if you argue with a male, they never look at you in the eye. This is because men take direct eye contact as a threat and a challenge, when they feel challenged or threaten the communication becomes less effective. Studies say that the best place to argue is in the care, this is because it avoids the eye contact which is usually a threat to men. This is proven by Tonya Reiman who says â€Å"for men, a face to face position indicates challenge or confrontation† (Genderdifferences) You rarely ever see two men sit face to face or talk to one another making direct eye contact . But; Women are noted to be more sensitive and â€Å"touchy† when using non-verbal communication â€Å"women are considered to be more nonverbally warmer than men with a tendency to smile and lean towards others during conversation† (Rieman). Ever notice when women communicate what’s the first thing they say â€Å"Look at me when I’ talking to you! † This is because women take direct eye contact as a way of saying that the other person is listening to them as women we are active listeners unlike men. For example, â€Å"Women sit face-to –face with other women or stand closer, indicating a more open and intimate position that help them connect with one another. † (Reiman). Nodding and direct eye contact is a sign of understanding and as women we need that in order to achieve the connection that is trying to be made during communicating. Because women and men are raised differently non-verbal communication goes back to what they learn in childhood. For example; â€Å"In the first few years of life girls are more used to physical touch by their mothers during childhood compared with boys. Women therefore use touch to express caring, empathy and emotions. Men are seen as being more competitive and verbally assertive due to childhood influences of toys such as guns and swords† (rieman). The dreadful words to men â€Å"Let’s talk about it† may be like nails to a chalk board. But, to women it is a way of expressing and making a connection. Because men are automatic problem solvers they see this as a women looking for a solution to a problem and bypass the unimportant information and straight to the point. According to Deborah Tannen’s book â€Å"You Just Don’t Understand† she notes that Tannen notes that men are confused by women’s use of conversation to be intimate with others. Tannen describes this as â€Å"troubles talk. † She says, â€Å"For women, talking about troubles is the essence of connection. I tell you my troubles, you tell me your troubles, and we’re close. Men, however, hear troubles talk as a request for advice, so they respond with a solution. † When a man offers this â€Å"here’s a solution† to a woman it becomes as though the man is dismissing her and all things that she has previously said had no importance to him what so ever. However, with men they keep their problems to themselves a good majority of the time and men often go to other men just seek just advice nothing more and nothing less. Men and women have significant differences when it comes to communication styles. According to Tonya Reiman, â€Å"The communication style of women has been described as being more emotional than men. Women focus on feelings and building relationships while men focus on power and status. † (Genderdifferences). This statement is true because as women we are more emotional than men. A lot has to due back to how men and women are raised during childhood. Men are straight forward and to the point when it comes to communicating, they communicate to share information and converse in a very assertive and direct manner which is not what women do. With women they are more sensitive and more willingly to express how they feel and show more empathy rather than men. The communication style of men is to establish and maintain status and dominance, whereas with women’s communicating it is more open. When women get together they seek feedback of the other women present and make decisions based on a group based decision. Because men have a different communication style than women it sometimes clashes with the needs and wants when they communicate with one another. Women do not understand that men are all about dominance and status when it comes to communication, women are all about feeling which sometimes turn men off to what they are saying. According to Tannen,† men converse with a focus on achieving social status and avoiding failure, while women focus on achieving personal connection and avoiding social isolation. Men want to report, women want rapport. Not that men don’t value involvement or women status, but these aren’t as important for either†. (Youjustdont). In closing, Men are from Mars and women are truly from Venus especially communication wise. Neither gender truly understands where one another is coming from dealing with communication. A lot of the differences stem from childhood and society’s â€Å"correct† way of raising different genders. If we really sat back and truly analyze what we are doing when it comes to raising our men and women we can truly see how we are not helping but damaging. Because men are taught to keep their feelings inside it makes it difficult not only for the man but the women also.

The Marketing Practice For Unsigned Independent Artists And Their Essay

The Marketing Practice For Unsigned Independent Artists And Their Music - Essay Example However, McCarthy (1987) prefers a more explicit explanation ÃŽ ¿f the marketing mix, suggesting that the mix is "a set ÃŽ ¿f controllable variables which the organization puts together to satisfy a target group." A representative marketing mix involves a product provided at a price, combined with some level ÃŽ ¿f promotion to attract potential customers, along with a way (a "place") to meet those customers (McCarthy, 1987). In service marketing, McColl-Kennedy and Kiel (2003) identify three extended elements for marketers. In addition to the traditional 4 Ps, McColl-Kennedy and Kiel (2003) stress the core role ÃŽ ¿f people in a service industry, including both employees and customers or potential customers. Additionally, the service process and physical evidence take on additional importance in service industries. All process can produce best results for the marketing of unsigned independent artists and their music. Kotler defines the product as a combination ÃŽ ¿f goods and service s (Kotler et al, 2001). Given the service focus ÃŽ ¿f their work, McColl-Kennedy, and Kiel (2003) define a product more generally. They term a product merely as a bundle ÃŽ ¿f attributes--some tangible, some intangible--offered to a buyer by a seller.Marketing and management theorists agree on the simple concept ÃŽ ¿f price.

The Edge of Land Law Lies Proprietary Estoppel Essay

The Edge of Land Law Lies Proprietary Estoppel - Essay Example As the paper highlights that the court ultimately determines whether it is conscionable for the owner of the land to go back on their representations. Unlike other estoppels, proprietary estoppel goes further and can be utilised as a tool to enforce or grant a property right de facto. Moreover, proprietary interest in land may be acquired in equity under estoppel without the need for writing and Cooke comments that â€Å"the courts have consistently, with very few exceptions, protected the claimant’s exceptions in interest when responding to estoppel, and protect individuals so far as it is possible and that they should continue to do so†. This study outlines that whilst the equitable justification for the doctrine of proprietary estoppel is clearly meritorious, the ad hoc development of the doctrine has been attacked, with some commentators labelling it as a â€Å"loose cannon†. The focus of this analyse is to critically evaluate the doctrine of proprietary estoppel and consider whether it has as the above statement become nothing more than an â€Å"amalgam of ideas rather than a deliberately constructed doctrine† in contemporary land law. The doctrine of proprietary estoppel was first recognised by the House of Lords in Ramsden v Dyson5, which involved a yearly tenant who had been led to believe that the landlord would grant him a 60 year lease on the property. On this basis, the plaintiff erected a building on the land, however the landlord refused to grant him the lease. The tenant brought a claim to enforce his rights in equity.  

Marx and Weber- rise of capitalism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Marx and Weber- rise of capitalism - Essay Example Karl Marx and Max Weber are two eminent sociologists whose theories have been regarded as milestones in the development of two distinct schools of thought in sociology. This paper investigates into the theories presented by these two sociologists on the rise and growth of capitalism in the Western society. The theories presented by both the sociologists are very significant, yet very distinct from each other on several bases. The essay compares the differences in the approaches of Marx and Weber towards the emergence of capitalism and the crucial factors behind its origin and growth. After contrasting both the theories, the essay points out the most preferable theories of the two.Marx’s and Weber’s theories of rise of capitalism gave two distinct directions to the world concerning the emergence and growth of capitalism that dramatically transformed the social and economic aspects of life in the Western world from sixteenth century and onwards. Weber criticized and refus ed the theory of capitalism as proposed by Marx and put forward his study on the egression of capitalism Western society that differs with Marx’s approach on several grounds. Karl Marx was a sociologist who wrote to make people aware of the changes taking place in their social and economic environment due to the growth of capitalistic systemIn his renowned book â€Å"Capital†, he illustrates capitalism as a system of production under which entrepreneur class or few capitalists control the means necessary to bring about production process

Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Management - Essay Example These factors can be both a threat and opportunity for the company. It is a threat because they are beyond control of the company, that the acronym PEST becomes an appropriate term. It becomes an opportunity when the company takes advantage of the environment and it becomes a rearranged word as STEP towards strategies in entering the market. Any company wishing to enter new market should study the macro-environment factors surrounding the country. First consideration is the political analysis that consists of: political stability, legal framework for contract enforcement, trade regulations and tariffs, favored trading partners, anti-trust laws, pricing regulations, taxations – tax rates and incentives, wage legislations, mandatory employee benefits, industry safety regulations and product labeling requirements. The political analysis done for Sainsbury showed following results: Trade restrictions. It will not be difficult for Sainsbury to establish commercial business relation s with Qatar because of its existing friendly relationship with U.K. It has an existing Free Trade Agreement that provides benefits to both contracting parties (Pratap, 2011). One of the Qatar’s policies that makes setting up of large industries possible here are the regional integration, trade liberalization and expansion of market volume, thus encouraging mass production and economies of scale. Tax policy. Benefits owing to tax incentives include the following: No income tax or social security deductions payable on wages and salaries. No taxation is payable on exports and customs duties start at 5% Foreign investors are permitted full repatriation of capital and profits overseas in foreign currency. Corporate tax on foreign companies is 10% Source: KMD Consulting Legal. According to SMD (2008), the Foreign Investment Law No. 13 of 2000 offers foreign ownership up to 100% foreign ownership in sectors of agriculture, manufacturing, health, education and tourism. In Feb. 1, 20 10, this law has been amended and now includes 100 percent ownership in businesses such as consultancy services, information technology (IT), services related to sports, culture and entertainment as well as distribution services. Minimum capitalization required for a Qatar company is 200,000 QR and contracts entered into by Sainsbury in Qatar are covered by the Qatari Civil Code. Sainsbury can be exempted from the Qatari Law that stipulates a total local equity of 51% in any commercial company because it falls into the category of distribution service engaged in the retail distribution network and this exemption is available upon request (SMD, 2008) Legal. Environment regulations. The current environmental issue that would most likely affect Sainsbury’s entrance to Qatar is its limited natural fresh water resources and its increasing dependence on large-scale desalination process. Political stability. The peace and quiet of a country is vital in determining investment. Qatar, according to Business Monitor International will most likely to remain politically stable as analysts see no threat to al-Thani’s family rule (Business Monitor, 2009) Next, we go to the economic factor. Included in this analysis are: the type of economic system in countries of operation, government intervention in the free market, comparative advantage of host country, infrastructure

Brighton Seaside Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Brighton Seaside - Essay Example In 1313, Edward II granted Brighthelmston a charter that allowed market operations each Thursday at Brighton seaside. The market operations developed Brighton into a tourist site and visited by many vacationers. In the 21st century, Brighton and Hove have grown into a world tourist attraction. The new sea front has turned into an attractive and trendy magnet for visitors. Additionally, the newly created clubs, bars and restaurants has changed the area into fashionable beachfront in Britain. Today, it is highly regarded by theatregoers and artists as the main center for much famous west ends London productions. According to statistics, Brighton pier now at 1722 ft. in length with grade two-listed building, welcomes over three million visitors annually (Easdown 2009, p.12). Besides, Brighton seaside has been included among the top ten UK destinations for overseas visitors and top five most favorite cities. Brighton seaside is the future attraction site where one can find culture, good shopping, and enough food with the selection of specialty hotels. It is estimated to host over eight million visitors annually incorporating conference delegates and leisure visitors (Benson, 2015, p.1). According to Office for National Statistics (2014), Brighton is the most popular destination in the UK that is preferred by foreign tourists. In 2013, it hosted nearly 400, 000 foreign visitors. Benson, R 2015, Coastlines: The Story of Our Shore by Patrick Barkham, Book Review, The Independent. Retrieved On 30th March, 2015 from http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/coastlines-the-story-of-our-shore-by-patrick-barkham-book-review-10120105.html Farmer, B 2015, Pay Less for Parking in the Rain Plan for Seaside Town, The Telegraph, Retrieved On March 30, 2015

Explain which inventory systems should be used in each situation Assignment

Explain which inventory systems should be used in each situation - Assignment Example a. For the purposes of supplying my kitchen with fresh food, I would consider the fixed-time period model for my inventory system. This is because fresh food should be of constant supply in my kitchen and ready to use at any given time, hence I would order at certain intervals of time for example every weekend. It is also more convenient due to the different types of fresh food involved. b. Obtaining a daily news paper is definitely more of a one-time purchase, thus i would apply the single-period model for my daily newspaper. This is because I would either receive the evening news paper once in a day or the morning news paper once in a day depending with my preference. c. For the purposes of buying gas for my car i would prefer the fixed-order quantity model since I would like to maintain a given quantity of gas in my car at any given time. This quantity of gas is only eligible for refill when my car almost runs out of the quantity I purchased earlier so as to reduce my level of stocking out. The item in my list with the highest stock out cost is buying gas for my car. This is because I would only want to maintain gas quantity in my car to a certain level with a given quantity so that i would monitor it to a level that the stock out risk is great enough for me to order a

Chalenges in Developing Journal Body Paragraph Essay

Chalenges in Developing Journal Body Paragraph - Essay Example In most cases, I find it challenging to support my prejudices, assumptions and stereotypes. Occasionally, most of my body paragraphs are less logical and appealing. Misplaced statements, clichà ©s and metaphors are also common in my body paragraphs. Another major challenge during the development of body paragraph is coherency and consistency. The information volumes from different sources are sometimes misleading from the main topic hence making the body paragraph lose consistency.    Revisions remain the most challenging process in writing since it involves various aspects. In most instances, revisions are demanding given the client’s ultimatums and requests. However, with revision plans, revisions are less problematic. Focusing on the paper weaknesses remains my biggest revision strategy. While doing the paper, I am always aware of areas that were problematic. Therefore, I always plan early in areas that I felt I was weak.    Creating consistency and focus in my papers remains my greatest challenge. The fact that in normally acquire information from different sources, in most cases, they end up misleading me during the paper development. In fact, it makes my paper loose consistency. I also tend to lose focus from the main argument and the thesis. Another challenge that I always experience is creating an effective paper flow within the paragraphs. In most cases, I end up losing track of the topic. Addressing consistency and flow within the paper depends on continuous practice and revisions.

SIX STEPS OF MARKETING RESEARCH Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

SIX STEPS OF MARKETING RESEARCH - Essay Example Marketing research specifies the information required to address these issues, designs the methods for collecting information, manages and implements the data collection process, analyzes, and communicates the findings and their implications." (Introduction to Marketing Research) "Is collected for the first time. It is original and collected for a specific purpose, or to solve a specific problem. It is expensive, and time consuming, but is more focused than secondary research. There are many ways to conduct primary research. We consider some of them." (Introduction to Marketing Research) 2. Mystery Shopping: "Companies will set up mystery shopping campaigns on an organizations behalf. Often used in banking, retailing, travel, cafes and restaurants, and many other customers focused organizations, mystery shoppers will enter, posing as real customers. They collect data on customer service and the customer experience. Findings are reported back to the commissioning organization. There are many issues surrounding the ethics of such an approach to research." (Introduction to Marketing Research) Now what is means by 'Secondary Data Collection Procedure in Marketing Research According to a definition "is data which has been collected by individuals or agencies for purposes other than those of our particular research study. For example, if a government department has conducted a survey of, say, family food expenditures, then a food manufacturer might use this data in the organization's evaluations of the total potential market for a new product. Similarly, statistics prepared by a ministry on agricultural production will prove useful to a whole host of people and organizations, including those marketing agricultural supplies". (Secondary Source Information) However, in order to achieve this ob objective, there are certain ways as follows: 1. By applying the secondary data collection, sometimes it replaces primary sources, because the secondary data solves most of the problems facing. 2. A real secondary data is more simple and cheaper if compared with the primary data, while by applying the secondary gives more fruitful result than primary sources. 3. While adapting to collect information by applying secondary data, it consumes less time than adapting to primary source. 4. You can get more perfect and accurate information by adapting to secondary source, more than adapting

Home Depot Essay Example for Free

Home Depot Essay Today’s market is characterized by highly competitive organizations which are all vying for consumer’s loyalty. Firms are faced with the challenge to maintain their own competitive edge to be able to survive and be successful. Strategies are carefully planned and executed to gain the ultimate goal of all: company growth. However, external factors are not the only elements which influence growth. Today most companies find that it impossible to create any kind of sustainable competitive advantage based on product alone. It is common knowledge that every one of the successful companies sought and found a precise understanding of how it could create a customer-centered competitive advantage. Along with the changing business world, customers change as well, becoming more demanding and knowledgeable than before. In turn, company management had shifted their focus on their clients or customers so as to stay successfully in business. This transition meant that organizations have to completely reformulate their conventional business aims and purposes from being process-focused to customer-centered. Hence, in order to bring out exceptional customer services within the company operations, the management should employ fine-tuned organizational restructuring. Moreover, employing proactive customer commitment involves the consideration on culture and infrastructure (Lowenstein, 1997). Organizations that capitalize on customers active participation in organizational activities can gain competitive advantage through greater sales volume, enhanced operating efficiencies, positive word-of-mouth publicity, reduced marketing expenses, and enhanced customer loyalty (Lovelock Young, 1979; Reichheld Sasser, 1990). Rather than going after every potential source of revenue, companies eliminate useless assets that do not add value for customers’ satisfaction. Business organizations implement bureaucratic policies and procedures for the benefit of the staff, customers and the company in general. According to Bowers, Martin Luker (1990), if consumers somehow become better customers that is, more knowledgeable, participative, or productive the quality of the service experience will likely be enhanced for the customer and the organization. Company Profile The Home Depot is the worlds largest home improvement retailer and second largest retailer in the United States. From one store to $73. 1 Billion in sales, Home Depot has come a long way in a short time. This organization is very familiar to this writer as he was employed here for a few years after leaving the Marine Corps and was his first civilian job. Home Depot stands out more than many organizations that this writer has worked for because it was his first civilian organization and many adjustments had to be made. The company distributes everyday jobs to participants and creates rules, policies, measures, and hierarchical organizational charts to organize various actions. Home Depot ought to continually amend their structures to become accustomed to the atmosphere shifts, technology changes, organizational grow, and leadership changes. Furthermore, structure is also a means to high-performing teams. Mindful awareness to structure and roles in teams will make the team much more successful. When it comes to leadership, structural leadership contributes a critical role in shaping organizations. It can be influential and stable, even though it is more restrained and less heroic leadership compared on other frames. Structural Change In the traditional supply chain management used by businesses that import materials for production, a lot of people, time and money are invested upon to ensure that the demands of the manufacturers will be handled in the specified date and time required. Before being able to place an order of shipment of raw materials, several transactions are consulted between the supplier and the manufacturer that eats up their valued time. The supply flow normally includes the intention of order, quotation, confirmation, delivery, payment and handling of receipts. Great amount of time is consumed in the mere planning of the purchase orders of a manufacturing company. And since most of the time the transactions involve not only a single supplier, especially in the case of huge international producers, manufacturers deal with sub-suppliers with several forwarders from which a number of consolidations are exchanged. The workload and time that the inventory managers handle defines the proceeding business processes that will follow that predicts and maintains the success and profit of the whole business organization. That is why, efficiency counts! The best suppliers continuously update and upgrade their service deliveries in order to answer the demands of their customers. Customers have the ever-increasing demand on getting their hands into the products which can lead to change in supplier if expectations are not met. This is the reason why suppliers who are also industry leaders trend toward more reliable delivery services across their customers. However, problems of delivery are usually attended by most companies through with either quick fixes that do not work or complete and comprehensive designs that take too long and are expensive. The Implemented Plan of Changes Customer Satisfaction Along with the changing business world, customers change as well, becoming more demanding and knowledgeable than before. In turn, company management had shifted their focus on their clients or customers so as to stay successfully in business. This transition meant that organizations have to completely reformulate their conventional business aims and purposes from being process-focused to customer-centred. Rethinking and reformulating the organization on the other hand, entail the consideration of several factors such as various processes, technology, the environment as well as the success factors of people (Cohen and Moore, 2000). Hence, in order to bring out exceptional customer services within the company operations, the management should employ fine-tuned organizational restructuring. Moreover, employing proactive customer commitment involves the consideration on culture and infrastructure (Lowenstein, 1997). Online Marketing The tremendous growth of technological advancement has become the driving force of contemporary industries. The diffusion of the internet has revolutionized the business arena. The use of the Internet is changing high-tech marketing overnight while different industries have been trying to use it as part of their marketing strategy. It has not only reconfigured the way different firms do business and the way the consumers buy goods and services, but it has also become an effective instrument in transforming the value chain from manufacturers to retailers to consumers, creating a new retail distribution channel (Appelbaum et sl, 1998). E-marketing is a powerful tool used by different business organizations around the world. It is defined as the process of achieving marketing objectives through the use of electronic communications technology. Smith and Chaffey (2001) have provided a 5Ss’ mnemonic for how the internet can be applied by all business firms for different e-marketing tactics. These 5S’s are selling, serve, speak, save and sizzle. E-marketing is also known to be the online marketing strategy utilized by different company whose objective is to be the best company in their field. In various countries worldwide, more and more business firms have been using e-marketing strategy in order to be competitive. From books, foods and beverages, automobiles and other products and services, various firms, irregardless of their company sizes, are trying to survive by means of e-marketing strategy. Aside from being a promotional medium, the internet is a tool for marketing communications as well. Due to its interactive nature, the internet is an efficient method used in communicating with the consumers. Hence, several companies are beginning to realize the advantages of using the internet as a tool for communication. Companies then started to concentrate on designing web-related strategies and employing interactive agencies that will facilitate their development of specific company web sites as part of their integrated marketing communication strategy. There are companies however, that are effectively using the internet by incorporating their web-related strategies with the other areas of their IMC strategies. The approach now becomes integrated and more strategic. On-line marketing is considered to be the most expensive yet seems to be the most comprehensive marketing strategy that every company wants to implement and apply. At present, people, particularly those in the business arena, tend to engage themselves within the trend of rapidly growing technology so as to stay competitive. Upon surfing the internet, various companies have put up their official sites online for customers and potential consumers to view. Online or e-marketing is the latest marketing approach for any firm who wants to effectively market its products and services. In addition, e-marketing enables the company to be known worldwide since more and more people are able to access information derived from the internet. Within the business world, where competition is strict, internet marketing is one essential marketing strategy applied by most industries. Service Delivery Service intangibility means that services cannot be seen, tasted, felt, heard, or smelled before they are bought. For example, people undergoing cosmetic surgery cannot see the result before purchase. Airline passengers have nothing but a ticket and a promise that their luggage will arrive safely at the intended destination, hopefully at the same time. They draw conclusions about the quality from the place, people, price, equipment, and communications that they can see. Therefore, the service provider’s task is to make the service tangible in one or more ways. Although there are also times when product marketers try to add intangible offers, service managers try to add tangibles to their intangible offers. Physical goods are produced, then stored, later sold, and still later consumed. In contrast, services are first sold, then produced and consumed at the same time. Service inseparability means the services cannot be separated from their providers, whether the providers are people or machines. If a service employee provides the service, then the employee is part of the service. Because the customer is also present as the service is produced, provider-customer interaction is a special feature of service marketing. Both the provider and the customer affect the service outcome. Service variability means the quality of services depends on whom provides them as well as when, where, and how they are provided. For example, some hotels – say, Marriot have reputations for providing better service than others. Still, within a given Marriot hotel, one registration-desk employee maybe cheerful and efficient, whereas another standing just a few feet away maybe unpleasant and slow. Even the quality of a single Marriot employee’s service varies according to his or her energy and frame of mind at the time of each customer encounter. Service perishability means that services cannot be stored for later sale or use. Some doctors charge patients for missed appointments because the service value existed only at that point and disappeared when the patient did not show up. The perishability of services is not a problem when the demand is steady. However, when demand fluctuates, service firms often have difficult problems. For example, because of rush-hour demand, public transportation companies have to own much more equipment than they would if demand were even throughout the day. Thus, service firms often design strategies for producing a better match between demand and supply. For instance, hotels and resorts charge lower prices in the off-season to attract more guests. Restaurants hire part-time employees to serve during peak periods.

Five Competitive Forces Defined By Porter

Five Competitive Forces Defined By Porter Porters five forces analysis is an absolutely fundamental technique in strategy. Using this framework to map out environmental forces affecting the FedEx Corporation would result in the discovery of what the main sources of competitive pressure are and how strong each competitive force is in the shipping industry world. This analytical step is essential because we cannot create a successful strategy without in depth understanding of the industrys competitive character. Porters five forces model FedEx Corporation Potential Competitors LOW Existing Rivals HIGH Buyers Power HIGH Suppliers Power LOW Substitute Products LOW prproductspppp The potential entry of new competitors Established companies had managed to effectively raise the barriers to entry bringing it to a high and making it difficult for potential new competitors to enter the market. This is so due to the fact that these companies have taken competitive advantage of cost by achieving large volume of shipment and economies of scale. In addition, there is a high fixed cost associated with entering the International transportation network. For example, fleet of aircraft, ground handling, vehicles etc. Extent of rivalry between established firms There are both local and global competitors in the shipping industry i.e. UPS, FedEx, DHL and TNT. Although these companies competed vigorously for a market share in the industry, FedEx and UPS quickly gained prominence by responding to the changing environment through the use of technological advances. These companies competed by strictly focusing on lower pricing, customer segmentation, quality of service and innovation. This has caused rivalry to be intense among competitors because customers could easily switch to preferred companies with better offers. Bargaining power of buyers The bargaining power of large buyers in the shipping industry is high. This is because buyers can easily switch to larger shipping providers for a lower price and faster service. For example IBM which provides large volume of shipment at a lower price. Bargaining power of suppliers The supplier power within this industry is fairly low. Large shipping service provider can affect prices of supplies by placing better offers on packaging materials. This is because they buy in large quantities and can turn to different suppliers easily. Threat of substitute products There are no substitutes to shipping. In this day and age where many businesses have a strong online presence and a small physical presence, it would be difficult to find a substitute in delivering their product. Shipping services are very much similar to a commodity, in that it is not easily replaced with another service or even a similar service. Porters Value Chain Analysis The use of Porters value chain analysis will help to better understand the activities through which FedEx can develop a competitive advantage and create shareholder value. Inbound logistics The FedEx value chain begins with same day collection of packages. FedEx employees collect the packages from various locations that are convenient to the customers such as businesses or at their homes. Customers can comfortably request pickups via the internet or telephones. Operations After the packages have been picked up, they are transported to one of FedExs regional hubs for onward distribution. A hub is a central location where FedEx employees sort the packages according to their destinations. The packages remain at the hub until they are collected and shipped either by aircraft or truck. Outbound Logistics The efficient distribution of the packages by the aircraft and truck drivers to their various locations are integral to the value of the service. The packages must get to their destinations on time at anyway. Marketing and Sales Support activities such as company infrastructure e.g. truck; aircraft etc provide the enabling environment for the primary activities to function properly. Other important support activities include information systems, which allow customers to place their orders on- line and track their products. Services FedEx further facilitates customer comfort and security during the use of its service by allowing customers to track their packages while on route. Customer service is usually seen as a final primary activity and provides after sales support and service, however, it is an important part of the FedEx process. FedEx over a number of years had improved its core competencies and capabilities through the use of infrastructure, a stronger brand name than rivals and embracing new technology. Infrastructure FedEx realized that by acquiring its own transportation fleet e.g. regional hubs, trucks and aircraft would set them apart from its competitors. By doing this, the company had managed to achieve over one billion dollars on revenues making it difficult for potential and existing competitors to imitate since it took a lot of capital needed to compete with this company. Brand Name FedEx brand name was considered to be one of its greatest assets; the name had placed an image of reliable service and fast delivery in the mind of its customers. This had also made it difficult for other entrants in the market to compete because FedEx had a lot of trucks and aircraft to back them up. Innovation and New Technology Technological breakthrough and application of innovation promoted significant advances for customer ordering, package tracking and process monitoring. Example FedEx was the first company in the shipping industry to introduce the use of new technology that allows millions of people to connect via the World Wide Web through its website www.fedex.com. FedEx had also made it possible for people to track their package at the point of picking up to the stage of the delivery. Finally FedEx had built a small warehouse in Memphis. This was it first attempt at multi- client warehousing where customers can call up and place an order and the said order will be picked up on the same day.

Numerical Differential Equation Analysis Package

Numerical Differential Equation Analysis Package The Numerical Differential Equation Analysis package combines functionality for analyzing differential equations using Butcher trees, Gaussian quadrature, and Newton-Cotes quadrature. Butcher Runge-Kutta methods are useful for numerically solving certain types of ordinary differential equations. Deriving high-order Runge-Kutta methods is no easy task, however. There are several reasons for this. The first difficulty is in finding the so-called order conditions. These are nonlinear equations in the coefficients for the method that must be satisfied to make the error in the method of order O (hn) for some integer n where h is the step size. The second difficulty is in solving these equations. Besides being nonlinear, there is generally no unique solution, and many heuristics and simplifying assumptions are usually made. Finally, there is the problem of combinatorial explosion. For a twelfth-order method there are 7813 order conditions! This package performs the first task: finding the order conditions that must be satisfied. The result is expressed in terms of unknown coefficients aij, bj, and ci. The s-stage Runge-Kutta method to advance from x to x+h is then where Sums of the elements in the rows of the matrix [aij] occur repeatedly in the conditions imposed on aij and bj. In recognition of this and as a notational convenience it is usual to introduce the coefficients ci and the definition This definition is referred to as the row-sum condition and is the first in a sequence of row-simplifying conditions. If aij=0 for all i≠¤j the method is explicit; that is, each of the Yi (x+h) is defined in terms of previously computed values. If the matrix [aij] is not strictly lower triangular, the method is implicit and requires the solution of a (generally nonlinear) system of equations for each timestep. A diagonally implicit method has aij=0 for all i There are several ways to express the order conditions. If the number of stages s is specified as a positive integer, the order conditions are expressed in terms of sums of explicit terms. If the number of stages is specified as a symbol, the order conditions will involve symbolic sums. If the number of stages is not specified at all, the order conditions will be expressed in stage-independent tensor notation. In addition to the matrix a and the vectors b and c, this notation involves the vector e, which is composed of all ones. This notation has two distinct advantages: it is independent of the number of stages s and it is independent of the particular Runge-Kutta method. For further details of the theory see the references. ai,j the coefficient of f(Yj(x)) in the formula for Yi(x) of the method bj the coefficient of f(Yj(x)) in the formula for Y(x) of the method ci a notational convenience for aij e a notational convenience for the vector (1, 1, 1, ) Notation used by functions for Butcher. RungeKuttaOrderConditions[p,s] give a list of the order conditions that any s-stage Runge-Kutta method of order p must satisfy ButcherPrincipalError[p,s] give a list of the order p+1 terms appearing in the Taylor series expansion of the error for an order-p, s-stage Runge-Kutta method RungeKuttaOrderConditions[p], ButcherPrincipalError[p] give the result in stage-independent tensor notation Functions associated with the order conditions of Runge-Kutta methods. ButcherRowSum specify whether the row-sum conditions for the ci should be explicitly included in the list of order conditions ButcherSimplify specify whether to apply Butchers row and column simplifying assumptions Some options for RungeKuttaOrderConditions. This gives the number of order conditions for each order up through order 10. Notice the combinatorial explosion. In[2]:= Out[2]= This gives the order conditions that must be satisfied by any first-order, 3-stage Runge-Kutta method, explicitly including the row-sum conditions. In[3]:= Out[3]= These are the order conditions that must be satisfied by any second-order, 3-stage Runge-Kutta method. Here the row-sum conditions are not included. In[4]:= Out[4]= It should be noted that the sums involved on the left-hand sides of the order conditions will be left in symbolic form and not expanded if the number of stages is left as a symbolic argument. This will greatly simplify the results for high-order, many-stage methods. An even more compact form results if you do not specify the number of stages at all and the answer is given in tensor form. These are the order conditions that must be satisfied by any second-order, s-stage method. In[5]:= Out[5]= Replacing s by 3 gives the same result asRungeKuttaOrderConditions. In[6]:= Out[6]= These are the order conditions that must be satisfied by any second-order method. This uses tensor notation. The vector e is a vector of ones whose length is the number of stages. In[7]:= Out[7]= The tensor notation can likewise be expanded to give the conditions in full. In[8]:= Out[8]= These are the principal error coefficients for any third-order method. In[9]:= Out[9]= This is a bound on the local error of any third-order method in the limit as h approaches 0, normalized to eliminate the effects of the ODE. In[10]:= Out[10]= Here are the order conditions that must be satisfied by any fourth-order, 1-stage Runge-Kutta method. Note that there is no possible way for these order conditions to be satisfied; there need to be more stages (the second argument must be larger) for there to be sufficiently many unknowns to satisfy all of the conditions. In[11]:= Out[11]= RungeKuttaMethod specify the type of Runge-Kutta method for which order conditions are being sought Explicit a setting for the option RungeKuttaMethod specifying that the order conditions are to be for an explicit Runge-Kutta method DiagonallyImplicit a setting for the option RungeKuttaMethod specifying that the order conditions are to be for a diagonally implicit Runge-Kutta method Implicit a setting for the option RungeKuttaMethod specifying that the order conditions are to be for an implicit Runge-Kutta method $RungeKuttaMethod a global variable whose value can be set to Explicit, DiagonallyImplicit, or Implicit Controlling the type of Runge-Kutta method in RungeKuttaOrderConditions and related functions. RungeKuttaOrderConditions and certain related functions have the option RungeKuttaMethod with default setting $RungeKuttaMethod. Normally you will want to determine the Runge-Kutta method being considered by setting $RungeKuttaMethod to one of Implicit, DiagonallyImplicit, and Explicit, but you can specify an option setting or even change the default for an individual function. These are the order conditions that must be satisfied by any second-order, 3-stage diagonally implicit Runge-Kutta method. In[12]:= Out[12]= An alternative (but less efficient) way to get a diagonally implicit method is to force a to be lower triangular by replacing upper-triangular elements with 0. In[13]:= Out[13]= These are the order conditions that must be satisfied by any third-order, 2-stage explicit Runge-Kutta method. The contradiction in the order conditions indicates that no such method is possible, a result which holds for any explicit Runge-Kutta method when the number of stages is less than the order. In[14]:= Out[14]= ButcherColumnConditions[p,s] give the column simplifying conditions up to and including order p for s stages ButcherRowConditions[p,s] give the row simplifying conditions up to and including order p for s stages ButcherQuadratureConditions[p,s] give the quadrature conditions up to and including order p for s stages ButcherColumnConditions[p], ButcherRowConditions[p], etc. give the result in stage-independent tensor notation More functions associated with the order conditions of Runge-Kutta methods. Butcher showed that the number and complexity of the order conditions can be reduced considerably at high orders by the adoption of so-called simplifying assumptions. For example, this reduction can be accomplished by adopting sufficient row and column simplifying assumptions and quadrature-type order conditions. The option ButcherSimplify in RungeKuttaOrderConditions can be used to determine these automatically. These are the column simplifying conditions up to order 4. In[15]:= Out[15]= These are the row simplifying conditions up to order 4. In[16]:= Out[16]= These are the quadrature conditions up to order 4. In[17]:= Out[17]= Trees are fundamental objects in Butchers formalism. They yield both the derivative in a power series expansion of a Runge-Kutta method and the related order constraint on the coefficients. This package provides a number of functions related to Butcher trees. f the elementary symbol used in the representation of Butcher trees ButcherTrees[p] give a list, partitioned by order, of the trees for any Runge-Kutta method of order p ButcherTreeSimplify[p,,] give the set of trees through order p that are not reduced by Butchers simplifying assumptions, assuming that the quadrature conditions through order p, the row simplifying conditions through order , and the column simplifying conditions through order all hold. The result is grouped by order, starting with the first nonvanishing trees ButcherTreeCount[p] give a list of the number of trees through order p ButcherTreeQ[tree] give True if the tree or list of trees tree is valid functional syntax, and False otherwise Constructing and enumerating Butcher trees. This gives the trees that are needed for any third-order method. The trees are represented in a functional form in terms of the elementary symbol f. In[18]:= Out[18]= This tests the validity of the syntax of two trees. Butcher trees must be constructed using multiplication, exponentiation or application of the function f. In[19]:= Out[19]= This evaluates the number of trees at each order through order 10. The result is equivalent to Out[2] but the calculation is much more efficient since it does not actually involve constructing order conditions or trees. In[20]:= Out[20]= The previous result can be used to calculate the total number of trees required at each order through order10. In[21]:= Out[21]= The number of constraints for a method using row and column simplifying assumptions depends upon the number of stages. ButcherTreeSimplify gives the Butcher trees that are not reduced assuming that these assumptions hold. This gives the additional trees that are necessary for a fourth-order method assuming that the quadrature conditions through order 4 and the row and column simplifying assumptions of order 1 hold. The result is a single tree of order 4 (which corresponds to a single fourth-order condition). In[22]:= Out[22]= It is often useful to be able to visualize a tree or forest of trees graphically. For example, depicting trees yields insight, which can in turn be used to aid in the construction of Runge-Kutta methods. ButcherPlot[tree] give a plot of the tree tree ButcherPlot[{tree1,tree2,}] give an array of plots of the trees in the forest {tree1, tree2,} Drawing Butcher trees. ButcherPlotColumns specify the number of columns in the GraphicsGrid plot of a list of trees ButcherPlotLabel specify a list of plot labels to be used to label the nodes of the plot ButcherPlotNodeSize specify a scaling factor for the nodes of the trees in the plot ButcherPlotRootSize specify a scaling factor for the highlighting of the root of each tree in the plot; a zero value does not highlight roots Options to ButcherPlot. This plots and labels the trees through order 4. In[23]:= Out[23]= In addition to generating and drawing Butcher trees, many functions are provided for measuring and manipulating them. For a complete description of the importance of these functions, see Butcher. ButcherHeight[tree] give the height of the tree tree ButcherWidth[tree] give the width of the tree tree ButcherOrder[tree] give the order, or number of vertices, of the tree tree ButcherAlpha[tree] give the number of ways of labeling the vertices of the tree tree with a totally ordered set of labels such that if (m, n) is an edge, then m ButcherBeta[tree] give the number of ways of labeling the tree tree with ButcherOrder[tree]-1 distinct labels such that the root is not labeled, but every other vertex is labeled ButcherBeta[n,tree] give the number of ways of labeling n of the vertices of the tree with n distinct labels such that every leaf is labeled and the root is not labeled ButcherBetaBar[tree] give the number of ways of labeling the tree tree with ButcherOrder[tree] distinct labels such that every node, including the root, is labeled ButcherBetaBar[n,tree] give the number of ways of labeling n of the vertices of the tree with n distinct labels such that every leaf is labeled ButcherGamma[tree] give the density of the tree tree; the reciprocal of the density is the right-hand side of the order condition imposed by tree ButcherPhi[tree,s] give the weight of the tree tree; the weight (tree) is the left-hand side of the order condition imposed by tree ButcherPhi[tree] give (tree) using tensor notation ButcherSigma[tree] give the order of the symmetry group of isomorphisms of the tree tree with itself Other functions associated with Butcher trees. This gives the order of the tree f[f[f[f] f^2]]. In[24]:= Out[24]= This gives the density of the tree f[f[f[f] f^2]]. In[25]:= Out[25]= This gives the elementary weight function imposed by f[f[f[f] f^2]] for an s-stage method. In[26]:= Out[26]= The subscript notation is a formatting device and the subscripts are really just the indexed variable NumericalDifferentialEquationAnalysis`Private`$i. In[27]:= Out[27]//FullForm= It is also possible to obtain solutions to the order conditions using Solve and related functions. Many issues related to the construction Runge-Kutta methods using this package can be found in Sofroniou. The article also contains details concerning algorithms used in Butcher.m and discusses applications. Gaussian Quadrature As one of its methods, the Mathematica function NIntegrate uses a fairly sophisticated Gauss-Kronrod-based algorithm. The Gaussian quadrature functionality provided in Numerical Differential Equation Analysis allows you to easily study some of the theory behind ordinary Gaussian quadrature which is a little less sophisticated. The basic idea behind Gaussian quadrature is to approximate the value if an integral as a linear combination of values of the integrand evaluated at specific points: Since there are 2n free parameters to be chosen (both the abscissas xi and the weights wi) and since both integration and the sum are linear operations, you can expect to be able to make the formula correct for all polynomials of degree less than about 2n. In addition to knowing what the optimal abscissas and weights are, it is often desirable to know how large the error in the approximation will be. This package allows you to answer both of these questions. GaussianQuadratureWeights[n,a,b] give a list of the pairs (xi, wi) to machine precision for quadrature on the interval a to b GaussianQuadratureError[n,f,a,b] give the error to machine precision GaussianQuadratureWeights[n,a,b,prec] give a list of the pairs (xi, wi) to precision prec GaussianQuadratureError[n,f,a,b,prec] give the error to precision prec Finding formulas for Gaussian quadrature. This gives the abscissas and weights for the five-point Gaussian quadrature formula on the interval (-3, 7). In[2]:= Out[2]= Here is the error in that formula. Unfortunately it involves the tenth derivative of f at an unknown point so you dont really know what the error itself is. In[3]:= Out[3]= You can see that the error decreases rapidly with the length of the interval. In[4]:= Out[4]= Newton-Cotes As one of its methods, the Mathematica function NIntegrate uses a fairly sophisticated Gauss-Kronrod based algorithm. Other types of quadrature formulas exist, each with their own advantages. For example, Gaussian quadrature uses values of the integrand at oddly spaced abscissas. If you want to integrate a function presented in tabular form at equally spaced abscissas, it wont work very well. An alternative is to use Newton-Cotes quadrature. The basic idea behind Newton-Cotes quadrature is to approximate the value of an integral as a linear combination of values of the integrand evaluated at equally spaced points: In addition, there is the question of whether or not to include the end points in the sum. If they are included, the quadrature formula is referred to as a closed formula. If not, it is an open formula. If the formula is open there is some ambiguity as to where the first abscissa is to be placed. The open formulas given in this package have the first abscissa one half step from the lower end point. Since there are n free parameters to be chosen (the weights) and since both integration and the sum are linear operations, you can expect to be able to make the formula correct for all polynomials of degree less than about n. In addition to knowing what the weights are, it is often desi

Business Communications Essay -- essays research papers

THE IMPORTANCE OF WRITING SKILLS IN BUSINESS COMMUNICATIONS: HOW AND WHY TO IMPROVE EMPLOYEES’ WRITING Abstract This essay describes how poorly written communication can lead to misunderstanding and a possible loss of business. Through this paper the author wants to persuade the employer to sponsor a workshop for all employees to improve their writing skills, to increase business communications and to avoid arguments through poor communication. This paper demonstrates the effectiveness of writing skills and why business communication is important in any kind of business. What can your business achieve with good writing skills and what it the impact of good writing skills on business. THE IMPORTANCE OF WRITING SKILLS IN BUSINESS COMMUNICATIONS: HOW AND WHY TO IMPROVE EMPLOYEES’ WRITING These last few weeks have been hard for some people in the office. Many arguments erupted and people started to blame each other for the fact that this particular business deal might be lost. All this arguing amongst the employees does not improve the work environment, and it is apparent to clients that the atmosphere in the office is not professional. The reason for the dispute is clearly due to misunderstanding through poor written communication. This had a negative effect on some people’s feelings, which in turn lead to low morale and higher risk of losing business which can be directly attributed to poor writing skills. It is important for our company to look at a way to improve employees’ writing skills to avoid similar incidents in the future. One probably has received advertisement mail from various companies and, after reading the first paragraph, the paper ends in the waste paper basket because you did not like what you read in the first sentence. The way the writer started to communicate did not make you read the rest of the document. The same happened in this last business deal; that message was not understood because it was poorly written. Clearly this is something that should not happen in business writing, especially when writing a letter or a memo, either internal or external. When your employee is not a good business writer, it can affect your business in such a way that you will loose customers. Even inside the office amongst the employees, poor communication can arouse conflict due to misunderstanding. Poor business writing can cost the co... ... environment amongst the employees. I want to finish with a quote from Barret J. Mandel & Philip Vassallo (1999) to convince you that good writing is also good management: â€Å"A person who learns to control the use of language in the writing of effective business documents is often the same person who learns to use language creatively and flexibly in order to lead others to work productively and harmoniously. In our experience, many of the most effective managers are also adept business speakers and writer.† (p338). References Drozdowski, Mark J. (2003) â€Å"The Write Stuff.†, Chronicle of Higher Education, 50 (5), 5. Abstract retrieved June 4, 2004, from UOP Library, EBSCOhost. Lauer, Charles S. (2002) â€Å"Short and Sweet†, Modern Healthcare, 32 (15), 28. Abstract retrieved June 4, 2004, from UOP Library, EBSCOhost. Mandel & Vassallo. (1999) â€Å"From ‘Me’ to ‘Us’: Crossing the Bridge from Academic to Business Writing.†, ETC: A Review of General Semantics, 56 (3), 338. Abstract retrieved June 4, 2004, from UOP Library, EBSCOhost. Mims, Julian L. (1995) â€Å"Writing for results.†, Records Management Quarterly, 29 (1), 27. Abstract retrieved June 4, 2004 from UOP Library, EBSCOhost.

American and Japanese values system Essays -- compare, contrast, compar

Japan and America each have their own value system that draws comparable interest for how it shapes society and patterns of interaction. Even though there are similarities between the two-value systems, it is essential to understand the fundamental differences that deal with equality, respect, and communication style. Understanding the motivations behind behaviors will lead to successful intercultural interactions. Japanese society exhibits a gender base stratification of society. Male dominance over female contributes to upholding norms and expectations of gender specific division of labor. Still prevalent and modeled after by most households in Japan, is that the male is typical salaryman ‘breadwinner’ that provides only the economic means. Meanwhile, the female is the ‘shufu’ or the full house wife is responsible for the household, raising children, and the wellbeing of the husband’s parents. The masculine and feminine speech patterns further refines the gender roles and the gender divide in all domains of society. Masculine speech is vulgar while feminine speech is politer in nuance. Even though the institutions that prevent women from entering into the workforce are changing, it is stigmatize that a woman’s career peck at age 25 and expected to return to the house married with ‘shufu’ responsibilities. ‘Career women’ are marginalized from society for having a higher status in income or education to good for oneself. This contrasts with America’s society of equality. Male and female are encouraged to pursue individual goals and aspirations as competitive equals. The transparency of institutions discourages discrimination and enables women to strive and advance in their careers in the majo... ... pursing happiness by being able to strive for individual achievement and desires. Many Americans would go back to school to seek better skills or degrees in improving the available opportunities in life. Similar in Japan, expectations by parents push their kids into the correct primary schools and later, cram schools, in order to get ahead because of the examination culture. At an early age, these kids learn that self-improvement is the means of avoiding marginalization public and family shame. The fundamental differences between the American and Japanese values system is the difference in individualistic and collectivism tendencies. Both Americans and Japanese see share similarities in time orientation and self-improvement. Understanding the core assumptions of each culture will improve the intercultural interactions and promote a global consciousness.

Case Stud Powell Logistics

Assignment #3: Powell Logistics Case Study A. Defining the issue The immediate issue is to make a decision on the future of the family company. B. Analyzing the Case Data * The truck transportation industry is a vital part of the Canadian economy with $43 billion in sales annually and employing 400,000 people * The for-hire sector accounts for 40% of the transportation industry in Canada * The for-hire sector has 2 service offerings: TL – Truck load, only full load between 2 locations and LTL – Less than load, pick up from various locations reorganize then deliver to end customer.Traditionally LTL charge more. * Trucking industry experiencing 3 major issues * Cost of fuel, increased operating costs forced to implement fuel surcharge * Canadian dollar value increase over US dollar, affected cost advantage of Canadian manufactured goods, decreasing transfer of goods between Canada and US * Shortage of qualified truckers with aging workforce, increasing wages * Strong comp etition in trucking: Traveller’s Transportation Services, long standing same market as Powell, service offering included small customer orders using vans which Powell did not offer * Yellow Transportation, global competitor, publicly traded with large financial resources, high technology using online tools reducing costs * Powell in operation since 1979, with steady growth, with a fleet of straight trucks, tractor trailers and brokerage services. * License to carry general freight throughout Canada and the US. Midsized company showing significant profitability, focusing on LTL services for higher margins even though more effort and expertise was required to manage the loads * Advanced technology including dispatch and satellite tracking in place as well as extensive trucking experience * Family business with eldest son acting as Vice President of Operations with many years of experience and no formal business training, daughter with formal education heading up the Human Resou rces section of the business and the youngest son responsible for Sales and customer relationships. Current operations included year round business with little seasonal fluctuations * 80 drivers working 5 days per week * Loads were picked up from location A and delivered to one of 5 warehouses, placed on another truck with optimized route for location B (software driven route optimization) * Sales growth would trend the same for the next year as the previous. C. Generating Alternatives 1) Buy New Warehouse and Combine Operations Pros: Reduction in costs including rent, labour, fuel, and administration salary costs.Cons: A total $10 million investment was required to cover $2 million for the land and $5 million loan financed at 5% annually. 2) Sell the Business Pros: There is interest, business is overall doing well and the timing is right in order to get as much value through selling. Cons: Direct access to cash flow stops and the family members work future is jeopardized. 3) Pass t he business on to his children Pros: The 3 Powell children are and have been heavily involved in the family business each having their own expertise. Cons: Who to select as the CEO from the 3 Powell children.D. Selecting Decision Criteria: * John Powell wants to retire * The family’s interest is of utmost importance * Improve financial position of PLI * Decrease operating expenses through streamlining operational costs * Decrease liabilities and pay down on debts to improve leverage. * Maintaining their competitive advantage/specialty in the LTL transport service. * Provide continued employment for the Powell children. * Maintaining their loyal customers. E. Assessing Alternatives: 1. Buy New Warehouse and Combine Operations STRENGHTHS| WEAKNESSES| Industry experience * Decrease operating costs| * Long term debt * Some additional long term debt from other Powell companies still outstanding throwing off debt ratio| OPPORTUNITIES| THREATS| * Streamline Operations| * Economic do wnturn * Competition| 2. Sell the Business STRENGHTHS| WEAKNESSES| * Interest from 3rd party * Pay off all Powell Debt | * Family member work future questionable * Cash flow| OPPORTUNITIES| THREATS| * Partnership possibility| * Economic downturn| 3. Pass the business on to his childrenSTRENGHTHS| WEAKNESSES| * John Powell retires * Powell children available and able to take on the family business * Customer base remains * Restructure and plan to streamline and gain on debt ratios | * Multi site inefficiencies still exist| OPPORTUNITIES| THREATS| * Plan to achieve financial position to support new warehouse in the future * Restructure plan development| * Economic downturn| F. Selecting the Preferred Alternative Passing the business on to his children is the preferred alternative. Financial Analysis Although PLI is forecasted for continued growth with revenue expected to reach 28 million dollars in 2010, PLI still faces the problem of shrinking net income due to significant increases in their operating expense. * Closer examination shows that PLI’s expenditures in Administrative Wages and Benefits are rising dramatically, and they’re the main contributor to the increase of Operating Expenses. Operating Expenses as a percentage of Total Revenue is out pacing the growth of Gross Revenue, and it won’t be much longer before Operating Expenses negate Gross Revenue and put PLI in the red. The Balance Sheet shows the asset values for ‘related companies’ has decreased by 19. 9% from 2006 to 2007, but the debt these ‘related companies’ have incurred has increased dramatically by 93. 1%, This is obviously putting a tremendous strain on PLI’s financial health. * A combined warehouse/main office will reduce salary costs with savings projected at $60,000 per year. If PLI were to take a 10 million dollar loan amortized over 25 years to realize an increase of $60,000 per year to their Operating Income, they would be well sh ort of their $400,000 annual principle payment. Additionally, PLI would most likely only be able to obtain a high risk interest rate a lending institution would not approve this loan given the slim profit margins of PLI in an extremely competitive market. * When reviewing the financial ratios, we find PLI highly leveraged, and they will be in a very precarious position if there was a margin call on their debts. * The increasing debt of PLI will most likely negate any possibility of a leveraged expansion. G. Developing an Action and Implementation Plan Who| What| When|John Powell| Frank Powell named as successor and President of PLI| Nov 2007| Frank Powell| Corporate restructure announcement to reduce staff, wages and/or operating expenses| Jan 2008| Frank Powell| Sell Powell related businesses that are increasing debt burden on PLI. Sales proceeds pay down debt and any costs associated to restructure| Dec 2008| Frank Powell / Ryan Powell| Review and implement new rates and service o fferings to ensure these compete with competition| Jan 2009 to July 2010| Frank Powell| Revisit $10 million expansion project| July 2010|

The Constructive Alignment Theory Education Essay

The constructive all toldiance administration has been employ to underpin the teaching of traverse of s sens in aesculapian culture for some clip Biggs and Tang 2007. A constructivist instructor instaurations get wording fixs which be active and veilactive and works at the inter governing body in the midst of the words of adopt and the prentice, which creates a sensitive intelligence. A A constructivist apprentice depart make or build their own(prenominal) scholarship and understanding with what they already know. The constructive alliance surmisal has been shown to fit health check initiate-age childs with the needed cognition and att personalments that is required to form health check curiosity successfully. There be 2 wide orientations in sirement the subject matter faecal mattertered or teacher- touch on constructs and savant or learner-centered construct. A In the learner-centered construct the cognition is constructed by the scholar and the instructors a facilitator of larning than a mere flummoxer of cognition. The learner centeredness embroils the purpose that the scholar has a deplumate what to fail, when to analyze and how to analyze. Here the scholar is placed at the centre of the full attown(prenominal)ment natural action in that respect is increased debt instrument and answerability on the portion of the scholar.An emerging intention in all the aesculapian schools in Australia is to h obsolete an integrated medical exam course of study where on that point is an increased tension on autonomous or scholar centered achievement, and active engagement of the attainment procedure. JCU integrated medical course of study follows the guidelines for effectual university nurture which says effectual university instructors domiciliate bookmans with chances to be involved in the structuring of their ain eruditeness beds, and promote them to take agree of their ain schooling and effectual uni versity instructors need from a scope of education good quantify and media those which get out embolden pupils form into legislateics and their ain purposes efficaciously .Today s medical pupils be spend a penny a wide spectrum in footings of age, experience, civilization, ethnicity and course of readiness every bout corking as encyclopedism address and preferences.so there is a immense challenge for teachers to thaw into the educational motives of all pupils. When snap is adopted to scholars larning fashions at that place impart be increased student motive and public certifyation. Because there argon pupils with divergent educational stakegrounds and antithetic erudition manners, it is the duty of the teacher to turn to this variety show of larning manners among pupils and develop appropriate skill learning activities.The challenge of lending quality larning experience for the pupils has prompted legion(predicate) a(prenominal) pedagogues to look to wards larning engineerings. Increased stake in pli adequate to(p) skill chances in third breeding has risen in recent old ages in response to increased pupil kind and the ramification of impudently engineerings. Technologies allow pedagogues to personalise and modify accomplishment by including gamy media constituents in classs that endeavor to prosecute pupils in active, upshotant erudition ( Lee, Tan & A Goh 2004 ) . Australia has a strong tradition of distance discipline and a displacement towards online larning in Universities in the recent old ages has been seen as a natural extension of the to a greater extent tralatitious signifier of distance instruction ( ships bell et al, 2002 ) . In today s eruditeness environments, the effectual customs duty of instructional engineerings turn up the scholar with malleable, immediate and on require entrance fee to class content. Flexible accomplishment has emerged late to depict the altering play of distance ins truction, brought about by the crook acceptance of different larning engineerings to back up progressively diverse pupil population.Flexible eruditenessFlexible acquirement is a scope of larning attacks in footings of clip, gait, topographic acme, content and manner, which atomic number 18 applied in changing grades. Flexible scholarship incorporates reason machine engineering into larning helping pupils in developing the cognitive processes needed for the usage of learning engineering efficaciously. A hold of larning activities is created in pliant eruditeness. The most of import purpose of flexible learnedness is to supply immenseer subordination to the scholar in the encyclopedism procedure and to supply chances and options with a assortment of learning -learning manners. The scholar entrust hold greater pick, shore leave and control in flexible scholarship ( Geroge and Luke 1995 ) . This type of larning provides the scholar with picks about where, when and how learning takes topographic point ( Shurville et al. , 2008 ) .Pedagogical attack in flexible acquisition is intelligent and here the instructor becomes the facilitator in the acquisition procedure and the scholar gets greater control in the acquisition procedure. This teaching method acting is a going from the traditional teacher-centered methods of instruction, prefering the facilitation of the cooperative building of cognition and accomplishments. It increases the efficiencies in the bring of instruction and caters to different concourses of scholar. Present twenty-four hours net coevals scholar is multitasking nature and they demand for greater flexibleness colligate in the manner of survey, topographic point and gait. Flexible larning caters for these diverse sorts of pupil thorough building ( Casey and Wilson, 2005 ) .The exp unrivaledntial growing of computing machine cause and rapid detonation of the broadband velocities in recent old ages has changed the outlook of these net coevals pupils and the acquisition chances offered to these scholars. In order to run into this bout demand, Universities are turning to flexible acquisition and e-learning as a at rest manner to supply flexible entree to acquisition ( Buleen and Janes 2007 ) . James cook Universities committedness to the development of flexible acquisition is embedded in the instruction learning appraisal form _or_ system of government, that is devote in supplying pupils from different backgrounds with the top quality larning environment and mount pupil s learning experience. One of the ticker rules of the JCU learning larning assessment policy addresses this diverseness of pupils and their different acquisition manners. Course design allow for endeavour to react to the rich diverseness of pupil backgrounds and tracts, including Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander, international, inter cultural, low socioeconomic backgrounds, sylvan or remote, first household member go toing a university, return to analyze and multitude with handiness issues . In all topics a assortment of resources, learning methods and attacks to larn allow be considered and adopted, in acknowledgment of the diverseness of the pupil organic structure .A general objective here is to give away pupils many picks in larning and control over the timing, social organization and sequencing of their acquisition.One of the cardinal trademarks of flexibleness in acquisition is the acknowledgment of the differences differences in what the pupils wish to larn and when he/she indispensabilitys to larn. It besides allows for surgical process pupils with particular demands and suiting the progressively alter cultural dimension in larning. Educators substantiate that the scholars convey case-by-case demands and require alter grades of flexibleness to run into their demands. Learner centered direction is the marrow rule cardinal this flexible acquisition. Here the accent is on the pi ck of the scholar. Facilitation of acquisition is an some other nucleus rule of flexible acquisition where the teacher takes more of a facilitator function in the procedure of larning than a commanding or in dression transporter function. Facilitators provide chances for masking content in a new and advanced function utilizing a junto of media and bringing manners. Here the content is wasted from a assortment of startings including picture, nett sites, multimedia, artworks, sounds, lifes and so forthToday s medical pedagogues are confronting challenges than their predecessors in learning tomorrows physicians. Changing in wellness attention bringing and progresss in medical instruction and clinical medical strong point do increased demands on the medical module, ensuing in trim down clip for learning. Flexible acquisition can be used in undergrad medical instruction to better the efficacy and effectivity of educational intercessions in the typesetters case of scientific and pedagogical challenges. Use of flexible acquisition is extremely variable in medical schools and it is more public in fundamental scientific discipline classs than in clinical scientific disciplines. Flexible acquisition has a symptomatic that presupposes a great accent on self-teaching in undergraduate medical instruction. Students are encouraged to analyze and research independently. Collaborative acquisition and data exchange is intensified as to merge larning through assemblage activities. The practical group activities can be performed in synchronised or asynchronous meeting in pupil place groups that permits collaborative and darksome acquisition.Capable DesignYear 2 medical checkup plan has one hundred ninety pupils of which more than 50 % of the pupils are mingled with 21 to 25 old ages and the group besides has approximately 35 % of pupils who are above 30 old ages. Students riposte ining six yr undergraduate medical plan at JCU are school departers, alumnu ss ( with a grade non related to the medical class ) or graduates with grades in biologic and wellness scientific disciplines. But there are pupils in this group who are non from the biological background and had the trouble in settling into the health check course of study in their early months in the Medical home(prenominal)ate. The grownupgest challenge feelingd by the School of treat at JCU is to suit the scholars who receive come from different backgrounds. Bing a rural medical school this challenge is heightened at JCU due to miss of resources and isolation. Because the pupil group has scholars from different backgrounds, the course of study or the single aptitude must be more originative and flexible to run into the demands of single scholars. Larger category ( xcl pupils ) means more about reprimand centered acquisition and minimum pupil battle and this lead make a barrier to entree acquisition. The category sizing plants against the rational development, larning and success in a medical school.Year 2 medical plan has two pathophysiology classs structured dust pathophysiology 1 and 2. diametric organic structure system faculties are taught with accent on Anatomy, Physiology and Pathophysiology in these classs which is spread crossways two survey expirations ( SP1 and 2 ) . Hematology and nephritic Medicine is the skill under Integrated System Pathophysiology 1 during survey period 1, which runs for 13 hebdomads. This aptitude has two subdivisions haematology and Renal Medicine. During the last 5 hebdomads of HRM capability pupils learn about Renal Physiology and Pathophysiology.Physiology and Pathophysiology ables in this capacity are complex and in the old feedback pupils have raised a couple of(prenominal) concerns about the talk conquers in the might and about deficiency of clip and chances unattached for the survey of complex physiology subjects in this efficacy. Feedback suggested that face to face and synthesising Sessionss in the talent were unequalised to gestate the dynamic procedures and complex physiology mechanisms in the nephritic physiology subject. Besides when complex subjects were extraditeed in schoolroom dialog, pupils either retained a simplistic position of the subject or were confused when introduced to a new subject ground on an apprehension of square procedures. Hence, I have intend to present flexible acquisition faculty, which supports personal bringing, to specifically turn to the jobs identified by the pupils in the Renal Medicine Course.Face-to-face acquisition for this faculty is in the signifier of one hr talk at the beginning of the hebdomad and another hr of synthesising seance on Fridays. There is a collar hr guided larning session in the signifier of active acquisition that supports these opposite bringings during the hebdomad.The contents of the nephritic medical military posture faculties are carefully chosen to develop flexible acquisition activities spread across a 4 hebdomad period. carry over 1 Different sections chosen to present in the flexible acquisition faculty for this class principle SectionsWeekSubjects19Histology of kidneys and the urinary system29Physiology of nephritic system310 enjoyment of kidneys in water balance411Role of kidneys in blood impel per unit of measurement area ordinance512Control of urinary vesica and urination613Diuretic drugs and their mechanisms of actionEvery section has different learning acquisition activities which are developed utilizing Black control panel, the unshackled beginning class direction system.Different learning acquisition activities for these flexible acquisition faculties are seedpodcasting and Camtasia recordings face to face talk will be recorded utilizing Camtasia/Doceri and will be uploaded online.Lecture podcasting is besides uploaded in MP3 formatA 20 proceedingss i-lecture which will masking piece the subjects ( as per the sections mentioned above ) is recorded and uploaded hearth group wiki discourse board for mini instance word related to the periodical subject.Open discussion board for treatment about the inquiries asked in the workbook in the GLS Sessionss, utilizing blackboard treatment toolsYouTube picture links Anatomy, Physiology and Pathophysiology picturesE-book chapters, textual matter edition pages, and reappraisal articles related to the subjects are uploaded to the learning resources bookletHome groups 20 pupils in a group have the chance for 30 proceedingss blackboard work confabs session with the lectorLinkss to the specific subject pages of Medical Revision Community and Pod trefoilsOnline quizzes at the terminal of the hebdomad which will hold MCQ s and cardinal characteristic paper inquiries.Online brooding diaries will be used for feedback on a weekly footing for this faculty.Contexts and Settings for Flexible accomplishmentOur scholars Undergraduate, grownup, domestic and international pupilsThe sort of ac quisition we are seeking to accomplish companionship, accomplishments and attitudesDelivery of the content On-line talks and instance treatments.The other acquisition activities that can be organise to run into the larning results Question-answer Sessionss, pictures, online quizzesAvailable Resources press releases, worksheets, workbooks, ocular, power points, picturesTable 2 Summary of the oecumenical Teaching Schemes used for Flexible Learning in this facultyLearning ResultsTeaching SchemeLearner Activity intuitionTransmit/InformReadingPodcastCamtasiaI-lectureVideosAssociating to theoryAutonomous acquisitionCognition occupyVideoMini Case discussionDiscussion BoardQuizKnowledge readingSupplying multiple positionsSkills dedicateCase DiscussionDiscussion boardBlackboard CollaborateClarifying cognitionInterpretation accomplishmentsSkillsApplicationCollaborate treatmentCase DiscussionCardinal accept Paper inquiries ( instance found )Synthesizing cognitionDeep acquisitionApply ca nonical scientific disciplines to clinical medical specialtyResearching acquisitionAs with face to face instruction, these online, blended categories is constructively aligned to accomplish upper limit larning benefits and results. All facets of the flexible bringing, from purposes, larning results, talks and other activities are all and straight related to each other, and back up a progressive system of larning throughout the 5 hebdomads continuance of the class.JustificationYear 2 haematology and nephritic medical specialty class are presently utilizing face-to-face instruction which treats all pupils as undistinguishable scholars. This ignores the fact that pupils have different degrees of acquisition manners, motive, attending span and ability to larn ref 5 . Traditional big talk presentations first twenty-four hours introduce session and synthesising session in this faculty have jobs prosecuting the pupils and in run intoing their single acquisition manners. With flexible teaching-learning activities in this faculty, the acquisition and instruction can happen at times that are more convenient and productive for pupils. Students can work at their ain gait within a given model. Online larning provides options to entree and portion information more readily and this besides provides greater deepness of resources and information. Open treatment and mini instance treatment Sessionss in this faculty offer opportunities to interact and larn in ways that the traditional instruction in the faculty ca nt offer. Therefore, there is a displacement of focal point in the faculty from a teacher-centered theoretical greenback to learner centered theoretical forecast offering stronger learning motive and interactivity. The faculty is designed to value the diverseness of experience and pattern taking into the consideration of the internationalization of University course of study and this flexible instruction will ever back up both local and international pupils who have come from different educational backgrounds and have diverse learning manners.Learning direction system, societal package application exchangeable Wiki, treatment forum and web based talk engineerings are the different acquisition engineerings used in this flexible acquisition faculty that will supply communication and coaction chances. The university instruction and acquisition policy emphasizes that the instructor should seek to heighten pupil battle in acquisition by linking assorted constituents in a topic. The nucleus acquisition rule besides underlines the demand of invention in learning and acquisition and the usage of larning engineerings to reenforce and heighten the pupil larning experience. The different acquisition engineerings will give the pupils flexibleness to take when and where to entree talks and other learning resources. Students with weaker acquisition accomplishments will acquire more clip and options for interaction and to speed up their acquisition i ndependently. Medical instruction is a dynamic entity that is germinating promptly and taking advantage of the flexible, web based learning methods allow more face-to-face instruction clip to be used for learning other complex subjects during this base scientific discipline faculty.The talk podcasting, Camtasia/Doceri and i-lecture formats offer pupils the increased flexibleness of being able to entree the acquisition stuffs every bit frequently as required, 24 hour. a twenty-four hours, 7 yearss a hebdomad. This on-line talk will be actually effectual for this faculty as there are a big bod of pupils in category ( more than one hundred eighty pupils ) . These on-line talks engage the pupils more efficaciously than the face-to-face talks and pupils can mention to this talk several times over the class of the faculty. During the on-line treatment forums ( mini instance treatments and unfastened treatments in this faculty ) , pupils are given basic information about the new constr ucts and are encouraged to work together on clinical jobs and inquiries which helps them to understand cardinal physiology and pathophysiologic constructs for themselves. Students in the traditional face-to-face acquisition do non possess the cardinal critical uninflected accomplishments hence they are happening it tight to understand the key basic physiological constructs. Flexible acquisition enables pupils to widen their acquisition experience beyond the boundary lines of a schoolroom and a assortment of web resources and web links to medical podcast, podmedics and medical alteration community pages in this faculty to better pupil s acquisition capablenesss and besides their critical thought accomplishments.renal Medicine faculty in twelvemonth 2 includes complex subjects in Physiology ( nephritic ordinance of electrolyte balance, H2O balance, blood force per unit area ordinance etcetera ) . Some of the facets of physiology that make it hard include the big volume of informati on typically covered and its integrative nature. Most common ailments from pupils in their feedback is that there is excessively untold to analyze and retrieve and excessively many didactic Sessionss on basic physiology. The planned flexible acquisition Sessionss address these facets and present active acquisition tools to form grammatical social organisation and represent information and cognition in a more meaningful format. During the flexible acquisition, pupils are able to take a content bringing method that matched their learning manner to understand the complex subjects in physiology. Students can work through the different sections in the faculty at their ain velocity and develop a more meaningful apprehension of the subjects.Therefore the overall aim of this flexible acquisition faculty is to give the scholar more pick and control over the timing, sequence and the construction of larning activities, and to cut down the barrier to entree acquisition. This on-line faculty is likely to heighten pupils motive in larning Renal Medicine physiology. The interactivities and communicating tools will actuate the pupils and assist them increase perceptual experience and care of this subject. Present twenty-four hours net-generation medical pupils want larning options , choices and personalization . By supplying scholars with the freedom of pick, this flexible acquisition can put the sort for pupil success in this class.