Wednesday, December 25, 2019

The Slowdown Of Global Warming - 795 Words

The Slowdown of Global Warming The recent decrease in the heating percentage of the Northern Hemisphere could be a consequence of internal variability of the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation -- a natural phenomenon associated with ocean surface temperatures, according to Penn State investigators. Some researchers have in the past attributed a portion of Northern Hemispheric warming to a warm phase of the AMO, said Michael E. Mann, Distinguished Professor of Meteorology. The true AMO signal, instead, appears likely to have been in a cooling phase in recent decades, offsetting some of the anthropogenic warming temporarily. (Michael E. Mann, April 7, 2014) The conflict of the previous measurements stems from having characterized†¦show more content†¦Because the scientists know the actual AMO signal for their artificial statistics from the start, they could show that the differenced-AMO accession allowed the right signal. They also approved the detrended-AMO accession and saw that it didn’t come up with the known internal differentiality. Michael and his partners also took a separate path in concluding the AMO, which they report online in a special Frontier paper in Geophysical Research Letters. They contrast analyzation temperature diversity with a number of historic model reproductions to make a copy for internal variability of the AMO that depletes the impact of outer forcing, involving greenhouse gases and aerosols. They call this the differenced-AMO due to the internal variability comes from the difference between analysis and the models estimates of the forced component of North Atlantic temperature variation. They saw that their conclusions for the latest decade fall within expected multidecadal variability. The detrended approach manufactured an AMO signal with a higher amplitude, both high and low crests were greater than in the differenced-AMO signal and in the artificial data. They also found that the crests and troughs of the oscillation were misrepresented using the detrending accession, making the maximums and minimums to form at separate times than in the differenced-AMO reactions. While the detrended-AMO accessing makes a spurious temperature increase

Tuesday, December 17, 2019

Analysis Of The Documentary The Square - 939 Words

To begin, the documentary â€Å"The Square† provided in depth insight on the protestors’ lives and their journeys through Egypt presidents’ problematic rise of power. During the beginning of the documentary, Ahmed Hassan, Magdy Ashour, Khalid Abdalla and Ramy Essam as well as various protestors are followed throughout the demonstrations to show viewers the atrocities that Egypt underwent in 2011 and the years following. As well, the documentary provides different points of views by interviewing military officials and people in higher political power. Not only did the documentary provide insight in the revolution but, it provided an insight on Egypt’s culture and society through the views of Christian and Muslim followers. In the beginning of the documentary, viewers are introduced to Ahmed and Magdy who come from different political ideologies although with the same purpose. Throughout the documentary, Magdy shows his religious affiliation to the Muslim Brotherhood of Egypt and the significance that it is for him to be Muslim. Yet, for Ahmed and other participants in the revolution, religion is not considered an important factor for their interests to remove then president Mubarak is their primary goal. During the first revolution against Mubarak’s regime, the documentary provided an amazing view of the Egyptian community uniting as one country to benefit all of society. At that moment, Ahmed and Magdy talk to each other about the importance that the revolution has played inShow MoreRelatedProject Management Body Of Knowledge1656 Words   |  7 Pages Brett Salathiel Z5077339 ZEIT8303 Project Management Body of Knowledge - Resource 1006 - Federation Square â€Å"Inside The Square.† Commissioned 01 May 2003 by ABC TV Documentaries Australian Broadcasting Corporation GPO Box 9994 Lecturer: Mr Greg Hammond 24/03/2015 â€Æ' Executive Summary This task examines the ABC case study â€Å"Inside The Square†. The primary objective of the report was to analyses the application of project management body of knowledge (PMBOK) in complexRead MoreBourdieu Marx And Durkheim, Political Economy With Cultural Studies Essay1350 Words   |  6 Pagescultural studies. He distinguishes cultural production from other economic manufactory field using the interlocking conceptual tools of field, habitus and capital. The conceptual categories Bourdieu brought to cultural analysis have since shaped the study of what I find valuable to my analysis. Bourdieu described media, art, academic settings, and various areas of intellectual production, as fields that appear to be autonomous. However, he showed that this autonomy was only apparent and would change accordingRead MoreThe Importance Of Pre Project Planning On The Delivery Process And Its Potential Impact On Project Success1048 Words   |  5 Pagesgovernment of the State of Victoria to develop an exciting public community square with its intentions to commemorate the 2001 centennial of the Australian Federation (Misiak 2003). Besides its derivation purpose, it was also aimed to create an iconic landmark and to boost Melbourne’s status in the global community. Soon after the announcement, an international design competition was conducted for the development of the Federation Square. Of the 177 entries, a joint venture formed by London-based Lab architectureRead MoreWhat Are The Determinants Of The Effectiveness Of Governance Networks In Beijing?748 Words   |  3 Pagesinvestigated the determinants of the effectiveness of governance networks in Beijing with each network consisting of public, business, and civic organization. The author used mixed-methods of linear regression and the fuzzy set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) to identify statistical significant of independent variables and to investigate the complex interactions between explanatory variables. The result of this article suggested that network density is more important than network centralizationRead MoreAnthropogenic Global Warming1356 Words   |  6 Pagesdata for a carbon dioxide survey. Al Gore would later state that this was the foundation for all of his work. Mr. Gore would then go on to win the noble peace prize in 2007 for his work on a documentary called the inconvenient truth. The film would also win the prestigious academy award for best documentary film (2007). Mr. Al Gore was also the winner of the Roger Reveille Award 03/06/09. The United Nations also plays a significant role for supporting the belief that manmade global warmingRead MoreThe Mobile Payment Marketplace : Goat Rodeo1580 Words   |  7 Pagesopportunity shop at different places. Apple Pay is able to offer security and privacy to consumers through its elaborate system. Apple revues from Apple Pay by charging a .15% fee to credit card and to not the merchant. Competitors like PayPal and Square offer more alternative mobile payments systems than Apple Pay. Even through Apple Pay may have some drawbacks, like all things, Apple is a company will continue to produce new technology that will gain future consumers. Question 1 What is theRead MoreNegative Effects Of Factory Farming1684 Words   |  7 PagesUnited States, more than 260 million acres of forest have been cleared to grow crops to feed animals raised for meat. An acre of trees disappears every eight seconds. Tropical rainforests are also being cut to create grazing land for cattle. Fifty-five square feet of rainforest may be destroyed to produce just one quarter-pound burger. Since trees absorb carbon dioxide, the leading greenhouse gas, this significant loss of forest contributes to global warming as well.Soil erosion is also mostly due to theRead MoreUnderstanding the Compostion of Planet Earth1366 Words   |  6 Pagesnot have, we have furthered the understanding of our planet’s core, which has led to a greater understanding of the entire workings of our planet. BBC’s The Core is a documentary that helps deliver that understanding of the core to the public so that they may understand what is happening with the worl d below its people. The documentary begins with more mysterious information, discussing problems that NASA had with the Hubble telescope on an almost daily basis. In February of 1997, once a day, the HubbleRead MoreQuestions On The Spratly Islands Dispute1285 Words   |  6 Pagesmost sound and diplomatic solution to the dispute that has been going on for decades. I. Background of the study â€Å"The Spratly islands in the South China Sea are composed of more than hundreds of islets sparse over 360 thousand square miles, mostly made up of coral reefs, rocks, sand banks, shoal, sea mounts, atolls and cays located 650 km from Vietnam, 1000 km from China’s Hainan island, 250 km from the Sabah Coast of Malaysia and 100 km west of the Philippines’ Palawan IslandRead MoreCost Accounting : Cost Audit Essay1615 Words   |  7 PagesMEANING OF COST AUDIT Cost audit is basically the analysis of cost accounts and also checking on the efficiency of cost accounts and to ensure that these accounts are matching the predetermined cost accounting plans. It also determines the accuracy of the cost accounts. They also ensure that the accounts conform to the principles, plans, procedures and objectives. It shows the deviation in plans. It is also known as efficiency audit as it checks the efficiency of working of predetermined plans. It

Monday, December 9, 2019

Analysis of Health and Safety

Question 1: (a) Provide an analysis of a companys health and safety policy with particular emphasis on how effective it is in ensuring that visitors, members of the public and employees are safe in and around the working environment. (b) Determine the training needs that will be required for the development from risk assessments. These will include on-site induction training and relevant sector certification for construction personnel. Question 2: (a) Identify the hazards that are associated with construction processes using current data derived from Health and safety statistics. (b)Explain how risk assessments and method statements are used to record and identify construction hazards. Answer 1: (a) Health and Safety Policy The significance of the health and safety policy emphasized by its aim of proactively implementing effective measures in preventing health hazards, traumatic conditions and clinical morbidities in context to the organizational perspective. The health and safety policy also advocates the acquisition of protective measures in prevention, prophylaxis and treatment of diseases and injuries happening within the confinements of the corporate environment. The intent of practicing an efficient health and safety policy related to safeguarding the physical and psychological well-being of employees and workers resulting in enhancement of productive competency and sustainability of the employed personnel. The health and safety policy emphasizes maintaining hygiene and healthy work environment, and implementing safe storage conditions to minimize the risk of diseases and trauma inside the corporate premises. The health and safety policy of a construction company engaged in developing affordable housing project for Notting Hill Trust Housing Association defines parameters regarding measures warranted in context to general health and awareness of employees. These predefined parameters related to companys health and safety plan of the site development project, responsibilities of the staff regarding health and safety, and disaster management policy. However, other important necessities include the requirements related to healthcare training and induction, awareness of staff regarding hazards, regulatory requirements for maintaining health and safety, and minimizing risks related to hazards during the working hours. The essential requirement of the safety policy related to effective management of occupational safety and health of the associated employees and workers. Chaturvedi (2006:p. 168) describes the standardization of work related safety measures in terms of obtaining credentials by OH SAS 18001:99. The policy warrants the utilization of personal protective equipment (PPE) for ensuring safety from potential hazards and accidents at work place. Reese and Eidson (2006:p.238) illustrate the utility of protective tools including head and neck shields and defensive devices, breathing equipments and specialized clothes in challenging fatalities related to chemical exposure, radiation hazards, construction material and pollutants during the working hours. The other components of the health and safety policy advocate the contention of ensuring availability of purified water, sanitation and transport for all workers and employees at the construction location. Rom and Markowitz (2007:p.726) discuss about the spread of contagious diseases due to sustained impurities in the drinking water. Ingestion of infected water indeed predisposes the population to diseases like hepatitis and typhoid. Similarly, Jensen (2012) emphasizes the importance of improved sanitation and housekeep ing facilities in preventing the infectious conditions including, influenza and other respiratory manifestations. Hislop (1999:p.3) describes the annual mortality rates (of the construction workers) resulting from serious fatalities during working hours. The major causes of these documented fatalities attribute to improper physical conditions, consistent variations in the work sites, lack of adequate planning and unsafe construction material adding to the risk of injury to the workers. The administrative safeguards and emergency management procedures highly warranted to create awareness among the workers in strategically tackling the traumatic emergencies during accidents and trauma. Bartley Olmsted (2007:pp.328- 330) describe about the importance of practicing life safety code in preventing the spread of infectious conditions during construction procedures at the development location. These procedures correspond to establishing effective barriers in terms of enhanced ventilation t o antagonize the negative pressures induced during the construction procedures. Hughes Ferret (2011:p.22) illustrate regarding the administrative safety policies warranted for construction workers employed during the night shifts. These policies advocate conducting periodic health care campaigns at the construction site, reducing the number of working hours and maintaining the clinical database for all employees enrolled for the night shift. Additionally, development of potential barriers in terms of effective fire protection systems and regulation of standardized codes in defining remedial actions following construction explosions required to safeguard the workers from potential life threatening fatalities expected at the construction location (Diamantes, 2011:p.125). (b) Construction Risk Assessment and Training Requirement The training needs for the workers employed in the construction company defined by the statistical assessment of risk factors associated with the construction process. The construction risk assessment includes practicing proactive measures in precisely identifying the predisposing factors for infection dissemination, traumatic fatalities and other serious risks in accordance with the epidemiology, geographical location, ventilation and design of the construction premises (Miler 2004:p.115). The risk assessment procedures required for a housing project include identifying workers in terms of low, medium, high, and greatest risk groups, and proportionately devising antagonistic strategies for the concerned population in the construction environment. The fire risk assessment in the construction matrix focuses in identifying the sources of high energy and the proximity of inflammable materials from these ignition leads (Perry, 2003:p.195). The heat sources attribute to the welding device s, electric wires, cooking appliances, fire lamps, boilers and hot grills utilized during the construction process. The next step in evaluating the risks of an expected explosion from these ignition sources include tracking of the storage location of these fire materials and exploring their access routes in context to the inflammable items at the construction location. The statistical evaluation of these risk factors warrant conducting onsite training program for workers in challenging the potential risks pertaining to the incidences of explosion at the construction location. Holt (2005:p.202) describes the training requirement for the construction workers predisposed to the events of fire or explosion during their job hours. These training protocols include conducting onsite training program for workers in context to utilizing emergency exit routes, raising fire alarms and efficiently using first aid tools in events of onsite explosion or fire. The precise risk assessment regarding fire events in the construction matrix followed by onsite training of workers to develop the skills including effective handling of fire extinguishers, ladders, water supply and ventilators during fire emergencies (Iafc, 2012). The onsite induction training to the construction workers further ensures imparting skills and knowledge regarding tackling combustible materials, using protective gloves, trousers, helmets and goggles against fire and dealing with the portable fire extinguishers in accordance with the intensity and nature of onsite explosion. The workers training in context to the risk assessment must comply with the standards established by Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS), and all workers essentially required to acquire CSCS cards for ensuring compliance and competence, while practicing escape measures during events of spontaneous fire or explosions (Fewings, 2013). (a) The Construction Hazards The fatalities among workers experienced during the construction process vary proportionately with the pre-established hazards predisposing the employees (of the construction company) toward diseases and life threatening outcomes. Bunni (2003:pp.26-29) statistically evaluates the risk of potential fatalities in context to the hazards and consequences associated with the construction process. The potential for occupational adverse events or hazards measured in relation to their expected outcomes resulting in marginal, negligible or catastrophic emergencies during the construction process. Reese Eidson (2006a:p.17) illustrate the statistics of construction related diseases in context to the pre-existing morbidity hazard in the construction matrix. The data reveals dermatitis as the most prevalent outcome, with 14.1% reported cases among the employees deputed in various construction companies. However, other illnesses related to the environmental influences, mental conditions, respirat ory disorders and toxicities correspond to a weightage of 37.8% among the target population. Leigh (1995:p.35) provides the statistical ranking of various construction hazards in context to the reported fatalities of the workers employed in multiple construction companies located across USA. The statistics reveal the annual death toll of 297 workers associated with stone cutting and carving jobs, as evidenced by the US census code 546. This death toll attributes to the silica exposure to these workers, thereby resulting in maximum fatalities from silicosis. Therefore, potential of silica exposure ranked as the principal hazard responsible for major fatalities among construction workers according to the statistical findings. Similarly, painters, lumberjacks, motormen, pilots, blasters and other workers acquire the second until seventh ranks in context to their occupational hazards including injuries from falls, traumatic conditions by plants, logs, vehicles, planes, explosions and ot her unknown causes. (b) The standard formats prescribed in terms of method statement for precise identification and recoding of hazards in context to the construction matrix. The method statement indeed includes all activities requiring execution by the workers during the construction process. It also covers entire safety protocols, including manuals and equipments devised to prevent and tackle the traumatic and accidental facilities encountered onsite at the construction location (European Construction Institute, 1995:p.62). The method statement indeed warranted prior to the commencement of construction development associated with considerable risk of fatalities. The mandatory fields in the method statement for recording construction hazards include the elements of the entire construction processes in context to the use of potential materials, gases and chemicals predisposing the workers to life threatening fatalities. Additionally, the protocols for reducing the risks of trauma and accidents in the constr uction environment require thorough description in the method statement. The details of the associated hazards in terms of the inventory of injurious chemicals, material and other causative factors require thorough documentation in the method statement. The necessities related to accurate labelling of fire sources, gases and their safe handling in appropriate containers, description of their storage location and methods of safe disposal, fixation of appropriate signboards as caution-indicators, and the expected outcomes from the listed construction hazards constitute the essential ingredients of the method statement warranted to precisely ascertain, record and identify potential construction hazards. References Bartley Olmsted 2007, Construction and Renovation, APIC, USA. Bunni, N 2003, Risk and Insurance in Construction (2nd ed.), Spon, USA. Chaturvedi, P 2006, Challenges of Occupational Safety and Health, IEI, India. Diamantes, D 2011, Priniciples of Fire Prevention, Delmar, USA. European Construction Institute 1995, Total Project Management of Construction Safety, Health, and Environment (2nd ed.), Telford, UK. Fewings, P 2013, Construction Project Management: An Integrated Approach (2nd ed.), Routledge, USA. Hislopt, R 1999, Construction Site Safety: A Guide for Managing Contractors, CRC, Florida. Holt, A 2005, Principles of Construction Safety, Blackwell, UK. Hughes Ferret 2011, Introduction to Health and Safety in Construction, Routledge, USA. Iafc 2012, Live Fire Training: Principles and Practice, Jones Bartlett, USA. Jensen, R 2012, Risk Reduction Methods for Occupational Safety and Health, Wiley, New Jersey. Leigh, P 1995, Causes of Death in the Workplace, Praeger, USA. Miller, K 2004, Environment of Care Handbook (2nd ed.), JCR, USA. Perry, P 2003, Construction Safety Questions and Answers: A Practical Approach, Telford, Lodon. Reese, C Eidson, J 2006, Handbook of OSHA Construction Safety and Health (2nd ed.), Taylor, Florida. Reese, C Eidson, J 2006a, Handbook of OSHA Construction Safety and Health (2nd ed.), CRC, Florida. Rom, W Markowitz, S 2007, Environmental and Occupational Medicine, Lippincott, Philadelphia.

Monday, December 2, 2019

My Views on Patrick OMalleys “More Testing, More Learning” free essay sample

In his essay paper â€Å"More Testing. More Learning,† Patrick O’Malley proposes that frequently testing during class would help the students learn and study more. This would not only help to increase student’s performances, but it would also benefit students who are dealing with anxiety. Besides procrastinating students wouldn’t be able to put their work aside. O’Malley thinks he came up with the perfect solution: a test after every unit or chapter, once a week or at least twice monthly, two or three questions that don’t contain multiple choice or short – answers and the test should be only 15 – 20 minutes long. O’Malley’s arguments and studies do not always contain the necessary information to support his position. Some of the arguments and solutions O’Malley suggest throughout his paper even undermine his proposal. O’Malley believes â€Å"the main reason that professors should give frequent exams is that †¦ they [would] provide feedback†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I agree that feedback is really important to know how well you are doing in class, but there are other ways to provide feedback to students. We will write a custom essay sample on My Views on Patrick OMalleys â€Å"More Testing, More Learning† or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page O’Malley supports his argument with a Harvard Study. â€Å"[Harvard Students] believe they learn most in courses with ‘many opportunities to see how they are doing’. Students believe it is important that teachers provide feedback, but in the Harvard study O’Malley is using, the students don’t talk about feedback they get through testing. â€Å"A recent Harvard study notes†¦ students feel they learn least in courses that have ‘only a midterm and a final exam, with no other personal evaluation. ’† (Light. Qtd in O’Malley) The Harvard study’s main focus is about providing feedback to the students, because â€Å"[a] recent Harvard study notes students’ ‘strong preference for frequent evaluation in a course. ’† (O’Malley). While O’Malley’s main focus in his proposal paper is on more testing, what makes this study irrelevant for O’Malley’s paper. I do believe feedback is really important, because like I earlier said, it shows how well you are doing in class. And by following up on your feedback you can improve your skills. Think about feedback from essays, feedback from assignments, feedback from projects, etc. The second study O’Malley mentions is a review of several studies based on student learning. â€Å"[Students] who take weekly quizzes achieve higher scores on final exams†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Frederikson) This study looks relevant, because this is what O’Malley’s paper is about, more testing will bring better results. But if we take a closer look, than O’Malley does not provide us enough information. First of all the study dates from the year 1984 what makes this study inaccurate. A second flaw is the fact O’Malley does not give us more information about the quizzes. There is a possibility that the quizzes are classical where, at the beginning of the class, the teacher asks questions and then randomly chooses someone to answer. The quiz can also be open book, where students get questions on paper to answer and can use their books and notes. There are different ways how professors can give a quiz. Also the content of the quiz is important. When you ask open questions, you can test the students on their knowledge, because with multiple-choice, students can guess if they don’t know the answer and still have the answer correct. A third flaw is the fact that O’Malley is talking about professors, that they should give frequent exams so they would provide feedback to the students. In this study Frederikson is not talking about feedback students get from weekly quizzes. He is talking about the fact students knowledge increases when they take weekly quizzes. If O’Malley had provide us more detailed information than this study would maybe have been relevant. Another argument that O’Malley point out is that â€Å" [greater] frequency in test taking means greater frequency in studying for tests’, but that means that students would have to make time to study for every class they take every week on top of the hours of homework they need to do. I believe he is making a good point, but he claims [if] students had frequent exams in all their courses, they would have to schedule study time †¦ [and] develop a habit of frequent study time. † For a full time student that would maybe be reasonable, but there would be a big chance that some students won’t be able to have free time between their classes, homework and studying. O’Malley does not think about students that are combining their studies with work, or people that combine their studies and have a family. In addition to the frequent studying, O’Malley thinks that it would decrease anxiety and students would not be able to procrastinate, to prove his point he is using results of a study that is only based on one university. â€Å"Researchers at the University of Vermont found a strong relationship among procrastination,  anxiety and achievements. † (O’Malley) O’Malley does not indicate that the research was done on students that are attending this university, neither how many students participated and if the students were attending on a full-time or part-time base. He does not tell us if the test is accurate or not and besides that, there are no other studies’ O’Malley uses to compare with. O’Malley doesn’t have a big support with this study, because it has a lack of information. So this research does not prove if it would help students with anxiety and procrastination among other universities. In my view, coming from a family from teachers including myself, I believe that frequent studying would benefit students in certain areas like anxiety, procrastination, etc. But there is no guarantee that it would, because we cannot classify students according to their personality or abilities. Every student is different and there are a lot of factors that determine that, think about stress, study habits, personal priorities, their background, etc. You have students that take their studies seriously and would do anything to achieve their goal, some of them have to work really hard and for others it can be very easy. While other students are happy if they pass with the minimum requirements. And then you have the students that are just attending college so they would not have to enter the work field yet. I strongly believe it is not the responsibility of the teachers, in college, to help the students how to study by giving more in-class testing. It is the student’s decisions if he or she believes frequent studying would help, and if so, to actually do it. When O’Malley describes the opposing arguments in his paper he responds on them with an alternative, but that interferes with his ideal solution. One of those opposing arguments contains the limited time there is available in class. O’Malley’s solution would be in -class testing â€Å"†¦ could be reduced to every other week or their length to 5 or 10 minutes. † â€Å"In courses where multiple-choice exams are appropriate, several questions could be designed to take only a few minutes to answer. † (O’Malley) The solution he gives here is different than the ideal he proposes. Every week testing, changes into every other week while the ideal length is 15 to 20 minutes, he reduces it to 5 till 10 minutes. Also the multiple – choice answers and the short answer on question is the opposite of what he wants in his ideal solution. The same thing happens when O’Malley talks about â€Å"†¦frequent exams†¦take too much time to read and grade. † He gives solutions as skimming through the text; no letter grade but a plus, minus or check; exams every third or fourth week; etc. These solutions totally undermine his own proposal, because here O’Malley proposes in class test not every other week anymore, but goes now to every third or fourth week. In his proposal O’Malley makes it clear that weekly testing is important, because it would provide students feedback on how they are doing and to create a frequent study habit. If the in – class testing would be every third or fourth week than you can’t create a frequent study habit. Also if the course is semester based or trimester based, than that would mean that you get 3 or 4 test per course. You can’t categorize that under frequently testing. Skimming through an essay would not provide the students of the feedback they need. When you skim through a text, you can get a general idea of what the text is about. If professors have to give you feedback on something they go fast through than the chance is big the feedback is going to be general too. What does not benefit students, because if they get a general feedback like â€Å"your essay was bad, you should change it. † or â€Å"you are doing a good job. † Than the student doesn’t get enough information what would help him to improve or do it better next time. In his conclusion O’Malley sees â€Å"†¦brief – in class exams†¦Ã¢â‚¬  as the only solution, because â€Å"†¦ [it’s] the only way to improve students’ study habits and learning, reduce [students] anxiety and procrastination, and increase their satisfaction with college. Campus administrators should get together behind this effort, and professors should get together to consider giving exams more frequently. † (O’Malley) I do believe that O’Malley has made a strong position in this paper what he wants, and I do believe it is important to find the best solution for both sides. But I know what kind of pressure teachers are in, and it wouldn’t be fair to some professors to change the whole teaching system. Every professor and teacher has his own way of teaching, what makes him/her good in his/her own way. What we can do is for the teachers to choose if they like this kind of teaching method or not. If they do want to try this teaching style out, then they should mention that in their class description. Teachers that think this is impossible can just stay with their own habits and the students can choose whether they take the class or not. This system would not only help teachers, but also students. Some students don’t need in-class exams and are perfectly fine with the system of midterms and finals. There should be room for everybody with their own choice.

Tuesday, November 26, 2019

Biology Practical to Study the Osmosis Effects of Sucrose Essay Example

Biology Practical to Study the Osmosis Effects of Sucrose Essay Example Biology Practical to Study the Osmosis Effects of Sucrose Paper Biology Practical to Study the Osmosis Effects of Sucrose Paper The plant cells used in the experiment are potato and Chinese radish tissues that are used as chips because the results and changes are easy to note and record in this way. As plant cell membranes are differently ramble, different results are expected from the Chinese radish and potato chips in the same conditions; this is one reason for having two types of plant cell and not one. Another reason is that the two types of plant cells results can be compared and the similarities between certain results compared. The results taken during the experiment can be used to work out information that will help further our understanding of how osmosis takes place in different plant cells (potato and radish), what physical and biological change may take place, and link certain factors presented in our results to prove intimation useful to the investigation. Such a point would be to work out at what concentration equilibrium takes place in the chips and how length, mass and concentration affect the results of osmosis (e. G. Hack, Playmates etc. , and how to link physical results such as it a potato chip floats or sinks to the mass of a potato chip and the concentration of the solution it was in, using the results recorded during the experiment, the cell sap sucrose concentration of each chip can be worked out. Overall, the experiment must be planned and osmosis in plants researched so as to predict What should happen in each Of the situations presented in the teeth. The experiment taking place and recorded in the most accurate conditions possible, the most useful results recorded and presented in a helpful way. The results of the experiment should then be analyses and explained in terms of osmosis and why each result happened discussed and linked to other situations of osmosis. The final section fifths investigation should look back on the experiments, criticizing and improving sources of error and finally furthering research by going more into detail on the subject and expanding the research now that the basics of the subject have been covered. Background Scientific Information Equilibrium- There are two types of equilibrium. Dynamic equilibrium is when tuft opposing actions occur at the same rate, in the case of osmosis this is water moving in and out of a cell at the same rate. Static equilibrium is when there is no action taking place; this will not take place during this experiment. Osmosis- This is the movement of water molecules from an area of high water potential (a dilute solution) to an area of low water potential (a concentration). This occurs across a semi permeable membrane until equilibrium is achieved. Concentration- When a substance dissolves in water, its molecules attract some of the water molecules and stop them moving freely, This reduces the concentration of the water molecules as less water molecules are free. Water Potential- This is a measure feather a solution is likely to gain or lose water molecules from another solution A dilute solution is said to have a higher water potential than a concentrated solution as it has more free water molecules. Water will flow from the dilute to the concentrated across a semi permeable membrane. Distilled water has the highest avatar potential, if any aqueous elution was placed across a semi permeable membrane to the distilled water, the distilled water molecules would flow to it. Hypersonic Solution- This solution contains a higher concentration of solute compared to another solution (e. G. The cells cytoplasm). When a cell is placed in hypersonic solution water will diffuse out of the cell. Hypotonic Solutions- This solution contains a low concentration of solute hypotonic solution water will diffuse into the cell. * Voids. On. Ca/vesting/science/baobab/Cells/minimum. HTML Isotonic Solutions- This solution contains the same concentration of solute as another solution (e. G. The cells cytoplasm). When a cell is placed in an isotonic solution, the water diffuses into and out of the cell at the same rate. Osmosis in Plants Typical Plant cell (no chloroplasts): Unlike osmosis taking place in animal cells, the cell wall does not prevent the uptake or loss of soluble molecules; is the plasma/cell membrane which acts as a barrier or semi permeable membrane. The cytoplasm Of a plant cell and the cell sap in its vacuole contain sugars, salts and proteins that reduce the amount of free water cells. While the cell wall is fully permeable, the cell membrane is arterially permeable. This presents four cases of osmosis. After osmosis in a plant cell, four situations may result due to osmosis taking place in the cell. These depend on the concentration of the solution the plant cell has been placed in, and the water potential of the plant cell. Cell membranes are completely permeable to water therefore the water potential the cell is exposed to can have a dramatic effect on the cell. Reoccurred Apparatus: Below is a list of apparatus used to conduct the experiment and take down accurate results: xx Test Tubes 6 for Potato chips, 6 for Chinese radish. Each 2 test tubes ill have one of the prepared sugar/water solutions inside. 2 chips (CM and CM) from the same plant sample (potato or Chinese radish) will be placed in each test tube. xx Labels To label test tubes with different contents (solutions * chips). Test Tube Rack To safely hold the test tubes. Ruler To measure the length the chips are required to be cut to. Clean White Tile To ensure cutting of the chips is safe and that no moisture or dirt is accumulated from another cutting surface, Clean Scalpel To cut the chips to their required lengths accurately and easily in conjunction vivid the ruler _ Top pan balance To accurately state the mass of each chip. Watch To make sure each set of chips remain in their solutions for the same time. xx 10. Mi Syringe TO prepare the solutions needed for the experiment (I for H2O and I for 1. Molar sucrose solution), there are 2 to ensure the H2O and sucrose solution do not mix inside the syringe to affect the sucrose concentration of the solutions and hence give inaccurate results. 1. 0 molar Sucrose Solution Needed to prepare the solutions. H2O (distilled water) Needed to prepare the solutions. Potato Chips All cut from the same potato to give more accurate results the chips still need to be cut to accurate sizes) and wrapped in foil to preserve unchanged until experiment (moisture, dirt, etc ). Chinese Radish Chips All cut from the same Chinese radish to give more accurate results (the chips still need to be cut to accurate sizes). Forceps to handle chips without leaving dirt or moisture. Sieve to remove chips after osmosis from test tubes. Method: Below are the instructions used to conduct the experiment and collect results using the apparatus mentioned. 1. Label Test tubes by concentration (2 of each) and place in test tube rack. 2. The first step is to make the solutions in which the chips will be placed. Dodo this the correct ratios of distilled water and 1. Molar sucrose solution need to be worked out (in each test tube there is ml of solution): Conversationalists Waters . 0 Molar Sucrose Solicitousness Sirloins SMS 0. 2 molarities SMS 0. 4 molarities iron 0. 6 molarities iron 0. 8 molar3m112m11smI 1. 0 When the correct ratios have been worked out, the required amounts of sucrose solution and H2O must be taken from the H2O and Sucrose Solution (using different syringes) and placed in the test tubes labeled with the erect concentration (each concentration should be put in two of the test tubes as one is for the Chinese radish and one for the potato). 3. The Potato and Chinese radish chips are supplied cut roughly as rectangular prisms: cut each chip to CM (at right angles) vertically on tile measuring using ruler and cutting using scalpel. (When using scalpel always cut away from body and making sure no body parts are in the scalpels way). cut each Scm chip into CM and CM segments (at right angles) on tile measuring using ruler and cutting using scalpel. 4. Weigh each chip using top pan balance (making sure you know which chip has hat mass) and record its initial weight in a table against the concentration of the solution it is to be placed in (in grams). Place one CM and one CM chip of either the potato or the Chinese radish into the solution you said it would be in the table with tweezers noting down the time. This should be repeated for all the chips with intervals of I minute (as this gives you time to note the changes and observations). leave in for as long as possible (at least 40 minutes). 6. After 40 minutes check if the chips floated or sank tip test tube holding first set of chips into sieve over sink. Place chips on white tile, measure and record their final lengths and record other observations. Weigh each chip and record its final mass. Repeat for rest of chips at 1 minute intervals from time taken out (NOTE RESULTS). 7. CLEAR UP! Diagram of experimental set up: Collecting Results: In each case osmosis will occur. Some of the potato and radish tissue Will gain water by osmosis, While Others Will lose water, unless equilibrium has occurred, these will lead to changes in length and mass that can be recorded against the initial lengths and masses accurately. This Will allow further analysis f osmosis in plant cells and factors such as the cell sap sucrose concentration to be worked out. To make sure that the results recorded are accurate, several precautions must be taken: The chips must be cut from the same plant tissue (potato and Chinese radish) order to have the least variation in growing and handling conditions that could have affected the plant tissue such as a different concentration of salts in the ground during growth that could affect results and cause big differences between the results of one chip and another if they came from different samples of potato or Chinese radish. The chips must be cut as accurately as possible to the same size, although this measurement is still inaccurate as length is not as useful as the much more accurate measurement Of volume that could not be used in this experiment. The solutions must be prepared accurately, making sure there are no air bubbles in the syringes and that they are filled to exactly the mark required at eye level so the volume of solution inside each syringe is accurate. The syringes must also be kept in their correct beakers in order to ensure that the w. 0 solutions within the beakers are not mixed within the syringes causing inaccurate preparation of the solutions. The test tubes used must be clean and moisture free as well as all the other apparatus used in contact vivid the chips in order to ensure an accurate environment which will not affect the experiment. The apparatus not in contact with the chips must be clean, yet some of these instruments must have some moisture on them (e. G. Syringes). The experiment should also be conducted at room temperature and preferably not in humid conditions that could affect the chips. The measuring instruments must also be accurate and clean and moisture free o as to give accurate results. Safety precautions must also be taken so no damage will occur. Although this experiment is a sate one, several precautions must still be taken: The experiment must be set up away from any hazards that may knock it over and ruin it and be set up stable for the same reason and so none of the solution will spill, the test tube rack does this. The cutting must be done away from the body as the scalpels blade is very sharp and no Obstructions should be put in its path in case the user slips, this could be very hazardous. The scalpel should be put in a safe place. If a person goes cut themselves the blood should be hygienically removed and not be in contact with another person. The worktop and area should be kept clean and tidy with nothing on it except the apparatus used in the experiment in order to reduce the chance of an accident taking place or the apparatus getting knocked over (someone tripping over a bag). This also creates a better working environment. Recording the Results: If all the safety and accuracy precautions are taken, an accurate set of results should be given, yet the results still need to be recorded. The following results must be taken: Variables Independent Variables: This is the variable that is chosen by the researcher, the concentrations of the solutions were chosen by the person who did the experiment. The independent variable changes the result Of the dependent variable. In the case fifths experiment, the independent variable is the concentration of the solutions (measured in molarities). The Independent variable is the range of solutions. Dependent Variables: This is the variable that is affected by the independent variable and changes accordingly, In this experiment, the dependent variables changed according to the sucrose concentration in the solutions. These were: a. The final length b. The final mass c. The observations Non-Variables: These are the figures that if not kept the same would produce unfair results, These would be: a_The initial length b. The amount Of solution in each test tube Observations: Hopefully, the observations taken Will prove linked and dependent upon the independent variable. These will change with the mass and length results that are also dependent variables, yet change could be minimal and not be seen at every change in solution. The Observations are: a. Elf the chips would float or sink b. Ranking the chips from stiffs floppy Below is an example of how the results should be recorded from a previous osmosis experiment: Molarities foliation Lengthens aftercare analytical Massing Mischance in Float or Stiff or Glucose (CM)Osmosis (CM)Length (G) (G)mass Sink Happy 02 or skink 0. 2 Floats 0. 4Floats 0. 6Oath 0. Float; 1 Oath The change in mass must be recorded as a percentage as the initial mass for each chip is different, in order to make the results more comparable, the same rule should be applied to the change in length. To calculate the % change in mass/length we use this formula: Change in Length/Mass Original Length/ Mass Conclusion In both the case of 2 CM and CM chips, as the concentration of the solution went up, the growth in length became more negative. This does not mean that less change took place, but that the chip that the positive increase in the chips at O Mica gradually got lower, (with the exception of a few inaccurate readings), until it became a loss in length. For both the CM and CM chips the loss in length happened after 08 Mica, yet the concentrations used to conduct the experiment were not enough to give us a more accurate concentration at Which the concentrations became negative although the line Of best fit Of both he CM and CM chips would suggest it was a little after 0. Mecum. When the change in length is shown as a percentage, the CM chip had a bigger change between its 0. 0 molar and 1. 0 molar results than the CM chip. CM chip 10% 4 5% = 15% change in length CM chip = 3. 333%4 change Yet these results are not very helpful as the changes in length are not accurate and do not give us an accurate measurement such as volume, that would give us more than the length of one side. The change in length expressed as a percentage is also not helpful as it does not help show the difference between how much water the cell sap vacuole of a CM hip can hold compared to that of a CM chip. In the results, the change in length in centimeters of both the CM and CM chips between the 0. Mecum and 1. Mecum are close: CM chip = 2. CM 1. CM = 0. CM change CM chip = 3. LLC 2. CM = 0. CM change. If the results were more accurate, the CM chips change in centimeters would be larger than the CM chips because its cell sap vacuole should hold more water in the same concentration. Fifth volume of the chips was taken instead of the length and the experiment was conducted accurately, this would be the case. For the length results I am not going to link them to the mass results or observations as they are not accurate, yet a change is still obvious as shown by the graph. This is proof that osmosis did take place and that at a 0. Mecum the potato chips only take in water because they have lower water potentials than the H2O they have been placed in. As the concentration of the solutions rises, the results show that the chips gain less length until they lose water and become flaccid; this happens when the solution the chips are in are more concentrated than the solution of the cell sap vacuole of the potato tissue. The mass results will analyses the results more accurately.

Saturday, November 23, 2019

Improve Your Business Writing Skills (A Step-by-Step Guide)

Improve Your Business Writing Skills (A Step-by-Step Guide) It can be confusing when we either realize or are told that we need to â€Å"improve our business writing skills.† â€Å"Better business writing" is a murky goal. How then, do we improve our business writing skills? In this post, I am going to outline six steps to start improving your Englishbusiness writing today.This goes beyond business writing tips and tricks and lays out a simple step-by-step process for improvement. You will learn how to correct common mistakes, tricks for better formatting, and how to reduce errors in your writing. 1. Remove the Emotions We can feel a little hurt or defensive any time a weakness is highlighted. Many clients have told me that writing was not something they enjoyed in school and memories of a mean English teacher with a red pen poised to slash an essay apart is still vivid. For others, even though they enjoyed writing in school, they realize that business writing is a somewhat different skill than academic writing. Whatever the emotional response, let it go. The truth is everyone needs to write well at work to succeed. If we’re good at, our careers opportunities improve. Turning your attention to improving your busines writing is all good! Let go of any negative emotions and focus on the career benefit and ease of knowing exactly how to tackle the task of better writing at work. 2. Identify Your Particular Weaknesses and Strengths This can be challenging if the only feedback we have received is we â€Å"need to improve.† Where to begin? There are so many embedded skills in business writing, so it’s important to understand what is working and what needs improvement. There are three essential metrics for business writing: Separate the information/substance/content of a document from the words that express that information/substance/content. There is the information, and there are the words that express that information. We have to look at these separately to identify strengths and weaknesses. Reflect on the information contained in your typical documents. Do your readers have the information they need? Is it logically grouped? Does it flow logically? This is the information or substance of your document. Reflect on the words you use to express the information. This is the syntax, or the way you use words. For a deeper analysis of this issue, read Improve Business Writing Skills to Measure What Matters. While it’s possible to review your business writing skills, it’s hard to be truly objective because we know the facts of our documents so well and we understand what we are trying to express. A professional business writing assessment, which should always be part of a good business writing course is always the best measurement. hbspt.cta._relativeUrls=true;hbspt.cta.load(41482, '39de76fa-b005-4d0a-9136-a9a423513681', {}); 3. Review and Correct Your Information and Organization First One of my grandmother’s favorite expressions was â€Å"that’s just putting lipstick on a pig† when someone tried to improve or polish something that was innately flawed. Trying to fix the language and words in your business documents before the information and substance is accurate, relevant, and well organized is just like putting lipstick on a pig. Sentence improvements will never fix gaps in content or disorganization. Review several documents you’ve written at work lately. Review varying types of documents and include email and reports. To hone good information and organization: Define your audience clearly Overtly state the purpose of a document - â€Å"I need my audience to know or do X.† Decide on the major categories of information necessary for your defined reader to know or do what you want. Develop details around these major categories of information. Sequence the information logically. What category would lead best and what category should close? Remember the acronym B.L.O.T - bottom line on top. 90% of business documents should begin with the information most important to your audience. This beginning statement should be the purpose statement you identified while you analyzed your audience. The concluding information should elicit the business response you seek.For example, let’s imagine you are an insurance sales representative and a client has inquired about adding additional flood insurance to her homeowner’s insurance policy. You know this coverage would be beneficial to her, and it would increase business, so you want your reader to understand the benefits and purchase the additional coverage. Your introduction could be:The additional flood insurance coverage would protect your home if it were to flood because of hurricanes, river overflows, or excessive rain. All of these hazards have increased in your area i n the past five years by 36%. Your conclusion should make it easy for your reader to act as you need:To enact this coverage, please sign the enclosed coverage agreement on both pages three and five. Scan the signed coverage agreement into a PDF document and email it back to me by May 13. Look back at your sample work documents. By following these steps, can verify that your information is correct? And, breaking it down will help you identify where you tend to lose focus. 4. Review and Correct Your Format Next Study several different documents you wrote in the past few weeks and ask yourself what formatting enhancements would make them easier to scan. Helpful format elements are: Headings above document categories Indenting text to show it’s a sub-element of the previous information Bullet and number lists Lots of white space Short paragraphs Appropriate use of bold and emphatic text 5. Now It’s Time to Review and Correct Language Everyone makes different grammar and stylistic errors, so nothing will improve your business writing as well as business writing training that includes a professional instructor review of your writing. If that is not possible, you will need to self-diagnose your language and grammar. Grammar Diagnosis Run at least ten recent documents through Grammarly. Grammarly is an excellent spelling and grammar checker that will flag errors and explain what is wrong. You want to look for patterns. If, for example, Grammarly tells you that you made three â€Å"me, myself, and I† errors across your documents, accept that as a strong indicator that â€Å"me, myself, and I† usage is an error you need to correct. Run all of your documents through Grammarly and compile a list of all the errors Grammarly diagnosed. Grammarly is not foolproof, but it’s quite good. Without a professional review of your business writing, it’s the best objective assessment. Grammar Correction The best grammar resource on the Internet is the Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL). Use the search button on Purdue’s OWL and search for the first error in your compiled list. Purdue OWL has detailed explanations and exercises to help clarify your understanding and use of that grammar rule. Stay with the exercises until your grammar understanding of this first error is corrected. Once you feel comfortable with your correction of your first grammar error, then move on to the next. Make sure you’re comfortable with your new grammar skills before you move on because grammar correction is primarily a habit of practice. Your grammar skills will improve from awareness and practice. How to Hone Clarity Business writing is notoriously bloated. Instead, business documents should be clear and concise. Fewer words are better than more. Bloat typically creeps in through sloppy verb use. Clarity Correction #1: â€Å"Unsmother† Your Verbs Focus on verbs. They are the action of a sentence, and the best opportunity to enhance clarity. Imagine watching a Bruce Willis movie that shows Bruce napping or knitting or whittling on a park bench for 90 minutes. Bored yet? So too are readers if your writing has little action or wimpy verbs. This article will explain smothered verbs in detail. You will cut at least 25% of unnecessary words by simply â€Å"unsmothering† verbs. Let the verb do its job in a sentence without smothering add-on words. The impact on business writing clarity is amazing. Business Writing Clarity Strategy #2: Avoid Adverbs Choose powerful verbs that connote meaning, which don't need a second modifying word to do their job! For instance: "The attendant shouted loudly." "The attendant shouted," is a perfect sentence. "Loudly" is inferred and extraneous. "The executive ran quickly into the boardroom." "Ran quickly" is wasteful. Pick a better verb. "The executive sprinted into the boardroom" is concise, visual, and lively. Business Writing Clarity Strategy #3: Recognize the Power of Short Words. Years back, some business writers felt they conveyed their intelligence more by using long words when short words worked better. Long words don’t make you sound intelligent unless used very skillfully and judiciously. In the wrong situation, they’ll have the opposite effect, making you sound pretentious and arrogant. They’re also less likely to be understood and more awkward to read. I've always loved Hemingway's response when Faulkner criticized him for his limited word choice: Poor Faulkner. Does he really think big emotions come from big words? He thinks I don’t know the ten-dollar words. I know them all right. But there are older and simpler and better words, and those are the ones I use. Example: Fine, but can be improved: It has never been a good writing practice to use big words indiscriminately. Better: It has never been a good writing practice to use big words needlessly. ("Needlessly" is shorter and simpler than "indiscriminately.") Best: It has never been a good writing practice to bloat with big words. (More powerful verb "bloat" instead of the vague verb "use" eliminates the need for modifying adverb "needlessly.") Remember this maxim about business writing: Write to express, not to impress. Good business writers use short words and fewer words well. Richard Lederer sings the praises of the short word to enhance clarity in his book, The Miracle of Language: Here is a sound rule: Use small, old words where you can. If a long word says just what you want to say, do not fear to use it. But know that our tongue is rich in crisp, brisk, swift, short words. Make them the spine and the heart of what you speak and write. Short words are like fast friends. They will not let you down. 6.Ongoing Improvement To Your Business Writing Read good business writing blogs. Our blog addresses business writing improvement specifically. Join 25,000 other monthly readers by subscribing to our newsletter here. Grammar Girl will explain the nuances of grammar very well. Read good writing. Read anything that interests you that is written well - novels, newspapers, good blogs, short stories, or essays. This helps you developskills needed for good writing. If you want to hone clarity, read anything by Theodore White or the short stories of Andre DuBus. These six steps will diagnose and improve your business writing skills. If tackling all of this on your own is too much, contact us for information about business writing courses.We’re here to help.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Article Presentation Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Article Presentation - Assignment Example In addition, they should establish the ability to implement EBP in the day-to-day operations of a mental institution. The study focuses on the integration of the most effective measures available in current research. The methodology employs research evidence that is backed by clinical expertise and patient values in order to facilitate the clinical decision making process. The study is based on the ideologies that customs, norms, expert opinions and established rituals are no longer acceptable practices in the decision making process. Instead, there is a need for a deliberate process that takes the values and preferences of patients into account. The article argues that, this perception demonstrates that EBP is a clinical strategy that can aid problem solving. Consequently, emphasis is placed on identifying the best research evidence and integrating it in the decision making process. The process will ensure that clinicians are providing the best care that fulfills the needs of their patients. Increasing interest in mental health issues has prompted researchers to increase the body of knowledge available on the topic. As a result, mental health nurses can refer to a growing EBP base. However, many researches are done in a controlled environment. Consequently, effectiveness may be inappropriate in a real world setting where there are limitations such as limited organizational resources, workforce issues, lack of sufficient staff education and training. Many psychiatric mental health (PMH) issues have not been addressed. The failure to research or define them can be attributed to ethical issues. In this instance, the best recourse for mental health professionals is to hold discussions on the recommended intervention measures. They should also highlight the potential risks and benefits involved. In addition, they should study the available alternatives before settling on one course of action. In spite of the increasing application of

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

Create easy story Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Create easy story - Essay Example President Bush quoted President Dwight Eisenhower who said that Thanksgiving is a time when Americans should celebrate ‘the plentiful yield of our soil †¦ the beauty of our land †¦ the preservation of those ideals of liberty and justice that form the basis of our national life†. (Bush, 2001) Thanksgiving is a time when many American families gather together to celebrate. In cities like New York, millions celebrate even in the streets, the harbor is full of ships also joining the celebration, and everyone is as happy like they are celebrating a joyous Christmas Day. Tourists and migrants who have co-celebrated with the Americans need not wonder what’s so special about Thanksgiving. Young Americans today just alter tradition a bit and go for modernity. (Three children are playing in front of an oak barrel; the mother, in traditional American dress, is beside them, also joyfully watching; there are sacks of wheat, and in the background is a farm; the father hoisting a sack of wheat on back of a horse.) Americans celebrate film day to watch Hollywood movies and their favourite stars. Most of the young are star struck; they watch movies to see their stars. Traditionally, Americans watch films with celebrations of food and cowboy films of old, the likes of John Wayne, Clint Eastwood, or the â€Å"The Good, The Bad and The Ugly† of yesteryears. Nowadays, there are varieties of adventure, sci-fi, or maybe high-tech movies such as The Star Wars, or The Transformer, and many entertaining ones which are applied with powerful special effects. Like many families around the world, Americans celebrate Christmas with gift-giving and parties. The United States is predominantly Christian; Americans worship Jesus Christ and celebrate his birth. Christmas is one of the joyous days of American holiday celebration. Everyone, young and old, celebrate it with gift-giving, while many go to places for relaxation or reuniting with old family ties.

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Berlin Wall Essay Example for Free

Berlin Wall Essay What Was the Berlin Wall? The Berlin Wall was both the physical division between West Berlin and East Germany from 1961 to 1989 and the symbolic boundary between democracy and Communism during the Cold War. Dates: August 13, 1961 November 9, 1989 Overview of the Berlin Wall The Berlin Wall was erected in the dead of night and for 28 years kept East Germans from fleeing to the West. Its destruction, which was nearly as instantaneous as its creation, was celebrated around the world. A Divided Berlin At the end of World War II, the Allied powers divided conquered Germany into four zones, each occupied by either the United States, Great Britain, France, or the Soviet Union (as agreed at the Potsdam Conference). The same was done with Germanys capital city, Berlin. As the relationship between the Soviet Union and the other three Allied powers quickly disintegrated, the cooperative atmosphere of the occupation of Germany turned competitive and aggressive. Although an eventual reunification of Germany had been intended, the new relationship between the Allied powers turned Germany into West versus East, democracy versus Communism. In 1949, this new organization of Germany became official when the three zones occupied by the United States, Great Britain, and France combined to form West Germany (the Federal Republic of Germany). The zone occupied by the Soviet Union quickly followed by forming East Germany (the German Democratic Republic). This same division into West and East occurred in Berlin. Since the city of Berlin had been situated entirely within the Soviet zone of occupation, West Berlin became an island of democracy within Communist East Germany. Mass Emigration Within a short period of time after the war, living conditions in West Germany and East Germany became distinctly different. With the help and support of its occupying powers, West Germany set up a capitalist society and experienced such a rapid growth of their economy that it became known as the economic miracle. With hard work, individuals living in West Germany were able to live well, buy gadgets and appliances, and to travel as they  wished. Nearly the opposite was true in East Germany. Since the Soviet Union had viewed their zone as a spoil of war, the Soviets pilfered factory equipment and other valuable assets from their zone and shipped them back to the Soviet Union. When East Germany became its own country, it was under the direct influence of the Soviet Union and thus a Communist society was established. In East Germany, the economy dragged and individual freedoms were severely restricted. By the late 1950s, many people living in East Germany wanted out. No longer able to stand the repressive living conditions of East Germany, they would pack up their bags and head to West Berlin. Although some of them would be stopped on their way, hundreds of thousands of others made it across the border. Once across, these refugees were housed in warehouses and then flown to West Germany. Many of those who escaped were young, trained professionals. By the early 1960s, East Germany was rapidly losing both its labor force and its population. Having already lost 2.5 million people by 1961, East Germany desperately needed to stop this mass exodus. The obvious leak was the easy access East Germans had to West Berlin. With the support of the Soviet Union, there had been several attempts to simply take over West Berlin in order to eliminate this exit point. Although the Soviet Union even threatened the United States with the use of nuclear weapons over this issue, the United States and other Western countries were committed to defending West Berlin. Desp erate to keep its citizens, East Germany decided to build a wall to prevent them from crossing the border. The Berlin Wall Goes Up There had been rumors that something might happen to tighten the border of East and West Berlin, but no one was expecting the speed nor the absoluteness of the Wall. Just past midnight on the night of August 12-13, 1961, trucks with soldiers and construction workers rumbled through East Berlin. While most Berliners were sleeping, these crews began tearing up streets that entered into West Berlin, dug holes to put up concrete posts, and strung barbed wire all across the border between East and West Berlin. Telephone wires between East and West Berlin were also cut. Berliners were shocked when they woke up that morning. What had once been a very fluid border was now rigid. No longer could East Berliners cross the border for  operas, plays, soccer games, etc. No longer could the approximately 60,000 commuters head to West Berlin for well-paying jobs. No longer could families, friends, and lovers cross the border to meet their loved ones. Whichever side of the border one went to sleep on during the night of August 12, they were stuck on that side for decades. The Size and Scope of the Berlin Wall The Berlin Wall stretched over a hundred miles. It ran not only through the center of Berlin, but also wrapped around West Berlin, entirely cutting West Berlin off from the rest of East Germany. The wall itself went through four major transformations during its 28-year history. The Berlin Wall started out as a barbed-wire fence with concrete posts, but just a few days after the first fence was placed, it was quickly replaced with a sturdier, more permanent structure made out of concrete blocks, topped with barbed wire. The first two versions of the wall (barbed wire and concrete blocks) were replaced by the hird version of the Berlin Wall in 1965. This version consisted of a concrete wall, supported by steel girders. The fourth version of the Berlin Wall, constructed from 1975 to 1980, was the most complicated and thorough. It consisted of concrete slabs reaching nearly 12-feet high (3.6 m) and 4-feet wide (1.2 m), plus it had a smooth pipe running across the top to hinder people from scaling the Wall. And tentatively approached the border and indeed found that the border guards were letting people cross. Very quickly, the Berlin Wall was inundated with people from both sides. Some began chipping at the Berlin Wall with hammers and chisels. There was an impromptu huge celebration along the Berlin Wall, with people hugging, kissing, singing, cheering, and crying. The Berlin Wall was eventually chipped away, into smaller pieces (some the size of a coin and others in big slabs). The pieces have become collectibles and are stored in both homes and museums. After the Berlin Wall came down, East and West Germany reunified into a single German state on October 3, 1990.

Thursday, November 14, 2019

Forest Management :: essays research papers

Forest management is the maintaining and management of not only the trees in the forest, but the streams, habitat, watersheds, and even the decaying trees or logs on the forest floor. Managing our forests is not only important to the wildlife, but to our future economy and way of life. We need to continue to save the Oregon forests and help the ecosystems within them because human beings are also part of the ecosystem.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  By using forest management, it can help certain species of wildlife. Some species of birds, such as the pileated woodpecker, which need large snags to build nest cavities(7). But the worst possible approach to maintaining a wide diversity of species would be to manage every acre of the forest the same way. Any change in forest habitat creates “winners'; and “losers.'; As forests go through natural cycles of growth, death and regeneration, species may inhabit or be absent from a given area partly in response to natural changes in the structure of trees and other forest vegetation(4). The same occurs when forest stands are managed by humans.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Unless future credible research indicates otherwise, effort should be made to manage a wide range of forest structures. Maintaining diversity would be best served by using a broader range of management tools. Those would include harvesting on federal land - not simply thinning - and increasing the commitment to old-growth attributes on private forest land through techniques such as retaining large trees and snags. As long as federal lands are substantially committed to providing late successional habitat, private forest land can be substantially committed to younger, intensively managed stands, provided critical habitat characteristics are available.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The federal lands make up more than 50% to 60% of the forests in Oregon(3). Because timber harvest in now dramatically reduced on federal lands, those lands represent a sizable, well distributed pool of both old-growth forests and forests that could become old-growth, providing habitat to those species associated with forests with old-growth characteristics. While a large portion of federal land is committed to sustaining species that need old-growth, the difficult question remains, how much is enough? Leaving these forests completely unharvested invites unacceptable, large-scale insect infestations and catastrophic fires(6).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Because federal lands comprise nearly 50 to 60 percent of Oregon’s forests, practices on these lands have a major impact on forest-dwelling vertebrates(2). These lands are well distributed throughout the state. Private land ownership accounts for approximately 40 percent of the states forests(5). Of this private ownership, over half is in industrial ownership and the rest is held mostly by small woodland owners(7).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Since 1992 harvesting on federal lands has dropped sharply.

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Marianne, by George Sand Essay

And makes one a bard! —that was the situation in which the lovers, Pierre and Marianne found themselves placed at the altar of love. A novel is the mirror of the feelings of the writer’s mind. One may cleverly try to hide and suppress one’s true feelings by super-imposing imaginings. But the authors are bound to reflect something genuine and special about the author’s private life. George Sand is no exception. George Sand (1804-1876) is the Pseudonym of Amandine-Aurore-Lucile Dupin. Compared to the period to which she belonged, her thinking was much advanced. She was a French Romantic writer. She translated fiction-like romances into her actual life. The numerous love-tangles would put any modern socialite into shame. The beginning of most of her love-affairs was at the intellectual level. Perhaps she had experienced every type of love, except true love. Her love-affairs were all motivated for one reason or the other. â€Å"Sand’s early writings show the influence of the writers with whom she was associated. In the 1830s several artists responded to the call of the Comte de Saint-Simon of cure the evils of the new industrial society, among them Franz Listz and Sand who became friends, not lovers. On a personal level, Michel de Bourges, who preached revolution, was more important for her view of society. After de Bourges, came Pierre Leroux, who was against property and supported the equality of women, and wanted to rehabilitate Satan. †(George†¦) In the traditional sense of the term, she lived unhappy married lives. As for the concerns of her writing, she toyed with many novel ideas, like cure the evils of the new industrial society, preached revolution, equality of women, ideals of Socialism, etc. Marianne†¦. Marianne is a peculiar character created by George Sand. She lost her mother at the young age of twenty-two, and if she were an ordinary girl, she would have settled down to marriage. Though many proposals came in her way, George Sand writes, â€Å"Marianne, however, had preferred to remain living alone in the country house of her parents had left her. Occupying a secluded position surrounded by hills and woodland some four kilometers outside La Fille-sur-Gouvre, the house was in excellent condition and very adequately furnished within. †(Sand, 1998, p. 82) The dying declaration is accepted as the true declaration even as evidence in the Court! George Sand wrote the novella in the year of her death, when she was 72. This is the right age when an individual feels the compulsion to tell the truth about one’s life. The plot of the novella is the same old story. It is between him and her—it is between Adam and Eve! Pure love doesn’t differentiate between young and old. It transcends all artificial barriers. Presently, Pierre arrived as a tutor to impart secular education to a shy but wealthy country girl and promised to select reading material for her. He came as protector of her intellectual garrison, but turned into a true, ardent soldier of love. Marianne began to respond favorably in this game of the heart. But the role of Pierre must change—from that of parental feelings to a true lover, who must protect the essential independent dignity of the women, which is part of the genuine love! Marianne illustrates Sand’s philosophy about life by being a strong woman, who is not afraid to swim against the social currents relevant to the era to which she belonged. She doesn’t say about the profound philosophy about the woman’s liberation movement etc. She candidly illustrates a beautiful, soul-stirring love affair transcending age. She cuts across the defined barriers of the society, and beats the conventions. The situation is described with great restraint, without the traces of rebellion. It is molded as an affair between the two intellectual equals. A cursory glance of some of the comments about the personality of George Sand makes an interesting and objective reading! One sees the reflection of Marianne, in those observations: â€Å"She was a thinking bosom and one who overpowered her young lovers†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ,†What a brave man she was, and what a good woman. †,†The most womanly woman,† etc. Marianne, like Sand was a bold individual from the beginning. Marianne, though denied the family support at the very young age, did not rush to marriage, to secure herself. Instead, she decided to face the life squarely and live the life of her choice. So is the case with George Sand, though her familial problems were somewhat different. The very fact that she was able to carry on with so many love affairs, and yet live up to the age of seventy-two to have a go at one more affair, speaks about her relentless grit and determination to do what she considered right in the circumstances then prevailing in her life. â€Å"I am by nature poetic and lot legislative, war-like if necessary, but never parliamentary,† she had written in the late 1830. † Conclusion: The novella is autobiographical, in many of its characteristics. With all the adventures in her life, George Sand was a private person. Hence her description about Marianne that peoples around her thought her to be a ‘difficult’ individual given to eccentricity is to highlight her own self. Sand says, the village community thought strangely about such individuals. So also, the literary world and the Society was not kind to George Sand. At the beginning of the story, Pierre was nearing forty. By that age, his enthusiasm about life and living had waned. By the age of forty, George Sand also suffered many a setbacks and was frustrated in her private life. At the young age, every individual possesses high-pitched ambitions. But time tames one with ups and downs, trials and tribulations. Destiny plays its own part. To have talents is one thing. To get fame and public recognition for the talents is altogether a different issue. Many extraneous factors like patronage, protection count. Also, one needs to have the guts to make the right moves at the right time. On this aspect, the lives of Marianne and George Sand have much in common. To write about such a romance and to experience one in the nineteenth century is great. The comparable life of a Hollywood actress makes kindergarten stuff! She could visualize the modern feminist twist, in the life of Marianne, ipso facto, her own life! She also takes the potshots at the French politics of the era—how it was not possible for a young, talented and ambitious youth to come up in life, without the necessary backup! Was she not complaining about the treatment meted out to her by the Society? References Cited: Article: George Sand. www. kirjasto. sci. fi/gsand. htm – 17k – Cached, Retrieved on February 12, 2008. Sand, George: Book: Marianne Paperback: 176 pages Publisher: Carroll & Graf; Second Edition (February 26, 1998) Language: English ISBN-10: 0786705388 ISBN-13: 978-0786705382

Sunday, November 10, 2019

Evaluation of Hmv

TABLE OF CONTENT 1. Tasks Allocation3 2. Company Web Site (hmv. com. hk)3 3. Business Model and Value Proposition3 4. Evaluation Framework4 4. 1. Context4 4. 2. Content7 4. 3. Community9 4. 4. Customization12 4. 5. Communication15 4. 6. Connection17 4. 7. Commerce19 5. Fit and Reinforcement23 6. Competitor Comparison24 7. Reference List24 1.Tasks Allocation | Business Model, Competitor Comparison, Framework Design | Evaluations of Customization, Communication, Fit and Reinforcement | Evaluations of Community | Evaluations of Connection and Commerce | |2. Company Web Site (hmv. com. hk) |HMV is a British global entertainment retailer. The retail shops are selling music, videos, games and entertainment accessories. The HMV Website’s started in 1997 and provided the online selling and delivering services. |3. Business Model and Value Proposition | HMV’s online service is a Business-to-Customer (B2C). It has been provided the different services as selling, delivering and exchange at retail’s industry.To enable competitive advantage (value proposition), the business model of â€Å"Bricks and Clicks† is performed by HMV which integrates both offline (bricks) and online (clicks) presences and the services are available 24 hours a day for all countries. HMV specializes in both physical and digital products on music, video, games and entertainment’s accessories. |4. Evaluation Framework | The evaluation of hmv. com. k will be based on 7Cs framework, including context, content, community, customization, communication, connection and commerce. Each of the 7Cs will be evaluated individually and how HMV use it to â€Å"fit† its business model and value proposition and we also look into whether consistency exists among the 7Cs. |4. 1. Context | 4. 1. 1. Pros Targeted website www. hmv. com. hk has used black and shocking pink as the theme color throughout the site. It is consistent with brand image and banner of HMV.It matches th e symbol of HMV, which is shown HMV is a trendy and fashionable CD warehouse to their target customers such as teenager, the middle class and the working people. From the functionality aspect, HMV uses tab menu as navigation tool on the top of the page to present its product or service catalogs, so it enables users to move easily back and forth between different catalogs without clicking â€Å"back† button. Moreover, the design of the website has taken into consideration of different language requirement including English, Traditional Chinese and Simplified Chinese. The specific language environment can be easily changed by users.Moreover, HMV uses consistent image layout and packaging information, which helps customer to easily identify required products. It also presents the new release products in HMV, catalyzed by the type of product, such as new release of music and movies. And the special information that included the weekly top 10 sales ranking of product and the speci al offer of HMV is placed in the left hand side and right hand side of the main page. This design approach makes customer can find the important information, as known as the newest product is on sales in HMV recently in the center of the main page.On the other hand, the sales ranking and special offer information has put into left and right hand side in the page, when customer would like to know more about the sales information of HMV. The context of HMV fits its value proposition by using user-friendly tab menu which make users easily access the information and multi-language web interfaces. [pic] 4. 1. 2. Cons As a customer’s experience, an advertisement banner in the main page is quite annoying, because it started to play the promotion movie clip automatically. It does not provide any visible interface to let customer to pause or mute the promotion movie.Sometimes, customer will not prefer to see the advertisement, when the page is loading with the big band sound. [pic] 4. 1. 3. Recommendation To avoid inconvenient cause to customer on the advertisement, it is recommended to HMV that try to provide a movie interface as good as customers can play the promotion movie clip by themselves or mute the movie clip as default movie playing setting after the main page is loaded. |4. 2. Content | 4. 2. 1. Pros First of all, www. hmv. com. k is a specialty store which is selling physical products. It can be seen in the clear catalog and the sub-catalog in the top of each page. This catalog has divided HMV’s product into different type, such as â€Å"music†, â€Å"dvd†, â€Å"blue-ray†, â€Å"games† and so on. Therefore, it can be seen that HMV is a Mega specialty store which is provide multimedia to its customer. [pic] When customers click to the catalog and find his or her product that want to buy, HMV has listed the information of the product such as the price, the artist of the product, track list of the product and other p roducts that relate to the selected product.Through the information listed, customer can understand the detail of the product and the related products. As a result, the content of HMV fits its value proposition by providing sufficient information which move consumers close to purchase, because of more awareness. [pic] 4. 2. 2. Cons In the product information, only text and graphic information are provided to the customers review. As media warehouse, HMV does not provide more information such as promotion music clips or promotion video to its products. 4. 2. 3. RecommendationIt is recommended HMV to use more multimedia to aid HMV to have customer to understand the product of HMV such as promotion music clips or promotion video to its product. |4. 3. Community | 4. 3. 1. Pros The HMV does not have a community for users on its own websites. The strategy of HMV is using hyperlinks, connected to social networks. For example, Facebook, Tweeter and YouTube are integrated in HMV site to pr ovide information about latest products and discount, creates topics for iscussion and answer user's questions through these social networks. For these parts, HMV can function as advertisement and customer service. [pic] Information about latest products: Moreover, customers not only collect information passively, but also create topics and plan activities of interest to others. Apparently the degree of member participation is high and there are more user-to-user communications on these websites especially Tweeter and Facebook. Customer Service: While micro blog and social network are becoming more and more popular, it is reasonable that HMV mainly emphasizes on these websites.There is no need to create new sites, so the cost can be lower. And because micro blog and social network have millions of users, using those platforms to do advertisement and contact with customers are quite effective. Actually, micro blog and social network can be very useful tools for promoting for every B2 C company. As a result, the community of HMV can fit its business model, because they are effectively using external resource systems such as Facebook and Twitter to enable online HMV community and global communications. 4. 3. 2. ConsAfter browsing lots of products on HMV, we found that although, there is customer review section for each product behind the product introduction, only a few customers do the rating and hardly find customer reviews. Lack of comments, rating or references can influence customer purchase decision. As a consumer aspect, when buying a certain product on HMV site, they might interest other people's opinions for the references. 4. 3. 3. Recommendations Considering very few people write the customer review, there are three recommendations for HMV.Firstly, in order to grow the audiences, HMV can submit its blog to various search engines such as Google and Yahoo for making user attentions. Secondly, HMV can also build a music blog community for its fans to encou rage them to leave comments for making more interactive communications. This kind of communications might help to grow HMV’s audience and generate the customer reviews. The last suggestion is that the specific offer, discount or coupon can be provided by HMV, when writing a number of customer reviews by visitors. |4. 4.Customization | 4. 4. 1. Pros Log-in Registration: After log-in registration, users can access personal account details that contain personal information, payment method, wish list and order history, so that the users can be able to manage their personal HMV profile. Cookies: The feature of cookies is enabled by HMV to track our basket during site visit. For the â€Å"my basket†, the shopping items can be recorded by the users and saved by clicking â€Å"add to basket† button.The feature of â€Å"My Basket† also helps to provide personalized shopping basket to store the interested items, before performing business transaction. Content Pers onalization: HMV offers the features of content personalization by using â€Å"wish list†. For the â€Å"wish list†, it provides flexibility to allow users to specify their personal preferences and provides the way to keep track of products we may want to purchase at a later date. Moreover, the users can receive e-mails about sale promotions, based on a personal â€Å"wish list†.Even though, the HMV's unique customization tools try to a â€Å"fit† with its position as an innovative online music shop, we found that there are some customization features, company policies which should be improved with the following details. 4. 4. 2. Cons The web site provides some customization features such as personalized content and cookies, but there are four weakness points. First of all, HMV does not offer notification features to notify the consumers about the upcoming releases of our favorite singer.Secondly, HMV does not take responsible for any loss of privacy, dis closure or information with its web-site, this might cause negative band image for the users. Thirdly, HMV offers very limited content personalization in this stage, so that the users might not pay more attentions in their products or services. The last weakness point is that HMV does not offer the feature for reviewing visited products. 4. 4. 3. Recommendations There are limited customization features provided in HMV site.The recommendations are that HMV should consider to make sufficient privacy policy for protecting consumers, in order to build the positive band image. Although, the feature of cookies has been enabled for â€Å"My basket†, this feature should be improved, so that they can track and gather data and then return corresponding visited items, called â€Å"browsing history†. Moreover, the feature of product notification for upcoming releases of our favorite products should be provided to enhance competitive advantage. The last recommendation is about pers onalized contents, in order to address individual user needs and driving consumer behavior.According to the study â€Å"2008 ChoiceStream Personalization Survey†, there are 78% of consumers interested in receiving personalized content and 71% of consumers also believe that personalization can improve their experience [X]. Therefore, both implicit data and explicit data should be used in HMV site to provide customized experience for online shopping, called â€Å"tailoring by sites†. Implicit data should be generated by the user who choose to view the products by clicking on relevant links. Explicit data is provided by user [X].For example, â€Å"recommendation list† should be generated by HMV site to display similar category of products, based on your past shopping records. |4. 5. Communication | The overall communication of the website is good. It provides many communication channels, including email enquiry, FAQ, Phone, Facebook. Some of the Pros and Cons are l isted below: 4. 5. 1. Pros e-Mail Newsletters & Content-Update Reminders: The feature of â€Å"Newsletter† is an example of broadcast communications. The newsletters are sent via e-mail to inform subscribers about sale promotions or specific offers.Customers can choose either subscribe or unsubscribe newsletter at their discretion under â€Å"Communication Preferences† menu. Beside, the website also provides email alarm for new products and News Information broadcast, based on purchase history. As a result, customers can receive latest information via these channels. Moreover, personalized e-mail content is another type of one way information exchange from HMV to users, called â€Å"Content-Update Reminders†. The e-mail content is tailored by HMV to reflect each user's interests, based on â€Å"wish list†, so that the users from time to time to receive emails from HMV about sales promotions.Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ): The HMV site provides the list of questions and answers to support all commonly asked questions, called broadcast communication. It is very useful for users to know how to use HMV's web services such as configuration of cookie and checking order status, when they do online shopping. Innovative communication channels via Facebook: The feature of Facebook as social networking service is embedded in HMV site. It is an example of one-to-many, responding user. Users can share their comments regarding their experiences and respond. . 5. 2. Cons The customer service is not convenience, because the HMV does not offer the â€Å"Live HELP† support for 24 hrs. In modern life style, most customers go online shopping after working hours. Beside, the scope of FAQ session is insufficient as it only forces the basic questions. 4. 5. 3. Recommendations The service of 24 hrs â€Å"Live Help† should be provided by HMV for supporting time zone difference and providing quick response to consumers, by using read-time cha t system, like [pic] to provide the one-to-one personal Live communicational channel.Moreover, the website should enhance the FAQ session for the overall operations instead of providing the FAQ for the basic enquires only. |4. 6. Connection | 4. 6. 1. Overview The degree of target website HMV links to other website is low. In order to make a better understanding of the connection part, a similar online CD warehouse, Yesasia, is selected to compare with HMV: [pic] Base on the table above, it can be seen that HMV performs better than Yesasia.HMV has a better Google index pages and inbound links ranking, along with the Alexa ranking. But shows a little bit lower in Alexa inbound links. 4. 6. 2. Pros First of all, lesser external link may give customers the image that the company is professional. Consumers can far away from annoying advertisement. On the other hand, external link may generate some extra profit. The link here provides some latest information relating to the website. The refore, the tube from HMV can provide the customers with information about the fresh new goods. . 6. 3. Cons Although HMV has few external links, the link may not achieve customer expectation and the profit generated by this link might be low. Moreover, as HMV is mainly deal with the audios and games, which update very rapidly, so customers would more willing to have some links on introducing the latest information or selling some related products. 4. 6. 4. Recommendations As mentioned in overview, HMV need to lift the Alexa Inbound Links ranking. There are few suggestions that recommend to HMV.It can be delivered messages or published articles on the popular BBSs or Blogs linking to its own website and add the index link. Or it can exchange links with some related or similar website. |4. 7. Commerce | 4. 7. 1. Overview This website has most of the basic features of customer interface that support the aspects of trading transactions. 4. 7. 2. Pros Registration For the registration, the most impressive thing is â€Å"Individuation†. When registering, the website will record consumers’ preferences if permitted.Then it will email the information of the goods to the consumers according to their preferences. [pic] For the Shopping part, one very useful column is sales ranking. It is a good promotional way to attract customers and guide consumption. When I have no idea to buy what kind of staff, or I’m confused with which CD is good, it will be quite useful, like a shopping guide. Security Security gives an impression of convenience. Not like the general security methods by which customers need to install different kinds of digital certificates or USB key, HMV cooperates with â€Å"thawte†.Only one single click can achieve verification. It is convenient for the customers to a great extent. Besides, â€Å"Thawte† provided a security policy that guarantees all transactions inside HMV are trusted via security channel by using SSL aut hentication. Additionally, there is a guideline for customers to identify the site is safety while it has the Thawte Trusted Site Seal. [pic] 4. 7. 3. Cons Even though, HMV considers customization in registration, some negative user experiences also appear while using HMV registration interface.For instance, customers have to change their privacy settings in browser to allow the website to track the shopping cart and account details during visit, but most customers may not be willing to do so. [pic] Moreover, only one address can be stored. Usually, customer will have at least two addresses which are used for different purposes or at different times. So every time when customers want to ship items to a different address, they have to manually fill in the different address rather than choose one from the address lists. The function of shopping cart is very important in customer interface.However, it is not that 100% satisfaction. Whenever adding a product to shopping cart, the page w ill skip to the cart page. It is not convenient when customers want to continue shopping other items. What’s more, no recent history will be demonstrated about the items viewed by the customers. If the product is deleted by human mistake, customers have to go back to the original page and place the order again. 4. 7. 4. Recommendations In the registration module, information about more addresses and contact persons can be stored in the customer information.Shopping online is convenient but receiving packages sometimes could be a problem. So adding more information about delivery addresses and contact persons is necessary. Shopping cart could be more user-friendly. For instance, the deleted items can be recovered. It can operate as follows: [pic] Apart from that, what customers have to add to shopping cart can be stored in backstage and when they finish shopping, they can pay through their baskets. Furthermore, HMV can adopt â€Å"one click† shopping pattern which allow customers to make online shopping through one single click, like[pic].It is a good way to simplify purchase work flow. |5. Fit and Reinforcement | Communication is reinforced by customization (wish list) Commerce is reinforced by personalization Community is reinforced by communication (Lecture Note p. 58) Content is reinforced by customization HMV provides user-friendly customer interface to fit its business model for creating positive experiences and brand-building which make users close to purchase. 6. Competitor Comparison | |7. Reference List | [X] ChoiceStream, Inc. : Choicestream personalization survey. Research brief, 2008, pp 2-4. [X] Rayport, J. F and Jaworski, B. J. , e-Commerce, McGraw 2001. pp 113-165. [X] Probert, J. , Personalization In Digital Business, 2010, pp 1-2. ~ END