Wednesday, November 27, 2019

Haveloche corporation free essay sample

Haveloche Corporation is a research and development company, which translates into sporadic cash flows over time. There are times when genius ideas bring in lots of cash flow for the company. However, there are also times where those genius ideas are shelved because no one has an interest in that patent. The ever changing cash flows prove to be difficult for decision making, especially when it comes to whether the company should give back to its investors or not. Haveloche is constantly faced with the predicament of deciding what dividend policy is best for the organization and the investors. The company’s CEO listed the stock prices and dividends for us to look at. There are 3 theories of investor preference for dividend versus capital gains: (1) Dividend Irrelevance Theory or Modigliani Miller (2) â€Å"Bird-in-the-hand† Theory (3) Tax Preference Theory. According to Modigliani Miller (MM), the dividend policy has not effect on the stock price of the firm or the cost of capital. We will write a custom essay sample on Haveloche corporation or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page This theory states that investors reinvest the dividends back into the firm and the firm’s value is only based on the income produced from its assets, and not the dividends and retained earnings. According to the second theory, the â€Å"Bird-in-the-hand† theory, dividends are known and stable and capital gains are unknown and uncertain. The dividend is less risky than capital gains. The risk of the firm’s cash flows in the long run is determined by the dividend payout policy according to this theory. According to the third theory, Tax Preference Theory, capital gains are preferred over dividends. Due to time value of money, a dollar paid in the future on taxes has a lower cost than a dollar paid on taxes in the present. Capital gains typically have better tax advantages than dividends, which is why some investors prefer to invest in companies that minimize dividends. Based on the scatter plot, I would have to say that Haveloche has chosen a variety of these different theories over the years since they have been paying dividends. When the company needed to reinvest the money back into the company, they dividend was lowered. When the company had plenty of extra cash lying around, the dividend payout increased. Haveloche has been paying a dividend since its initial IPO, but those dividends vary from year to year. One could argue that the dividend is guaranteed each year based on history, but the investor does not have a clue as to how what that dividend will be based off. Moreover, if you take a look at the stock price from year to year, it widely fluctuate up and down. Investors in this do not know from year to year if the company’s patents are going to strike it rich or if they are just going to be shelved. It being an RD company, it is a risky company, which investors know prior to taking the plunge with investing their hard earned money. Haveloches business is based on the unknown of whether the patents will be useful to electronics companies. The company may come up with something that it deems the next big thing, but it may not find a company that wants to use it. Investors in Haveloche are not in it specifically for the dividends. Investors are hoping for heavy payouts if Haveloche makes it big. The company needs to do more research and look into which dividend policies are working for the other small RD companies that work on patent projects. With more information and results, Haveloche would be able to make a more intelligent business decision about which dividend policy it should choose.

Sunday, November 24, 2019

ALWAYS IN 1787, 1820, 1833, AND 1850, THE NORTH AND THE SOUT essays

ALWAYS IN 1787, 1820, 1833, AND 1850, THE NORTH AND THE SOUT essays Throughout the late 1700s to early-to-mid 1800s, with the stability of the union being frequently challenged over every, occasionally petty, disagreement, somehow, both the north and south have found a common ground. Yet, it was only a matter of time when all these so-called compromises revealed their true color as a series of patchwork, or house of cards, that with every addition makes it that much more unstable. Not until the early 1860s did the house of cards finally give way and it was quite clear that neither the north nor the south was able to find that ever so frequent common ground. In the late 1700s to early 1800s, most of the disputes were over taxes, land settlement, states rights, and legislative representation, though controversial, these were quite a bit easier to deal with and settle as opposed to the slavery issue that would eventually overwhelm society with the introduction of Eli Whitneys cotton gin in 1794. This precipitated a long era of dispute, but fortunately, for men like Henry Clay and John Adams, the cards of the Missouri and the 3/5ths compromises for the most part silenced both parties on terms of slavery for the time being. These times were no stranger to instances of violence such as Shays Rebellion, so in domestic terms, life was not very happy-go-lucky. It was becoming apparent that under the surface of mild sectional strife there was something greater brewing. Maintaining the union was considered as a safeguard against domestic faction and insurrection especially the years after the Treaty of Ghent of the War of 1812 which brought a nd cemented a greater feeling of unity/nationalism, so people would be less apt to try to challenge and threaten both the safety and stability of his/her country. Therefore, it was no surprise that an agreement had been hastily reached. The mid 1800s brought, along with economic growth and nationalism, a wave of social, intellectual, and re...

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Budgeting and financial systems in the public sector Article

Budgeting and financial systems in the public sector - Article Example In general, a public budget comprises of four setting. Firstly, a political factor allots the limited public resources to the social and economic needs. Secondly, it is a managerial and administrative factor as it strategises the various ways in which the public will be provided with their needs through setting appropriate programs and services, their costs, their evaluation and implementation methodologies (Bamishigbin, 2012). Thirdly, it is an economical factor as it determines the various ways the town shall engage in growth and development. Lastly, it is an accounting factor as it holds the town`s top executive accountable for the funds allocated to them by the government for expenditure (Blidesel, Popa, & Pop, n.d.). Every budget has two significant elements, capital and recurrent estimates. For the recurrent budget, it comprises of the recurrent revenues and expenditures (Bamishigbin, 2012). This is the segment of the city`s budget that is comprised of the budgeted cash for run ning the government operations and consumptions. Capital budget is the section of the city`s budget, which consists of capital receipt and expenditure. This is the capital translated into development programs and services to city dwellers (Blidesel, Popa, & Pop, n.d.). There are various forms of budget. For instance, line item budget is the traditional type of budget. Performance budgeting requires a performance as a measure of budget item. The programmed budget focuses on achievement of each program provided to the users (Bamishigbin, 2012). Zero budgeting determines the cost benefit; the value for money to be invested in a given activity before making decision. This paper discusses the problems associated with the old budgetary method employed in Jakarta City. It discusses the challenges the city leaders faces and it proposes solutions to the problems. With the adoption of the performance-based budget, the city can change the face of its budgeting process. The performance based bu dgeting will ensure the previous unclear funds allocation will show their allocation in budget. This is one way through which the city shifts from politicians’ dominance for the city`s benefit into an approachable, clear, and answerable public spending management mechanism. Problems at Jakarta City Budget The budgetary account of Jakarta City features constricted and comprehensive items of expenses. The budget items include items such as motor vehicles, clerical workers or realms of papers needed in the city`s agencies and they do not refer to the aim of spending (Bamishigbin, 2012). They use this as their basis from which the audit team will determine the city agencies’ compliance to the budget requirement. The city`s budgetary format is of the below form. Expenditure item salaries materials other expenses total Last year Current year Next year Problems Associated with this Budget The city`s board is unable to utilize 98 percent of the 2013 Jakarta city`s budget. The main reason behind this is difficulty in acquiring land for development, auctioning problem, government policies, and inadequate technology for facilitating electronic cataloguing to ensure timely service and good delivery. Consequently, the unused budget resulting from this is estimated will reach Rp 7.28 trillion, which is equivalent to 15 percent of 2014 proposed budget of Rp 50.1 trillions. The cited causes to increase in the budget include the new needs of infrastructure and innovation to the public service.

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Marketing communication plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Marketing communication plan - Essay Example personal selection in the premium brand market (Pride and Ferrell, 2006) and this has been affecting the external, internal and competitor business contexts. Fuel price continues to increase and it always tends to impact the business opportunities of car manufacturers. However, it opens up new marketing opportunities for BMW hybrid and hydrogen cars since consumers tend to increasingly shift towards cheaper fuel types. Annual Report (2013) states that the hybrid technology, along with its focus on increasing electrification, helps the company take a leading role in lowering of carbon emissions and fuel consumption. An effective marketing communication will certainly help BMW to attract millions of customers worldwide to its cars. There is growing interest towards ‘green’ products that cause no harm or relatively less harm to human health and his nature. People are becoming more concerned about green products (Soni, 2013). As consumers are more aware about negative impacts of air pollution caused by vehicles, they show interest towards green vehicles. It seems to be an opportunity for BMW cars for its hybrid and hydrogen cars. In 2013, the number of passenger cars and light commercial vehicles sold globally has been increased by 5.1 percent to reach to 76.5 million units, mainly driven by increased demands in USA and China (Annual Report, 2013). In UK, the car market has remained in good shape, being boosted by a surprisingly strong economic recovery. The UK car market grew by 10.8 percent to reach 2.3 million units of cars and light vehicles. This showed greater opportunity for BMW mainly for its highly differentiated cars. In order to exploit this emerging market opportunities, the marketing team of BMW will need to communicate regarding its product variants and unique value propositions it offers to its targeted audiences. It is undeniably accepted that BMW is a strong brand as its appeal has created a sense of uniqueness among marketing channel members

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Over the next several decades multinationals from emerging economies Essay

Over the next several decades multinationals from emerging economies are likely to become a key force in the shaping of the glob - Essay Example However, over a certain period of time, the emergence of a significant number of rising markets as well as ostensible deterioration in developed markets have been observed. Nowadays, a huge exodus of MNCs from developed economies to emerging economies has been observed. A majority of MNCs have found favourable working conditions and are establishing themselves in the developing economies. In this effect, MNCs from developing economies are bound to become a major force in determining the international competitive landscape (Roach, 2007). Considering this aspect, the discussion is based on evaluating the validity of the statement that in next several decades, MNCs from emerging economies are likely to become a key force for shaping the global competitive landscape. ... MNCs from emerging economies usually obtain leverage from inexpensive labour, favourable trade principles and overall inducements to expand the business itself. Apparently, not just the MNCs are impacted by international expansion, the host nation’s economic environment and organisational experience are also impacted by MNCs. A proliferation of MNCs from emerging economies can lead to increased competition, augmented innovation in markets, better rearrangement of resources and increased job opportunities (Ernst & Young Global Limited, n.d.). MNCs of Emerging Economies as Key Force in Shaping Global Competitive Landscape In present days, emerging markets serve as an inducer of economic growth for entire world. The emerging economies have stronger potentiality of growth in terms of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at Purchasing Power Parity (PPP). According to the estimation of World Bank, the market size of E7 economies will become 64% larger in comparison to present G7 (Pricewater houseCoopers LLP, 2011). A significant convergence has been observed between E7 and G7 in recent times, which was accelerated by international economic recession of 2007. In 2007, the total GDP at PPP of G7 nations was almost 60% bigger than E7 nations. In 2010, it has been observed that the gap between GDP at PPP had shrivelled by 35%. The major drivers for growth of E7 nations are China and India (PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, 2011). The following table shows the GDP at PPP in 2009 and estimation at 2050: Rank in 2009 Country GDP at PPP in US$ billion Rank in 2050 Country GDP at PPP in US$ billion 1 US 14256 1 China 59475 2 China 8888 2 India 43180 3 Japan 4138 3 US 37876 4 India 3752 4

Friday, November 15, 2019

Simulation of IV Bag Decanting

Simulation of IV Bag Decanting Base Design and Equations The setup of the simulation is given below. The point at the top of the fluid in the IV bag is denoted with a subscript 1. The point at the exit of the catheter into the patient’s arm is denoted with a subscript 2. Assuming that the patient does not move his/her arm during the procedure, we can set point 2 as a static, whereas point 1 is moving dynamically as the bag empties. Bernoulli’s Equation in the units of energy is given as: Setting point 2 as the height of ground, excluding the pumping term and combining pressure terms into a pressure difference, but measuring PÂ ­1 and P2 in gauge pressure and assuming P1 to be atmospheric yields the following equation: Where Where For laminar flow (Re And for turbulent (Re > 2100): Mathematical Development Derivation of equations pertaining to the IV bag What is needed first is a way to find the volume of fluid still within the bag when only knowing the height of the fluid in the bag. Taking the central axis of the bag as an independent variable and viewing the radius of the bag at that point as a dependent variable yields the following straight line: Which has the equation: And performing a solid of revolution about the h axis: It is know that and that by mass balance assuming no accumulation in the pipe But: Finally for the frustum IV bag: Friction terms development Comparing the Reynold’s number in the pipe and the catheter: But by mass balance and assuming no accumulation: Which is always less than one. Therefore if flow in the catheter is laminar, then flow in the pipe has to be laminar too. This leaves 3 cases of flow in the system. The first is flow is laminar in the catheter and pipe. The second case is flow is turbulent in the catheter, but laminar in the pipe, or flow is turbulent for the catheter and pipe. For the first case where flow is laminar in both the catheter and the pipe: If the flow is turbulent in the catheter, then the friction term is the sum of the friction from the pipe and the catheter: Simulation Program Development Solving velocity of fluid leaving the catheter for any fluid height h The above Equations 1-9 are easily incorporated into matlab functions (Appendix A: Calculations functions). The first problem that the program must solve is calculating the instantaneous velocity of fluid out of the catheter at any height of fluid in the IV bag. First the flow in the catheter is assumed to be laminar (this is just a starting point for iterations). The correct velocity of the fluid leaving the catheter is the point here Equation 1 is stable. Since the equation contains a square root, for the answer to be reasonable then there has to be a positive root. i.e: Substituting equations 3 and 5 Since is very small, it’s square may be neglected (checked with given simulation values it was on the order of 10-10) The velocity that satisfies the stable solution of Equation 10 must therefore lie between 0 and for laminar flow speeds. This means that Equation 10 may be solved by bisection method, giving the instantaneous velocity out of the catheter for a certain height of fluid in the IV bag. If the maximum and minimum velocities do not generate the proper conditions required for the bisection method (one function value must produce a number greater than zero, and the other must generate a number below zero to imply a root between the two numbers on a continuous function), then the flow velocity must be such that the flow is turbulent in the catheter. If it is the case that flow must be turbulent in the catheter, then we can set an initial guess of v2 at the minimum velocity required to have turbulent flow in the catheter. Using this as an initial velocity, it can be iterated until a stable solution is found. See Appendix B for this programming logic. Comments have been added to aid understanding. Fluid flow out of the IV bag In order to calculate how fluid flows out of the IV bag, we set the program to take small time elements and determine the velocity of the fluid flowing out of the catheter for a set fluid height. Since that time element is small, we assumed that the velocity did not change appreciably in that small element. Volumetric flow is the product of linear velocity of flow and cross-sectional surface area, and assuming no accumulation in the pipe for mass balance: Now we need to know what the height is of the bag for that volume, which is simply the real root that solves Equation 2. This entire process is iterated for each time element until the bag empties or the fluid velocity leaving the catheter is zero. This logic may be found in Appendix C. Concatenating Results Finally a matrix is constructed that holds all data of the catheter fluid velocity, bag volume, fluid flow rate and height of fluid in the bag and is concatenated with a time vector. This resultant matrix now holds all of the data of the simulation, which is parsed to the primary class that is running the simulation to produce the graphs, and find numerical values for points on the graphs. Results of Simulation The following data was fed into matlab: P2 = 90.228/760*101325; Lcat = 43.703/1000; Dcat = 0.711/1000; Lpipe = 1.383; H = 22.8/100; R = 0.3829*H; hd = 1.377; Dpipe = 3/1000; rpipe = 0.5*Dpipe; mu = 1.142/1000; rho = 1017; X = calcX(R,H,rpipe); h0 = 0.8*X; beta = (R-rpipe)/X; The simulation was run using the following command to retrieve the results matrix: VhvQt = generateVhvtQMatrix(rho,Dcat,mu,Lpipe,Lcat,Dpipe,beta,h0,rpipe,9.81,hd,P2); Solution graphs were plotted as follows: plot(VhvQt(5,:),VhvQt(2,:)); xlabel(Time in seconds); ylabel(Height of fluid in bag in meters); Bag volume is row 1, height of bag is row 2, velocity of fluid in the catheter is row 3, flowrate is row 4 and row 5 is the time vector. To find the total time taken for the bag to empty, the command was used: VhvQt(5,end) = 3122 Similar commands were used to find exact datapoints at any period in time. Discussion of Simulation Results The values of the viscosity and density of the 5% w/v glucose solution – more commonly known as D5W, Dextrose 5 Water or Intravenous Sugar Solution, were looked up from Wolfram Alpha’s material database, and had the values of and . (Wolfram Alpha) The purpose of the simulation was to calculate and plot the graphs as well as answer how long it takes for the bag to drain. It took 3122 seconds for the bag to drain, or just over 52 minutes. At the last second of the simulation, the height of fluid in the bag was less than 4 millimetres, which corresponds to a volume of 0.045 mL. Figures 3-5 all show a negative exponential function, which is to be expected since the flow rate is a function of the head pressure, which is a function of the conical shape of the bag. Initially, the high flow rate that corresponds with the higher head of fluid does not change very much, as the level of fluid in the cone does not drop significantly quickly. However, after about 2500 seconds (80% through the time of the simulation), the velocity of fluid leaving the catheter begins to change. While this change is clearly not linear, it is not really significant when compared to the absolute changes in values. From the start of the simulation until 80% through the simulation (2500 seconds), the velocity of fluid in the catheter only changes from 0.8655 to 0.6922 m/s, or 20.02%. It is only in the last period of time just before the bag empties is there a significant change in the velocity of fluid entering the patient, with the final velocity being 0.4707 m/s just as the bag empties, which is itself only a change of 45.62%. This phenomenon is most apparent in Figure 6, where it can be seen that the volume of fluid left in the bag appears to decant at an almost linear rate (differential of volume/time is flow rate). Only just after 2500 seconds does the steepness of the graph very slightly begin to change upward indicated a slow in the flow rate of fluid leaving the bag. This phenomenon does, however, make sense. The height that the bag is lifted above the catheter is hd = 1.377 meters. The height of fluid in the bag at the start of the procedure is h0 = 0.1793m, or only 13.20% of hd. The means that the driving force behind the IV procedure (which is the height above the IV bag is placed above the catheter in the patient’s arm) that creates the pressure difference to overcome the venous pressure of blood in the patient’s veins only changes by 13.2%, and remains changed by only 20.02 % during the initial 80% of the procedure – in other words, it doesn’t change by much, and therefore we expect that the flow rate won’t change very much until very close to the end of the procedure, which is what we see in Figure 3. In real world application, this means that in general the flow rate of IV solution to the patient is mostly a function of how high above the patient the IV bag is placed, and not necessarily how empty or full the bag its self is. In fact, general practise used by doctors is simply to place the IV bag above the heart level of the patient (Dr. Chen-Maynard, 1999). In application, a desired flow rate of IV fluid into the patient may controlled by lowering or lifting the IV bag a certain height above the patient. Nomenclature References Dr. Chen-Maynard, P. R. (1999). Calculating Parenteral Feedings. California: California Department of Health Science and Human Ecology. Wolfram Alpha. (n.d.). Comprehensive Material Data Sheet for D5W. Retrieved April 28, 2014, from http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=5%+(w/v)+glucose

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Child Play

Play and early childhood education is not just a way to fill time for children who are too young to go to school. Some people think of play as the â€Å"work† of children (Berger, 2000). Through play and early childhood education, children build the foundation for later learning as they solve problems and increase their understanding of themselves, other people, and the world around them. Being in a stimulating environment, such as an early childhood center, provides a child with the much needed support to develop skills for dealing with emotions, expanding language and vocabulary, and an array of other skills.Putting children in environments where they are not stimulated can be harmful to their development during the play years. For young children, â€Å"play† includes a variety of activities that are fun and interesting. These activities include quiet play, creative play, active play, dramatic play, games, and manipulative play. Play may be structured or unstructured. Structured play has rules or a specific way of doing things. Games such as active games, card games, and board games are examples of structured play. Unstructured play includes activities such as dress-up play, doll play, building blocks, running and climbing, and riding tricycles.These activities are sociodramatic and rough-and-tumble play (Berger, 2000). A child may play alone or engage in social play by including other children or adults. Social play has a critical role in helping children learn to interact with others. Some research has identified stages of social play. Children pass through these stages as they grow, becoming capable of more interactive play as they develop. According to Berger, Onlooker play occurs when a child seems to be playing alone while watching others’ play activities.Solitary play occurs when a child plays alone or near another child with no interaction between them. Berger states that Parallel play refers to children’s play when they ar e near each other and using similar materials but with little or no social interaction. Associative play is similar to parallel play but involves some social interaction. Cooperative play includes common goals and collaboration, and may involve complex negotiation, collaborative decision making, and rule setting (Berger, 2000). While we were at the VCU child development center, I witnessed children playing outdoors.I saw some cooperative play in games such as hide-n-seek and duck-duck-goose, where the children played the games by rules that were taught to them. Most of the play witnessed was unstructured play in which the children decided what the wanted to do and how they wanted to do it. One little boy sat in solitary play building mini castles out of sand, while another large group of children just ran in circles around the playground screaming. Many kids just sat back and watched as others played games, while they sat in the sand box occasionally scooping sand which demonstrated onlooker play.Lastly, a group of children sat in a corner observing flowers or bushes having conversation about them, which demonstrated associative play Children’s play sometimes has less to do with other people than with finding out about the world. Young children naturally explore their environments in playful ways that help them understand the physical environment and their own bodies. This type of play is sometimes called sensorimotor play. As they vary their actions and interact with toys and other objects, children discover what their own muscles can do, and they gain practice of the movements that they need for everyday life.They also have affordances to learn about gravity and other principles of the physical world. What children learn through play is also very much affected by the quality of the early education care program that they are in. When searching for child care, every parent wants to leave their child knowing that they are handled by a warm, nurturing adu lt, who has knowledge of how children grow and develop. The adult should also have an understanding of the needs and interests of individual children because this is essential for a child’s growth.Children should be valued for themselves and not for what they do or how they look. Good caregivers tend to view children positively and help them learn what to do rather than focusing on what not to do. They help children learn to take responsibility for their own actions and eventually develop self-discipline. Rules should be reasonable, consistent, and well explained. Children are treated with respect. When caregivers view themselves positively and feel good about their work, they model a good self-image for the children. It is essential for caregivers and teachers to help parents feel a part of the program.The parents and school teachers should share information in order to understand more fully a child's needs and provide the best coordinated twenty-four-hour schedules for the child. Parents can share important family values, goals for their child, methods of discipline, and changes in the child's home environment while teachers can share the program goals, special activities for the child, weekly plans, and how they believe children learn (Azria-Evans). Teachers also can utilize appropriate community resources for the school and help parents find needed resources. Good relationships among staff members are important.If the children see adults working together cooperatively and solving problems successfully, they will learn to use some of these skills. All staff members must maintain professional ethics, which includes protecting the privacy of the children and families in their program. Centers also are required to go through a process to make sure they are meeting state standards. Licensing of child-care centers and family child-care homes gives parents some protection. States vary in their requirements for the facilities and the staff, criminal clearan ce of caregivers, health and safely regulations, and child-adult ratios (Azria-Evans).The adult-to-child ratio affects the individual attention given to each child and the group size affects the interactions of children. Ages of children are followed by adult-to-child ratio and group size (Azria-Evans). Multi-age grouping is permissible and often encouraged. The adult-to-child ratio and group size requirements are based on the age of the majority of children, but when infants are included, ratios and group size for the infants must be maintained. Child care center may also choose to attain an additional certification through The National Association for Education of Young Children (Azria-Evans).By getting this certification a child care center shows that they have gone above and beyond state standards to provide the best care and learning environment for children. Along with that the center should be a good fit for the parent and child (Azria-Evans). It is essential that parents vis it a center and talk with the director, teachers, and children before enrolling their child there. The child should also visit the program before being enrolled. The school should welcome unannounced visits. The parents must check for safety in the total environment.Is the equipment appropriate and in good condition? Are gates latched so children cannot get out? Are activities well supervised? There should be a variety of developmentally and culturally appropriate activities as well as equipment and materials so that each child can develop in all areas such as: physical, social, intellectual, emotional, and creative. Physical development includes large and small motor skills and health issues. Particular attention should be paid to routines such as eating, toileting, and resting. Intellectual development involves the cquisition of language skills as well as general knowledge about one's â€Å"world† and how to function in daily tasks. Children need opportunities to play and w ork with other children as well as to play and work alone. Activities should be balanced between active and quiet play both indoors and outdoors. Some activities should be teacher-directed while others should be selected by the child. The transition times between activities should be relaxed and provide pleasant learning experiences. Learning centers should reflect children's families, cultures, and interests.Learning centers should include table-top activities with manipulative materials, activities with housekeeping props, dramatic play, books and quiet corner, music and movement, art and creative activities, cooking and science areas, and a block area. Look for outdoor climbing equipment, space to run, wheel toys, sensory motor activities such as obstacle courses, balls, beanbags, and hoops. Children need carpentry, gardening, and ample sand, water, and mud play. There should be nature walks and trips away from the center.At the VCU child development center the children had built a replica of New York City, with demonstrated a table-top activity. Outdoors the play area had two wooden playhouses, and the entire play area had little garden throughout. There was also a sand pit in the middle of the playground. The arrangements families make for their children can vary dramatically, including care by relatives; center-based care, including preschool early education programs; family child care provided in the caregiver’s home; and care provided in the child’s home by nannies or babysitters.How a family chooses this care is influenced by family values, affordability, and availability. For many families, high-quality child care is not affordable, which results in compromises. The benefits of high quality care are that when care is consistent, developmentally sound, and emotionally supportive, there is a positive effect on the child and the family. The children that are in a poor quality environment are less likely to be prepared for school demands an d more likely to have some development problems, which sometimes can not be fixed.These include reading and language problems, because the children have not been in a nurturing environment to develop these skills. These students are more likely to fall behind in school. All in all, the play years are essential to a child’s development. The type of play that they do and the child care center that they attend is very important in determining how a child develops. A lot of thought should go into choosing a child care center, because we all want our children to get the proper amount of play for their age group to make sure the develop the skills needed later on in life.

Sunday, November 10, 2019

Strategics

What are the benefits of strategic  planning? Understanding the Benefits of Strategic Planning For Entrepreneurs Your venture’s goals and strategy define the purpose and competitive advantage that will set it apart from others. Your goals help define your intent, and strategy is the plan of action that describes activities for dealing with the environment and for reaching your venture’s intended goals. When combined, goals and strategies define the scope of operations and the relationship with employees, customers, competitors, and other stakeholders.The term â€Å"strategy† is widely used in the business world today. It is one of those words that people define in one way and often use in another, without realizing the difference. It is derived from the ancient Greek word meaning â€Å"the art and science of the general deploying forces for battle. † Your strategy is a plan for interacting with the competitive environment to achieve your intended goals. Some think of goals and strategies as interchangeable. For purposes of our research, goals define where your venture wants to go, and strategy defines how your venture will get there.This formal process of setting goals and creating a strategy adds legitimacy, provides employee direction and motivation, helps form decision-making guidelines, and provides criteria for your performance. In essence, the process of strategy formulation sets the general directions in which your venture’s position will grow and develop—your goals and objectives represent the ends that you are seeking to attain. Whereas the strategy is the means to these ends, strategic management is positioning and relating your venture to its environment in a way that will ensure its continued success and make it secure from surprises from competitors.This is competitive strategy, the search for a favorable competitive position in an industry, aiming to establish a profitable and sustainable position agains t the forces that determine industry competition. Benefits of Strategic Planning for Entrepreneurs Strategic planning is a logical, analytical process for choosing your venture’s future positions vis a vis the environment. The most common defect of entrepreneurs is myopia, a lack of long-range perspective in thinking or planning. In the sports world they say, â€Å"Luck is where preparation meets pportunity. † Lance Armstrong, a bicyclist with five consecutive Tour de France wins to his name, prepares by â€Å"thinking the race through† before he ever starts down the road. In the business world this preparation comes from strategic planning. As Michael Porter writes, â€Å"The essence of formulating competitive strategy is relating a company to its environment; the best strategy for a given firm is ultimately a unique construction reflecting its particular circumstances. † So look at new business venturing as a chess game.To be successful you must be able to anticipate several moves ahead in advance. Thinking about your strategy is like thinking about the scenarios of plans, for example, what to do if/when competitors come into your space. Strategic planning is the process of thinking about and creating these scenarios, and the business plan is the document that communicates the fact that you have figured it out. According to Henry Mintzberg, the key to successful strategic decision making is not just looking out into the future, but having a capacity and willingness to learn from experience.A new venture has to start somewhere, with a collective understanding of what it is supposed to be doing and where it should be going, and strategic planning aids in this learning. But entrepreneurs cannot wait until the competition is engaged before planning. The inevitable confusion that accompanies any battle and that renders the clearest plans difficult to execute is called the â€Å"fog of war,† a term first coined by the nineteenth- century Prussian general Karl von Clausewitz (1780–1831).Crafting Your Business Strategy Strategic planning is the process through which you profitably match your internal resources with shifting market demands and based on an opportunity. In a must-read article for all entrepreneurs learning about strategic planning, â€Å"Crafting Strategy† in Harvard Business Review, Mintzberg states that a business strategy should be crafted because â€Å"craft evokes traditional skill, dedication, perfection through the mastery of detail. His point is that â€Å"strategies can form as well as be formulated. † There are two key components that need to be crafted together to logically spell out, as Drucker calls it, the business purpose. The first is a coherent encapsulation of your products and services, the markets and types of customers you serve, and the benefits they derive. The second component should identify the â€Å"key activities and how they will be carried out to realize the logic for competing. It is this the tight integration of the reasons for competing and for organizing lays the foundation for your venture’s competitive advantage that becomes the basis of its superiority over rivals in serving a particular market or market segments. Strategies are not set in stone. In fact, 84 percent of the CEOs leading fast-growth ventures said their business had changed target markets, even from the time when they launched. Although the business may change, the questions that drive strategic planning remain fixed. Start thinking about the following key questions: – Where are we now? – Where

Friday, November 8, 2019

Modernization, Postmodernism and the Third World

Modernization, Postmodernism and the Third World Which one do you personally feel is strongest in explaining the family? Why do you feel this way? Postmodernism concept involved an extensive range of ideals practices and methods which incorporated several significant and philosophical notions considered to be postmodern. The most common being post structuralism and feminism. It is hardly considered as a philosophical movement but rather a concept of handling traditional practices and ideas in a non-traditional mode which is totally different from the common super structural methods. However the exact definition of postmodernism has never been fully established.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Modernization, Postmodernism and the Third World specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Postmodernism explains that most opinions on realities are social elements and are therefore likely to change. It puts emphasis on power relations, motivation in the rising of beliefs and ideas a s well as the role of language. It specifies the importance of differentiating male and female, white and black and colonial versus imperial. In addition it holds the reality of being dependent on the interested parties and the nature of those interests. It was claimed that there is no apparent truth in the world and that the way people view life is based on their cultures when growing up. Post-modernism had influenced several cultural fields such as music, architecture, history, religion, literature, sociology and visual arts (Santos, 1996). Relate the theory of the paper to social class Most scholars suggested that postmodernism was an uprising of ideas from the modern era. It was also termed as significant aspects of modernism. Since the term had so many ways of being expressed, the various aspects of modernity are criticized while they are chosen to be consistent. Arguments were raised on the basic nature of knowledge as known in philosophy. Those who consider the term meaningfu l argue that modernism has significant weaknesses in the knowledge system. The argument for the significance of the term implies that there has been establishment of decentralization of technological and economic factors. The media which has for a long time dominated perceptions of people was criticized as not being unique but would acquire information from each other. It was despised for lack of objectivity and meaning due to unreliable sources of communication. Globalization created pluralism and united the global community that lacked a domineering center of leadership or intellectual production. Moreover it was a force which caused decentralization of the modernized life by bringing creative ideas on manufacturing and communication (Ritzer, 1996). Why postmodernism? This is one of the elements that cover all sectors of a family. It gets easier to compare and contrast family values, cultures, and way of doing things as well as possible outcomes of upbringings.Advertising Looking for essay on social sciences? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Strengths It is a liberating movement – Postmodernism offers reformations and a new way of doing things by showing concern to those who were oppressed in society. Those who have been in the modern times hardly went through oppression but rather some groups of women, ethnic minorities, racial groups and communities that were minimal in number. Those who also shared different opinions against the western cultures would go through oppression. In postmodernism, such groups were given the privilege of establishing their own sentiments as they thought right regarding gender, religion, race, oppression and politics. By championing the cause of the poor- Postmodernism presents the end of history that has been dominated by the western culture. It is therefore viewed as a phase of freedom because it liberates everyone who was bound in the boundaries of disco urse. In addition to this, people rejected the ruler ship of white people as they would call them. There was development even in the rural areas that had been neglected for a long time yet had potential. This portrayed a change in the defined roles because the third world gave its views and opinions according to their perceptions, but people opted to do their own research and present their views. However political movements determined a wide range of concepts and knowledge that would replace the western way of doing things. Cultural reinvention – Globalization is very significant in producing images that are related to the various traditions. As a result, pluralism and opinions on nationalism are managed in a better way. This form of managing pluralism can be defined as an enforcement of multiculturalism that gives way to the consistent birth of ethnic identities that would hardly compromise the set objectives of modernization. Cultural reinvention generally focuses on the va rious differences between the non western and western cultures.   Mass tourism and traditionalism – One of the results of globalization is mass tourism. This also is an important aspect of traditionalism. This provides a political and social cause for opposing a single model of cultures for modernization. Some of the programs based in communities for purposes of development are connected to traditionalism (Lee, 1994). Weaknesses Multiculturalism brings difficulties- It was argued that due to the knowledge gained from modern science, there was destruction of various forms of knowledge especially those that were strange to people who were dominated by western cultures. In effect, there was fear and silence amongst those with different views and their knowledge was dominated by destruction. This brought about crisis since people wondered how dialogue can be initiated in a multicultural way yet some cultures had been forced to remain quiet. It was therefore assumed that multi culturalism was implemented for a group of people who would later act like they were concerned with the non western cultures but would do nothing about it. Postmodernism is also Eurocentric met narrative- This implies that by rejecting the old met narratives was in another sense creating another one. Postmodernism was birthed in the west and had different views from modernity. Its main purpose was to destroy some of the old narratives such as history and tradition, and religion was controversial because it was these factors that brought a difference between the non western and the western. This is to say that postmodernists brought a new met narrative that helped establish the secular world. It was insisted that African civilization despised the ideas of the West. The non west was later marginalized because of the obsession by postmodernists who were full of cynicism and irony. Postmodernism barely deals with aspects of power because it hardly questions power structures, instead it establishes untrue notions that have caused the west to show respect to the non west by globalization. Therefore the process of including dialogue between the two cultures can be viewed as exclusion because the principles applied remain the same but the way of handling them is different. This shows a lack of commitment from the western, because they only do that to make it look like they have accommodated the non western. This brought questions like why it would be important to discuss a plan on development of the rural areas when the evaluators already have a method before it is implemented (Kellner, 1992). References Kellner, D. (1992). â€Å"Popular Culture and the Construction of Postmodern Identities.† New York: Oxford publishers. Lee, R. (1994). â€Å"Modernization, Postmodernism and the Third World.† London: Rout Ledge publishers. Ritzer, G. (1996). â€Å"Modern Sociological Theory.† New York: Macmillan publishers. Santos, D. (1996). â€Å"On Opposition al Postmodernism.† London: Rout ledge publishers.

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

Meanings, Examples and Observations of the Word Lexicon

Meanings, Examples and Observations of the Word Lexicon A lexicon is the collection of words- or the internalized dictionary- that every speaker of a  language has. It is also called lexis. Lexicon may also refer to a  stock of terms used in a particular profession, subject or style. The word itself is the Anglicized version of the Greek word lexis (which means word in Greek). It basically means dictionary. Lexicology describes the study of lexis and lexicon. See Examples and Observations below. Also see: JargonLanguage AcquisitionLexemeLexical CompetenceLexical DiffusionLexical-Functional Grammar (LFG)Lexical IntegrityLexicalizationLexical SetLexicogrammarLexicographerLexicographicolatryLexicograpyLexicologyLexisListemeMental LexiconMorphologyVocabularyVocabulary Acquisition Examples and Observations The lexicon of soccer (called football outside of the United States) includes terms such as linesman, friendly match, yellow card, penalty shootout, pitch, result, and draw.The lexicon of a stock trader includes terms such as delayed quotes, futures contract, limit order, margin account, short selling, stop order, trend line and watch list. Words by the Numbers [T]here are currently about 600,000 words in the English language, with educated adults using about 2,000 words in daily conversation. For the 500 most-frequently used words, there are some 14,000 dictionary meanings. (Wallace V. Schmidt, et al., Communicating Globally. Sage, 2007)  The English lexicon grew by 70 percent from 1950 to 2000, with roughly 8,500 new words entering the language each year. Dictionaries dont reflect a lot of those words. (Marc Parry, Scholars Elicit a Cultural Genome From 5.2 Million Google-Digitized Books. The Chronicle of Higher Education. December 16, 2010) Myths of Word Learning If you attend a class on language acquisition, or read any good introductory chapter on the subject, you are likely to learn the following facts about word learning. Childrens first words are odd; they have funny meanings that violate certain semantic principles that hold for adult language and are learned in a slow and haphazard way. Then, at about 16 months, or after learning about fifty words, there is a sudden acceleration in the rate of word learning- a word spurt or vocabulary explosion. From this point on, children learn words at the rate of five, ten, or even fifteen new words a day. I will suggest here that none of these claims are true. They are myths of word learning. There is no reason to believe that childrens first words are learned and understood in an immature fashion- and there is considerable evidence to the contrary. There is no such thing as word spurt, and two-year-olds are not learning anywhere near five words per day. (Paul Bloom, Myths of Word Learning. Weavin g a Lexicon, ed. by D. Geoffrey Hall and Sandra R. Waxman. MIT Press, 2004) Language Acquisition: Grammar and Lexicon In a review of findings from language development, language breakdown and real-time processing, we conclude that the case for a modular distinction between grammar and the lexicon has been overstated, and that the evidence to date is compatible with a unified lexicalist account. Studies of normal children show that the emergence of grammar is highly dependent upon vocabulary size, a finding confirmed and extended in atypical populations. Studies of language breakdown in older children and adults provide no evidence for a modular dissociation between grammar and the lexicon; some structures are especially vulnerable to brain damage (e.g., function words, non-canonical word orders), but this vulnerability is also observed in neurologically intact individuals under perceptual degradation or cognitive overload. Finally, online studies provide evidence for early and intricate interactions between lexical and grammatical information in normal adults. (Elizabeth Bates and Judith C. Goodman, On the Inseparability of Grammar and the Lexicon: Evidence from Acquisition, Aphasia and Real-time Processing. Language and Cognitive Processes. The Chronicles of Higher Education. December 1997) Acquisition of the lexicon and acquisition of the grammar are ... parts of a single underlying process. (Jesse Snedeker and Lila R. Gleitman, Why It Is Hard to Label Our Concepts. Weaving a Lexicon, ed. by D. Geoffrey Hall and Sandra R. Waxman. MIT Press, 2004)

Sunday, November 3, 2019

Marketing Management Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4750 words

Marketing Management - Research Paper Example Hennes & Mauritz AB (operating as H&M) is a Swedish clothing company, known for their inexpensive and fashionable clothing offerings mainly for men and women 18 to 45, children's apparel, and its own brands of cosmetics. The company designs cheap but chic clothing It was established in Vsters, Sweden, in 1947 by Erling Persson, though at the time it only sold women's clothing and was called Hennes, Swedish for "hers." In 1968, Persson acquired the premises and inventory of a Stockholm hunting equipment store named Mauritz Widforss. Included in the inventory was a supply of men's clothing, prompting Persson to expand into menswear. Accordingly, he renamed the store Hennes & Mauritz, later abbreviated to H&M. H&M has more than 1300 stores in 29 different countries with direct sales operations in selected areas and has more than 50,000 employees According the traditional views, marketing is the process by which goods are made available to the consumers by the manufacturers. Thus the traditional concept of marketing focuses merely on the physical process of distributing goods and services. According to modern view, marketing consists of sensing, stimulating, servicing and satisfying the needs and wants of present and potential customers in more effective and efficient manner than its competitors. The modern concept of marketing holds that the key task of organization is to determine the needs, wants and values of the customers and to adopt the organization to delivering the desired satisfaction more effectively and efficiently than its competitors. There are two key elements in this concept. Customer orientation and Integrated marketing planning and control with those of other departments like manufacturing, finance, inventory control and so on. 2.3 Elements of modern concept of marketing The modern concept of marketing of marketing has the following two elements as under: Customer Orientation - identifying and determining the wants and requirements of customers through marketing surveys, forecasting and researches (a) Integrating the marking planning and control with those of other departments (like manufacturing, finance purchase, inventory control, personnel research and development) keeping in view the ultimate goal of customers' satisfaction. It may be noted that the customers expect satisfaction not only in terms of genuine and wholesome products and services but also several other considerations such as prompt and regular supply of production/services reasonable price, availability of efficient after sales service and so on. 3. Marketing Management Marketing management consists of planning, organizing, directing and controlling the activities related to the marketing of goods and services to satisfy the customer's wants. According to Philip Kotle, "Marketing manageme

Friday, November 1, 2019

Reaction essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 5

Reaction - Essay Example esbians/ Gays memorial to that of the Holocaust genocide, it is clear that both were establishments of remembrance of the mass murders that the Roma/Sinti and the Lesbians/ Gays as well as the Jews, all who were murder targets of the Nazis. Separation of the memorials is indeed a good idea considering the targets were affiliated to different groupings, despite the fact that all were the targets of a common enemy during the same period. Similarly, ‘Ort,’ underground place of information, was a good idea considering that it contained the names of all the individuals that perished during the genocide. Such idea enables for easy remembrance of the persons that lost lives during the same time and, therefore, a good idea. The name â€Å"Murdered Jews of Europe,† is the best name. The memorial is for remembrance of Jews murdered by the Nazis and such excludes Jews who died from diseases and old age as such are considered natural deaths. Despite having Holocaust museum in Washington D.C., it is not appropriate to have a national monument simply because Washington D.C., was never the actual area in which the genocide occurred. The museum, therefore, remains for remembrance purposes of the Jews who lost lives during the same period. From the narration of Emmaly Reed, it is clear that the Jews underwent through the greatest time in history, an experience that for someone like Emmaly Reed, would never fade