Steps of Learning to Read Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Steps of Learning to Read - Research Paper Example Recognition is by production and the ability to write alphabetic letters not necessarily in order. The primary aim is to enable the child encode sounds he/she hears. For example, writing ‘c – a – t’ to represent the sounds heard in the word â€Å"cat† (Santa, 1999).The challenge involve making the student to know how to spell out upper and lower case letters differently. Firstly, individuals are trained how to spell and sound the letters. For instance, the learners are taught on how to spell letter b.Then, the students are taught how to air the initial sounds in short words that are succeeded by the endings. The last sounds to be learned are the medial sounds heard. Learners are shown on identification and matching of the sounds heard, and then encode a letter for the sounds heard (Spufford, 1979). A learner should be able to appreciate familiar letter patterns. This may be a good strategy to learn a new word that is similar to already heard words. A better example is ball and call. Building words takes the skill further. Any young person will always learn to handle those words that keep changing and place them in a coded form. That with a new letter. A good example is the word ‘hat’. Convert a single letter to make it ‘sat’ (Darnton, 1986). The significance of Sight word vocabulary is to enable a child learn to read words that are hard to decode phonetically. A child will conceptualize and read short sentences with sight vocabulary. As time goes by the learner may be in a position to recognize the group of letters as the word (Spufford, 1979). Punctuation and capitalization are socially acceptable and are passed to learners as signals in the reading or writing process. Readers for the first time should learn to stop at a given juncture to avoid terminating a sentence before it ends. Appreciation of basic punctuation is adhered to following apostrophes to represent

The Kings Great Matter Essay Example for Free

The Kings Great Matter Essay The Spanish-English marriage alliance of Catherine of Aragon and Prince Arthur was arranged when the children were very young. Catherine traveled to England only to face tragedy when her young husband, Arthur died in 1502. Henry VII wanted to marry Catherine to his younger son, who would be, Henry VIII so that he did not lose the dowry money from Catherines parents and to secure some other agreements between the two countries. In the Catholic Church, it was forbidden to marry the wife of a deceased brother. A papal dispensation was required for the marriage. It was easily obtained from Pope Julius II. Henry VII died before the marriage took place but Henry VIII immediately married Catherine once he became King. Many people involved questioned the validity of this dispensation. Catherines mother, Isabella did not like the idea of her daughter being remarried and requiring a document from the Pope to have it done. But, once Henry VII died and Henry VIII proceeded with the marriage, no one mentioned the dispensation or the validity of it until Henry decided that he needed a grounds for divorce. Under the circumstances of Henry not wanting to be with his wife anymore, he proposed many doctrines that had been insignificant until then. Henry and Catherine actually had a fairly good marriage. The biggest problem in the marriage was lack of ability to produce a male heir. This was very important to Henry. They tried several times but were not successful. The couple did have one child that lived but, it was a girl named Mary. After many miscarriages and years of disappointment, Catherine began to get much older and lose much of her attractiveness. Henry not only began to lose interest in his wife, but he also began to worry about not having a son to succeed him on the throne. This was when the Kings great matter began. Throughout this time period, Cardinal Wolsey, an advisor to Henry and very powerful in the Catholic Church, moved closer and closer to Henry. As the relationship progressed Henry became more distant to Catherine. Wolsey spied on Catherine and she thought he acted against her always. She began to believe that Wolsey had always hated her and possibly that she had always hated him also. She held him responsible for the promotion of Henrys bastard son, for tempting the King of France to break the word agreed at Madrid and plunging Europe into war, for ruining the alliance between the two countries, and for seducing the pope and the Italian states. She also held Wolsey responsible for Henrys irritability. It isnt surprising that Catherine also blamed Wolsey for Henry wanting to divorce her. But, Catherine was not the only one with this idea. The ambassador, the emperor, Reginald Pole, Catholic controversialists, and Catholic writers ever since have agreed that Wolsey was probably the instigator. Catherines thought that Wolsey had put the ideas of divorce into Henrys head was very reasonable. She believed that Wolsey thought this was the best way to safeguard his pro-French policy by removing Catherine and replacing her with a French princess. Wolsey was serious about his French alliance and did hope to arrange a French marriage. He also feared Catherine. He knew that he needed to get rid of her so that he get closer to the king and help him handle his affairs. Most of the time, Cardinal Wolsey was looking out to better himself and his policies. Catherine was wrong about a few things though. She did not blame Henry for any of this. She felt he had been manipulated and took up for him every chance she had. She was wrong about Henry. He was not the innocent person she thought he was. Protestant writers have told the story according to Henry, that his conscience had separated him from Catherine. But, still many have said that it was simply out of desire for another woman. Henrys want for a divorce from Catherine of Aragon has also been attributed to his health. During the years 1527 -28, it was obvious that his health was on the decline. In 1524, he suffered from a head injury while jousting with the Duke of Suffolk. This injury is said to have caused him many severe headaches and possibly an alteration in behavior and character. His character began to change slowly after this. He went from a happy leader, fairly good husband and interested in his people to an irritable, suspicious, and selfish king. In the same year he also suffered from an ulcer in his leg which contributed to his irritability and impatience. Someone told Henry that he had been living in sin with his brothers wife. The name of who told him this was never released. Henrys arguments of his marriage to Catherine being invalid consisted of two sections. The first section argued that the union of a man and the wife of his brother was contrary to the law of God and that any papal dispensation pretending to allow it was worthless. The second section argued that the particular dispensation granted by Pope Julius II, which he had married Catherine under, was invalid. His first argument contained several parts. The first part was two texts in Leviticus. Leviticus 18:16 reads ‘Thou shall not uncover the nakedness of thy brothers wife: it is thy brothers nakedness and Leviticus 20:21 reads ‘If a man shall take his brothers wife, it is an impurity: he hath uncovered his brothers nakedness; they shall be childless. Henry and his advisors could not just use these scriptures. They advisors had to prove that they were true under all circumstances and were out of reach of all papal authority. However, the texts from Leviticus that Henry used were contradicted by a text from Deuteronomy. This text read: ‘When brethren dwell together, and one of them dieth without children, the wife of the deceased shall not marry to another, but his brother shall take her, and raise up seed for his brother. In order for Henrys arguments to succeed he had to somehow get rid of this text from Deuteronomy. It was attacked in many ways. Some argued that the text from Deuteronomy was a ceremonial or respective interpretation of the law that was allowed to the Jews but, like circumcision, was dissolved by the coming of Christ. Others argued that this text was only permissible under certain rare conditions, none of which was present in Henrys case. Henry, Wolsey, and a few other advisors had been meeting privately to discuss how the proceedings of the divorce should take place. These secret meetings were how the whole process came to be known as the kings great matter. The plan was not to involve Rome at all. Cardinal Wolsey and Warham were going to hold a secret court in England. They were going to call Henry in, charging him with living in sin with his dead brothers wife. Henry would plead guilty and the private court would then sentence him and the marriage to nullity. But, they ran into a problem. Catherine found out what the plan was. Her nephew was Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor. He had much power in Rome and over the papacy. She wrote letters and sent them to Charles for help. In her letters, she told him the entire story and appealed the case of the divorce to Rome. In 1527, Wolsey was in a hurry to get to France. He was trying to beat Catherines letters to Charles for help. He knew that if Charles heard the story he would threaten Pope Clement VII so that he would not dare dissolve the marriage. However, Wolsey did have an alternative plan. It is a good thing he did because he did not beat her letters to Charles. In June 1527, Charles troops attacked Rome and put the Pope up as prisoner. Wolsey went to France and signed the Treaty of Amiens. This protested that no action of the Pope would be valid while he was under duress and proposed that Wolsey, himself, preside over the cardinals in this time of trouble. Wolsey was afraid that Charles would provoke the Pope to do something while under imprisonment. Wolseys next plan was to make comments to Henrys ambassador with Charles that there was a rumor going around in England about the divorce between the king and queen and that there was some questions from the French concerning the validity of marriage and the papal dispensation for the marriage. He also said that the queen had heard of the rumors and was very upset. He did to place doubts in Charles mind about what Catherine had told him. Henry and his most trusted advisor, Cardinal Wolsey, began to fall away from each other a bit. Henry wanted to marry Anne Boleyn. She hated Wolsey and he did not want them married because he wanted Henry to marry a French princess to benefit himself. They began going separate ways in trying to achieve this divorce. While Wolsey tried to make peace in France and to organize a way to rescue the pope from Charles power, Henry went behind his back and had a document drawn up by his secretary, William Knight, that would manipulate the pope. Henry was going to take the document to the Pope himself to get him to sign it. He thought that the pope would appreciate a more personal approach. The pope did have a history of giving people divorces, so Henry really did not think he would have a problem either. He probably would not have had if it was not for Charles V. Henrys sister, the Queen of Scotland, had no problem getting a divorce from the pope after she had been having an affair with a married man. Henry IV of Castile was allowed by the pope to take another wife to bear him children because his first wife could not. In 1498, Pope Alexander VI allowed the King of France to have a divorce so that he could marry the ruler of Brittany. Both of Henrys sister Marys husbands had received divorces from the pope. The document that Henry had written by his secretary contained many ideas that the Pope would agree with but in-between-the-lines he added the dissolution of the marriage between him and Catherine. Wolsey found out about Henrys ideas but did not do anything because he knew that the papacy would not fall for it. Wolsey wanted to get a Decretal Commission signed. This document would say that if he proved certain things concerning the marital dispensation then he could declare the marriage null and void. This case contained four things. The first was, the dispensation had been obtained under false pretenses because it was said Henry asked for it, when he didnt even know what it was and was only twelve years old. The second was,it stated that it was issued to prevent war between England and Spain but at that time there had been no problems between the two countries. The third was, the dispensation had been granted by Pope Julius II out of his gratitude for two great leaders, Henry VII and Isabella of Castile but they were both dead before the marriage even took place so the validity of the document did not really exist. The fourth was, at the age of fourteen, Henry had protested against the marriage and no one paid any attention to him. Pope made changes in the document Henry sent. This angered Henry because he thought the Pope was being provoked so, he sent troops to protect the Pope and free him from the Emperor. The Pope finally issued a decretal commission that the case could be tried in England. It was sent by Cardinal Campeggio who had been given strict orders not to actually go through with it. Following orders, he caused many delays. During this time, Cardinal Campeggio, along with Cardinal Wolsey mentioned to Henry that maybe Catherine would enter a religious house to spend the rest of her days in peace. If she agreed to this then the divorce proceedings could have been cancelled. Henry liked this idea so he sent Wolsey and Campeggio to talk to her about it. Catherine listened respectively to the cardinals but told them that she would not agree to do that. The brief of the marital dispensation issued by Pope Julius II was brought up from Spain which caused some added problems and delays. On June 15, 1529 the legatine court opened at Blackfriars in London. Henry and Catherine were both called to appear. When Catherine was called into court, she kneeled at Henrys feet and begged of him to have mercy on her. She pleaded with him on how she had been a wonderful wife to him and she did not understand his reasoning to get rid of her as his wife. She meant the things she said to him but she also wanted to show the court that she did not agree with what Henry was trying to accomplish. The legatine court in London was not successful and the proceedings were also called back to Rome. However, the court in Rome was not successful either. No matter how many things that Henry tried to turn around and justify to prove his argument, they did not work. Eventually, Henry went ahead and married Anne Boelyn according to his own opinion without the consent of the pope. Of course, this did not make things any brighter with the Pope or the church heads. On August 8, 1533 Pope Clement VII issued a bull commanding Henry to restore Catherine as his ife and put away Anne in ten days or he would suffer excommunication. If he didnt comply, then the support of Charles V, all other Christian princes, and Henrys own subjects would be called upon to carry out the terms of the bull by force of arms. After this, Henry seperated from the Catholic Church, because it would not allow the divorce, and formed his own church in which he was the head of it. This way he could do whatever he wanted. Henrys great matter had turned into a matter that affected the entire country of England and probably all of Europe.

Discussing two or three Poems in Detail, Explain how you think Heaney :: English Literature

Discussing two or three Poems in Detail, Explain how you think Heaney Develops our Understanding of the Nature of Humanity and Existence through Poetry In this essay I will discuss the poems Digging, Wheels within Wheels and Toome. I will explain how Heaney develops our understanding of humanity and existence through the poems mentioned above. Heaney mainly uses poetic techniques to express and expand our understanding of the nature of existence and humanity. The ideas in Digging concern relationships to ancestors, and to work. Heaney describes his relationship to his father and grandfather purely in terms of their work on the land. He takes the idea of digging, the commonest form of work in any rural community, and uses it as a symbol for productive, creative work in general, and for writing in particular. The idea in Wheels within Wheels are about life in the metaphor of a wheel. Toome is about the bog type land and the past. I think Heaney develops our understanding of the nature of humanity by bringing the theme of relationships on the farm into this poem. Heaney's father has great skill when it comes to digging, "levered firmly. This shows the reader that country life is not all easy, and even to work on a farm, you need to have quite a lot of skill. The images produced by these words are very effective because they give the reader a picture of a man who is not only digging, but doing it with immense skill, which is not something which we usually associate with a job like that. This helps us understand why Heaney has chosen to talk about his past and digging. The continuation of farming from Heaney's grandfather, to Heaney's father, "the old man could handle a spade. Just like his old man" shows the reader that country life is very family orientated, and professions are often carried down from father to son. The images of Heaney's father being taught to dig by his father are very powerful and effective, because they show the reader the strong bonds between humanity on a farm, and that human nature has not changed. The last line, "The squat pen rests. I'll dig with it." shows that in the country, it is often expected that people like Heaney will follow in their father's footsteps, but Heaney is seen here to choose to be a writer. The image of Heaney digging out his memories with pen are very effective because the reader can visualise the likeness between poetry and farming. Heaney uses alliterative language to go back to the roots of time and human

Small Pox Journal :: Journals Diary Small Pox Essays

Small Pox Journal April 22, 2005--I had a long week so I decided I should write about it on my web journal. After having several papers, quizzes, and having to work 40 hours I have been feeling a little under the weather. However, I mostly assume it has been from the lack of sleep I have been getting. But no worries, since I intend on making it up during the weekend. But tonight I have decided to party it up and go to my friend's apartment. Till then I'll just take some aspirin and lay down till I go out. I'm sure I will be fine by then. April 23, 2005--Well to recap last night events, I woke up from my nap; the aspirin appeared to have not worked. I was feeling really achy but I did not let that impede my wanting to party. I asked my mom to feel my forehead, to see if I was hot, and she confirmed it. So I decided to take my temperature, 102 degrees, not good. But I still went to the party, being stubborn. I ended up drinking too much, to try and ease the achy feeling, and it did not sit well. I ended up having to throw up in the bushes. People were laughing at me, telling me I could not handle my liquor. Ha-ha, it was funny though. April 24, 2005--However, when I did wake up I noticed some kind of bumps forming in my mouth. This is really strange since I never have had bumps like these in my mouth. Oh well, I am sure they will go away in a few days. I am not feeling well at all. I don't think it was just the long week that was affecting my health, but I might be genuinely sick, maybe just a fever or the flu? My girlfriend told me she has been going through the same thing. I don't think this is a good sign. However, being a typical guy I will wait it out and see what develops. April 25, 2005--Still feeling unwell and apparently the bumps in my mouth seem to be breaking, which I'm not sure if that is a good thing or not. There were several of them and only but a few have yet to burst.

At Different Stages in Our Life the Law Regulates Our Rights and Responsibilities in Different Ways. Examine How and Why Legal Rights and Responsibilities May Change over the Course of a Person’s Life.

Throughout a person’s life there is a balance between the rights and responsibilities that they are regulated by. This essay assess’ the reasons why these rights and responsibilities change and how they change during a childhood, adulthood and elderly years. When a foetus is in the womb, it has â€Å"limited legal recognition† however when the baby is born it is given a separate identity, it is registered and becomes a â€Å"legal personality. From this point on different rights and responsibilities will be gained throughout the child’s life, and they â€Å"only gain rights and responsibilities when society feels they are capable of understanding their actions and the consequences of those actions. † Rights don’t exist without responsibilities however â€Å"baby or small child cannot be expected to take responsibility for their own actions† (pg. 74) and they do not possess the mental capacity to understand the consequences.It is belie ve that when children reach the age of 10years they will have â€Å"sufficient understanding of the serious and criminal nature of their own actions and are held accountable the same way as adults. † (pg. 75) it is at this point that â€Å"children understand the difference between bad behaviour and serious wrong doing. †(pg. 75) Civil rights and responsibilities are different though as children cannot enter into a legal binding contract, although there are some exceptions. But this is â€Å"designed to protect children from unscrupulous behaviour. † (pg. 6) Children and medical care has always been an area of controversy. The Family Law Act of 1969 states that Children can only give consent to medical care at the age of 16, however following the case of Gillick V West Norfolk and Wisbeck Health Authority [1986] AC 112 it was decided that if â€Å"children under the age of 16 were competent to give their own valid consent to medical treatment if they were suffi ciently mature to understand what was being proposed. † Now if a child can prove they have ‘Gillick competency’ they are allowed to give consent. Like this, there are many other pieces of legislation written for the welfare of children, enforced by social services such as, the Education Act of 1996 required that children between the ages of 5 and 16 must attend school, full time. However it’s the parents’ responsibility to ensure this. (pg. ) There are also many rules on children employment such as very limited hours and the type of occupation they do. All of these Acts are for the protection of vulnerable children and adolescents.

Plato essays

Plato essays Plato was a strong believer in the four Cardinal Virtues; wisdom, courage, moderation, and justice. These virtues are found in Hank Turner in the movie Regarding Henry. The movie portraits Henry as a strong, powerful, successful lawyer who could have had everything and anything he could ever dream of. After being shot in a store on a late night we see Henry, who will be called Hank for after the shooting took place, start his life all over again from a mental state of infancy. Plato would have viewed Henry as a man who is unvirtuous. Everyone in the begining of the movie wanted to be like Henry Turner. Most Greeks probably would have found Henry as an object of desire. Plato would have said that even though Herny was an object of desire to most people he, however, was not a virtuous person because Henry failed to practice the four Cardinal Virtues. Henry was a very smart, sucessful lawyer that could win almost any case he was given. Most people would say that Henry was a wise man. However Plato would have to dissagree. Plato says that wisdom is knowledge of the unchanging nature, essence or form of things, especially of the human being and the virtues. Knowledge of what is best for the whole person, body and soul, and the know-how to act on that knowledge.(The Cardinal Virtues p1) Plato would say that Henry lacks knowledge according to his definition. Henry is more concerned with what is best for his life. Plato would feel that without knowledge a person could not be considered wise. The second virtue that Henry lacked was courage. Courage is the power to perserve true beliefs about good and bad that are inculcated by a proper education. Courage can stand fast for what is right in the face of pain, pleasure, desire, and fear.(The Cardinal Virtues p1) Plato would say that Henry lacked courage because Henry did what was best for himself not what was necessarily the right thing t...

Using the Spanish Preposition Tras

Using the Spanish Preposition 'Tras' The Spanish preposition tras, usually meaning behind or after, isnt a particularly common preposition. In fact, you could probably get by without even using it at all, as the prepositional phrases detrs de (behind in location) and despuà ©s de (after in time) can usually be used instead. Tras is more common in writing than in speech. Even so, tras has significant use in journalese (its a shorter word to use in headlines) and in a few phrases such as uno tras otro (one after the other) and dà ­a tras dà ­a (day after day). Here are the most common meanings of tras, along with examples of its use. Tras Meaning After (In Time) Tras is sometimes used to mean after (in time), as in the following examples: Se degradà ³ la libertad de prensa tras la eleccià ³n. (Freedom of the press was diminished after the election.) El restaurante abre de nuevo tras ser cerrado. (The restaurant is opening again after being closed.) Tras Meaning In Pursuit Of Tras can also mean after (in the sense of advancing toward or being in pursuit of), as in these cases: Iba  tras  las riquezas.  (He was after riches.)   El perro salià ³Ã‚  tras  ella.  (The dog went after her.) Tras Meaning Behind It can also be used to say behind (in location), as in these examples: Tras las puertas cerradas puede haber violencia. (Behind closed doors there can be violence.) Necesita contraseà ±a para participar en las conversaciones tras la pared de proteccià ³n corporativa. (You need a password in order to participate in conversations behind the corporate firewall.) Tras- as a Prefix Tras- also is commonly used as a prefix, where it is a shortened form of trans- and often the equivalent of the English prefix trans-, as in  trascendental (transcendental), trascribir (to transcribe), trascontinental (transcontinental).

Fiscal Stimulus - Three Key Ingredients

Fiscal Stimulus - Three Key Ingredients In late 2008 and early 2009, you could not turn on a TV or open a newspaper without hearing the term fiscal stimulus over and over again. The idea behind fiscal stimulus is a rather simple one - a reduction in consumer demand has resulted in an unusually high number of idle resources such as unemployed workers and closed factories. Because the private sector will not spend, the government can take the place of the private sector by increasing spending, thus putting these idle resources back to work. With their newly found income, these workers will be able to spend again, increase consumer demand. As well, workers who already have jobs will have increased confidence in the state of the economy and will increase their spending as well. Once consumer spending rises enough, the government can slow their spending, as they are no longer needed to pick up the slack.The theory behind fiscal stimulus depends on three basic factors. As we will see, in practice it is difficult to have more tha n two of these met at any one time. Fiscal Stimulus Factor 1 - Provide Stimulus Through Use of Idle Resources Fiscal stimulus only works if it uses idle resources - resources that would not otherwise be used by the private sector. Using employees and equipment that would otherwise be used by the private sector is of no use; in fact, it is detrimental if the private sector projects are of more value than government ones. This crowding out of private spending by public spending must be avoided.To avoid crowding out, great care needs to be taken in a fiscal stimulus package to target industries and geographic areas that contain idle resources. Re-opening a closed automotive plant and rehiring the laid off workers is an obvious way to do so, though in the real world it is difficult to target a stimulus plan so precisely.We cannot forget that the choice of what type of fiscal stimulus is chosen by politicians, and thus is a political issue as much as it is an economic one. There is a great likelihood that a politically popular but non-stimulating package will be chosen over one that is politicall y less popular but more beneficial to the economy. Fiscal Stimulus Factor 2 - Started Quickly A recession is not a particularly long-lived phenomenon (though it often feels like one). Since World War II recessions have lasted between 6 and 18 months, with an average duration of 11 months (source). Suppose we are in a long recession of 18 months, with another 6 months of slow growth afterward. This gives us a 24-month window in which to provide fiscal stimulus. During this period a number of things have to happen: The government has to recognize that the economy is in recession. This takes longer than one might imagine - the National Bureau of Economic Research did not recognize that the United States was in a recession until 12 months after it started.The government needs to develop a stimulus package.The stimulus bill needs to be made law and pass all the necessary checks and balances.The projects involved in the stimulus package need to be started. There may be delays in this step, particularly if the project involves the building of physical infrastructure. Environmental assessments need to be completed, private sector contractors need to bid on the project, workers need to be hired. All of this takes time.The projects, ideally, need to be completed. If they are not completed before the economy fully recovers, then we will certainly have crowding out as these employees and equipment would be of use to the private sector. All of these items need to happen in the window of, at best, 24 months. Meeting this task seems quite difficult, if not impossible. Fiscal Stimulus Factor 3 - Perform Reasonably Well on a Benefit-Cost Test Ideally, we should get good value for our money - the government should spend taxpayer dollars on items of real value to the taxpayer. Government spending will necessarily raise GDP because in the calculation of GDP the value of any government project is determined by its cost, not its value. But building roads to nowhere does nothing to increase our true standard of living.There is also the political issue here - that projects may be chosen on their political popularity or value to special interests, rather than on their merits.   Fiscal Stimulus - Meeting One Factor Is Hard; Three Is Impossible In Fiscal Stimulus - Unlikely To Work in the Real World we will see that not only are some of these factors hard enough to meet on their own, it is nearly impossible to meet more than two of them at any one time.

PERSONAL STATEMENTS FOR TEACHER TRAINING APPLICATION Statement

STATEMENTS FOR TEACHER TRAINING APPLICATION - Personal Statement Example I was initially enthused to pursue teaching in my work experience at XXXX, after completing my A†levels. I was guided by an enthusing primary school teacher who totally included me in helping the children with their writing and reading skills along with Mathematics. Since November 2013, I have volunteered three days every week at YYYY, which has made me more experienced in classroom†based teaching. I usually work together with the class teacher in organizing the class for activities, listening while children read, along with supporting pupils of lower ability. This made me understand the significance of differentiation in planning a lesson and how it is should be run. I have taken part in coming up with Individual Educational Plans (IEP) for pupils encouraging them to learn and personally structuring their learning as per their explicit needs. Moreover, I am extending my various teaching methods like listening exercises, starters, poster making, games, debates, quizzes, and workbooks. To inspire pupils in their learning I have invented some games as well as assessment sheets together with preparing my individual lessons. This year I am overseeing a pupil with Aspergers syndrome during break and lunch times. This chance has been rewarding, helping me to attain a wider perspective on primary school experiences, provide additional support as well as learn new behaviour management techniques. I am through with a two†week experience at this school in June 2014 where I got experience in Key Stage 1 and 2 classroom for two weeks. This enabled me to interact with as well as support children in a diverse range of abilities, lessons, as well as activities and provide them with suitable feedback including targets and rewards. I feel that my degree in history would be appropriate. It is not just an academically hard subject but it assisted me to develop several transferable skills such as the ability to construe and clarify intricate information,

IBM(MR) Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

IBM(MR) - Dissertation Example Its major competitors are Hewlett Packard Co. and Microsoft Corp (AOL Daily Finance, 2011). In order for IBM to remain competitive and to remain at the top it has to ensure that not only its managers and the decision-makers, but also its customers are content with the products that IBM offers. In this regard, IBM generated an annual IT Industry Customer Benchmark Survey (Malhotra 2010, p. 826). The survey results are used to help IBM’s management and decision-makers gain an understanding of how its customers perceive IBM’s competitors. This report examines the survey for its intended purpose and determines the extent to which the survey can generate the intended data for optimal analysis. This research report will identify any weaknesses in the survey and will make recommendations for improvements so that any gaps between IBM and its competitors in terms of customer advantages can be closed in IBM’s favour. The research report provides a background, an analysis o f the data, offers some recommendations and provides a conclusion. ... Introduction During the 1990s IBM acquired a reputation as a â€Å"sinking ship† (Malhotra 2010, p. 825). However, leadership and management within the business has reversed this situation so that IBM is once again in top of the IT industry earning US$103.63 billion in 2008 and is now regarded as the world leader in computer hardware and software products and services. The fact is, IBM maintains leadership in virtually all of the markets that it competes in. (Malhotra 2010, p. 825). At this point, IBM has virtually all the products and services that it needs to effectively compete in and retain leadership in the IT industry. IBM has made significant changes since the 1990s in reorganizing its â€Å"hardware business, merging its desktop and laptop operations† and in 2004, IBM made plans to merge â€Å"technology (microchips) and systems (servers, storage) groups (Malhotra 2010, p. 825). In order to maintain the lead and to remain competitive IBM conducted a survey enti tled the IT Industry Customer Benchmark Survey in 2008. The survey was directed at company officials who make purchasing decisions and respondents were able to choose IBM or one of its competitors as the subject of the survey. The purpose was to provide IBM’s management with the data necessary for making â€Å"strategic decisions to improve IBM’s standing in the eyes of its customers† (Malhotra 2010, p. 826). This report conducts an analysis of the survey itself and determines whether or not it can be improved upon to obtain the intended results. In other words, this report analyses the IT Industry Customer Benchmark Survey, the purposes for which it is intended to be

Care of Toddlers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Care of Toddlers - Essay Example It accounts for significant morbidity and mortality, especially in those with underlying cardiac or pulmonary disease. The etiologic agent is respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), an RNA virus whose growth appears to be primarily in the respiratory tract epithelium. Other viruses, such as influenza virus, adenovirus, and parainfluenza virus, can produce similar clinical states. Almost all children have been infected by RSV by the age of 3 years. The peak rate of hospitalization occurs at before 6 months of age. Both the diseases affect children below 1 year. In this paper, we have made a study of two toddlers, one affected by acute Epiglottitis and the other by acute Bronchiolitis both under the age of 6, for the similarities in their symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment and care requirements. Epiglottitis is an acute swelling of the glottic structures caused by bacterial infection. It is a true medical emergency and requires rapid, accurate diagnosis and treatment to avoid airway obstruction. Epiglottitis involves infection of the supraglottic structures, usually with Haemophilus influenzae type b (HIB). On rare occasions other pathogens are involved, including Streptococcus pneumoniae, staphylococcus aureus, -hemolytic streptococcus, and H. influenzae type a. Epiglottitis is has virtually disappeared in North America as a result of widespread immunization. The disease may rarely be caused by group A streptococci. Epiglottitis occurs throughout the year but is more common in the winter months. Eighty percent of infected children are younger than 5 years of age, with the peak incidence between 2 and 6 years of age. Since the institution of the HIB vaccine, the incidence appears to be declining, and epiglottitis currently accounts for only 1 to 10 of every 10,000 pediatric admissions. Older children may be affected by supraglottitis that is more indolent and is caused by group A streptococcus. There may be genetic and immunogenic factors which predispose individuals to invasive HIB disease. On the other hand, Bronchiolitis is an inflammation of the small airways that results in expiratory obstruction and wheezing. The term "bronchiolitis" is usually applied to an illness of young infants and children, characterized by respiratory distress and hypoxemia. Older children may also have wheezing with viral infections. Bronchiolitis is typically caused by respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). Other agents that have been associated with bronchiolitis include adenoviruses, parainfluenza viruses, rhinoviruses, and Mycoplasma pneumoniae. Transmission occurs primarily by direct contact with infected secretions. Viral shedding typically lasts 6 to 10 days. Attack rates among family members are 45 per cent, and transmission in daycare centers approaches 100 per cent among infants previously uninfected. Symptoms In the case of the toddler with acute epiglottitis, the symptoms might include acute illness with high temperature (often 39.5C+) and associated toxic state for less than 2 days, acute onset of severe inspiratory and expiratory stridor which is rapidly progressive. The child appears anxious, still, swallowing is painful and so there often is drooling of saliva. The child with epiglottitis presents with an abrupt onset of fever, sore

COMPARISON BETWEEN WORLD WAR 1(WW I) AND WORLD WAR 2(WW II) reasons Research Paper

COMPARISON BETWEEN WORLD WAR 1(WW I) AND WORLD WAR 2(WW II) reasons - Research Paper Example The death of Ferdinand led Austria-Hungary to wage a war against Serbia (Hamilton, 2004). The mutual defense agreement, among countries in Europe, compelled allied nations to fight side-by-side despite not being part of the conflict. Austria-Hungary was supported by their allied nations--Italy and Germany (The triple Entente); while Russia was supported by France and Great Britain (The Triple Alliance) (Hamilton, 2004). Although the immediate cause of war was the assassination of the archduke, spiraling of the war out of control was contributed by other factors that were political in origin; and rooted in greed for power. Before the explosion of World War I, tension among Europe’s superpowers were increasing as they competed amongst themselves â€Å"...for trade and military power overseas†, which is true for Britain, France, and Germany; and for acquisition of the Balkan countries of southeastern Europe, as was true for Russia and Austria-Hungary (Hamilton, 2004, p. 8) . The increasing popularity of imperialism; the rise of nationalism; as well as the extensive armed forces and advanced military technology, urged the war to last for four years, until its culmination in 1918, when the Germans failed to conquer the Allied forces. World War II began in Europe when Germany invaded Poland in 1939.

Social Justice and Corporate Social Responsibility Essay

Social Justice and Corporate Social Responsibility - Essay Example The European Commission defines CSR as "a concept whereby companies integrate social and environmental concerns in their business operations and their interaction with their stakeholders on a voluntary basis." (A Business Contribution to Sustainable Development. n.d.) In an article by John Richardson (2008) pointed out that a company is said to be socially responsible if "it conducts itself reasonably with respect to: the workers it employs around the world; its investors as manifested in its corporate governance practices; local communities in which it operates; how it conducts itself ethically ion its domicile country and in other countries around the world; the environment" (section 2). The CSR is also advocated by authorities mainly because of the fact that CSR principles are in conformity with social justice. The essence CSR lies in the fulfillment of social justice to the various stakeholders. The companies, therefore, are socially obliged to deal with the societal, ecological and economical issues so that all the stakeholders including shareholders are satisfied and eventually results in economic sustainability. A firm which has obligations only towards its shareholders is socially irresponsible and will no longer survive in the modern corporate environment. This approach is not advisable as indicated by 'stakeholder theory' propounded by R. Edward Freeman. In one of his papers, he writes that "corporations shall be managed in the interests of its stakeholders, defined as employers, financiers, customers, employees, and communities." (Carson L. Thomas. 2003, page. No.1). The recent years have experienced many such cases which shocked the entire corporate world, which, later on, became the lessons for the rest in future. Enron Collapse The failure of Enron, the world Energy Giant, is an unforgettable incident in the history of corporate world. The company which became the seventh largest one in the United States of America in just 15 years has become the by-word for corporate irresponsibility. The issues raised were misrepresentation of accounting information, which resulted in unfair accounting, lobbying with politicians and misappropriation of employee savings. The profit figure shown by the company was not true and fair and company's massive debts were concealed from the financial statement. The company had political lobbying with many legislators and the highly paid executives pocketed the life savings of thousands of its employees. What made Enron to socially irresponsible even though it had taken some steps to adhere to CSR The self-interest. The company had not tried to strictly adhere to the guidelines of CSR. Rather, it tried to window dress its financial statements so as to achieve huge market support and high prestige and thereby protecting the interest of shareholders and a few executives. The Enron collapse taught the corporate community a lesson about which Sims responds (2003) "How a Failure of Leadership, Culture, and Unethical Behavior Brought a Giant to Its Knees" (p. 147) Apart from Enron collapse, corporates like Arthur Andersen, Philip Morris and Union Carbide also fell in the category of socially irresponsible companies. Arthur Andersen case is closely associated with Enron for which the former was the auditor. In the accounting scam

COMPARISON BETWEEN WORLD WAR 1(WW I) AND WORLD WAR 2(WW II) reasons Research Paper

COMPARISON BETWEEN WORLD WAR 1(WW I) AND WORLD WAR 2(WW II) reasons - Research Paper Example The death of Ferdinand led Austria-Hungary to wage a war against Serbia (Hamilton, 2004). The mutual defense agreement, among countries in Europe, compelled allied nations to fight side-by-side despite not being part of the conflict. Austria-Hungary was supported by their allied nations--Italy and Germany (The triple Entente); while Russia was supported by France and Great Britain (The Triple Alliance) (Hamilton, 2004). Although the immediate cause of war was the assassination of the archduke, spiraling of the war out of control was contributed by other factors that were political in origin; and rooted in greed for power. Before the explosion of World War I, tension among Europe’s superpowers were increasing as they competed amongst themselves â€Å"...for trade and military power overseas†, which is true for Britain, France, and Germany; and for acquisition of the Balkan countries of southeastern Europe, as was true for Russia and Austria-Hungary (Hamilton, 2004, p. 8) . The increasing popularity of imperialism; the rise of nationalism; as well as the extensive armed forces and advanced military technology, urged the war to last for four years, until its culmination in 1918, when the Germans failed to conquer the Allied forces. World War II began in Europe when Germany invaded Poland in 1939.

Commentaries Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Commentaries - Essay Example Having intelligence definitely â€Å"impedes the effectiveness of fulfilling [the UN’s] goals† (â€Å"Intelligence Collection at the United Nations for Peace Keeping Operations,† 2011, pp. 4). It is beneficial that member states do share information, to some degree. Of course, it’s important that such information is shared to the benefit of the United Nations. This paper accurately points out, however, that US Secretary of State Colin Powell introduced WMD as being valid intelligence, which led the United States to engage in a war that lasted eight (8) years and cost $700 billion dollars. Breakdown in communication between ONUC forces and the civilian leadership in the Congo due to interference of UN intelligence-gathering is even yet another piece of evidence that intelligence-gathering by the UN may not be a smart idea, because, in this case, the UN member countries were not willing to supply intelligence to the military. In another situation in Haiti, t here was incorrect information being disseminated from informants, and the paper uses this piece of information to support the fact that the UN should not be involved in collecting intelligence for peacekeeping operations. One of the greatest difficulties the UN has, however, is to strike a delicate balance between spying and open secrets. â€Å"For the UN, a great dilemma arises when the information is gathered and kept secretly, since the world body is dedicated to transparency, impartiality and the rule of law† (Dorn, 2011, pp. 4).† Knowing this, it is important to realize how difficult it can be, and is, for the United Nations to continue such operations—not only when such an unreliable piece of information was announced in front of the UN by Colin Powell—but because of the fact that the UN must remain transparent while conducting covert operations. It doesn’t make much sense. III. The Weaknesses of the Seminar Paper First off, in terms of techn ical aspects, there are some minor grammatical errors on the title page and in the introduction. To begin with, â€Å"peacekeeping† is one word, not two separate words. The references or bibliography page also needs to be overhauled, as there is much incorrect referencing structure. Also, the in-text citations for Harvard require more work. Details will be discussed in the Suggestions for Improvement section. Secondly, one has to be realistic about what intelligence is, which is deception. Nations that are not part of the United Nations are game to be spied on. The UN cannot simply rely on informal information from member states. Secretary of State Colin Powell’s information which he introduced before members of the world community in the UN was not good intelligence. This is one of the greatest pieces of evidence why the UN should not get involved in the intelligence community, if there are any. Colin Powell declared, â€Å"Numerous human sources tell us that the Ira qis are moving not just documents and hard drives, but weapons of mass destruction, to keep them from being found by inspectors† (Rockefeller, 2009, pp. 40). Later this information was refuted. â€Å"The question of to what extent Iraq could rebuild and reconstitute its WMD program in four years (1998-2002) is the real issue† (Mauroni, 2006, pp. 116). At the time, however, everyone believed Powell’

Brigham and Houston Essay Example for Free

Brigham and Houston Essay 1. Whenever we are interested in buying a bond from the bond market, the bonds issuer promises to pay back the principal (or par value) when the bond matures (Brigham and Houston, 2001). During this time, the issuer is obliged to pay interest in order to compensate the use of money. The interest payment is made on coupon rate which is fixed. There is an inverse relationship between the coupon rate and the bond prices, when: †¢ Interest rate increase, leads to rise in income, whereas the price of the bond declines. †¢ Interest rate decrease, leads to decline in income, whereas the price of the bond rises. Also we need to consider that the coupon rate is inversely related to duration because higher coupon rates lead to quicker recovery of the bond’s value, resulting in a shorter duration, relative to lower coupon rates. If coupon rate is greater than the market rate then it is favourable for issuer and if coupon rate is less than the market rate then it is favourable for purchaser (Brigham and Houston, 2001). The reason behind the variations in the coupon rates of various bonds is the market interest rate; company’s performance, time length, and credit worthiness of the issuer. So, all these factors have an implication on the bond yields. 2. Ratings of these bonds are determined on the basis of both qualitative and quantitative factors some of which are listed below: †¢ If a company uses conservative accounting policies, its reported earnings will be higher than if it uses less conservative procedures. †¢ Various ratios including the debt ratio and the Times Interest Earned (TIE) ratio also have some implications on these bond ratings. †¢ If company explores any new sites containing oil, gas, coal fields etc. †¢ Increase in the company’s sales net profit increase both domestically and internationally also uplift the bond ratings and it showed that debt holder show the confidence on the company’s policy. Bond ratings might take a downward leap when: †¢ There is a signal of bankruptcy, internal mismanagement and financial distress in the firm (Helfert, 2001). †¢ When the company does not abide by the law, i. e. it breaches the laws, this may be related to environment, etc. †¢ When the product life cycle is going downwards and company can’t add more products in their product line. †¢ Negative bond covenants also hits the bond ratings of the company. †¢ Labour unrest or strikes may cause instability in the bonds ratings. †¢ Economic recession in the country. 3. We know that whenever the interest rate rises, bond prices tend to fall, and when rates fall, bond prices tend to rise (Helfert, 2001). This primarily occurs due to the economic condition of the country and also because of the market sentiments. If the price of the bond goes down it is less attractive (pays less interest) in comparison with current offerings and when the price of the bond goes up it is more attractive (pays more interest) in comparison with current offerings. This may also be described as when the coupon rate is greater than market rate then it is favourable for issuer and if coupon rate is lesser than market rate then it is favourable for the purchaser. Some bonds are sold below par value, which means (at discount) or greater than par value, which means (at premium). This mainly occurs due to the risk perceived for the debt of that particular organization. Market interest rate fluctuations usually effect the performance of the bonds in the secondary markets. Federal bank monetary and fiscal policy, inflation rate, recession in the economy, etc are the factors that may force organizations to sell the bonds at discount or at premium. One must also consider that sale of bonds on discount or at premium also has some impact on the yield and also the maturity of the bond, the shorter a bonds maturity, the less its duration. Bonds with higher yields also have lower durations. Also the company’s performance reflects in bond valuations, i. e. its bond ratings, bond covenants and credit worthiness etc (Helfert, 2001). 4. The yield to maturity (YTM) is a reflection of the return on investment, that is earned at the current price, incase the bond is held by the issuer to its date of maturity and redeemed at par value. In other words, YTM is the discount rate that equates the present value of future inflows from the bond equal to its present price.

Pros and Cons of budgeting in modern environment

Pros and Cons of budgeting in modern environment Budgets are recognized as time-honored tools for planning and setting organizations goals, for communicating among corporate constituencies, and for providing basis for operating results review as well as performance evaluation. While it is difficult for firms to have perfect budgets that make use of all functions equally well, differential emphasis on the respective uses of budgets reflects the environment variation and contracting needs. The modern economic environment is associated with a rapidly changing environment, flexible manufacturing, short product life cycles and highly customized products and services (Abdullah N.B. 2008). The keys to survive is flexibility and rapid response whereby companies are able to move quickly to exploit opportunities as they arise and does not operate according to elaborate business plans (Abdullah N.B. 2008). We were being overtaken by events. Traditional planning and budgeting strategy had to give. Senior vice-president in Fujitsu Computer Products of America, Kevin T. Parker said that, department managers budgeted at the detail level before the company had agreed on strategic objectives. (Banham, R. 2000.) Fujitsu were long on process and short on valuable information to run the business. Department managers would forecast product availability and customer expectations independent of one another, then negotiate with top management for few times until they were final. This circuitous routine took two months, an exceptionally long period of time in the fast-paced computer industry. (Banham, R. 2000.) Most organizations recognize budgets as a key element in their management control systems, but the usefulness of budgets has generated intense discussion and debate. Budgets have been proven by some of the researches that budgets are less useful in todays highly challenging business environment. Traditional budgeting, budget planning is a top-down process which will not support the types of extreme decentralization and employee empowerment initiatives that are required for firms to be competitive today (Libby T., and Lindsay M., 2007). Budgets are no longer useful in the current environment Budgets constraint responsiveness and flexibility and are often a barrier to change. Traditional budgeting is focused on the achievement of the specific plan or budget and this resulted in organizations eyesight to constantly focus on how to achieve and beat the budget. But indeed, the objectives of a company should not be to beat the budget but to beat the competition. (Leone, A.J and Rock, S. 2000) Whereas, in traditional budgeting there is rarely an opportunity to amend, change or update the budget once it has been approved, should there be any changes in the environment or assumptions employed (Abdullah N.B. 2008). Thus, managers only can decision within the budget, but the particular decision that he make, might not be the perfect solution; managers are tended to abandon best solution due to not exceed the budget, and thus inhibits management response to change. This focus can act as a constraint, decreasing the firms flexibility and ability to adapt and deal with new opportunit ies, threats or changes in customers requirements (Abdullah N.B. 2008).Traditional budgets prevent empowerment and the opportunity for employees to contribute to the achievement of strategic objectives. It is blocking employee initiatives and demotivated employees, where employee initiative and motivation are needed in todays highly challenging environment, which can make a marked improvement in performance and productivity, thus it is a barrier to continuous improvement and success, because, less focus is given on how to maximize the organizations potential. According to the Shastri K. and Stout D.E., many segment-level employees1 than corporate-level employees felt that budgets had negative behavioral consequences in terms of employee initiatives, motivating short-term decision making, and pressure to achieve targets. Budgets encourage gaming and dysfunctional behavior. (Abdullah N.B. 2008). Libby T., and Lindsay M., (2007) explicitly addressed the issue of budget gaming. Majority of the respondents surveyed indicated that three gaming phenomena occur at least occasionally: spending money at year-end to avoid losing it the old-age use it or lose it syndrome, deferring necessary expenditures and negotiating easy targets the Segment-level was defined variously as a subsidiary, division, department, or product level. sandbagging syndrome (Libby T., and Lindsay M., 2007).This is especially the case when meeting the budget is directly linked with rewards and incentive payments to individuals and/or team. Indeed, many organizations incorporate budgetary performance subjectively into the overall performance evaluation of managers (Libby T., and Lindsay M., 2007). Moreover, managerial compensation plans, including incentive compensation formulas, incorporate achievement of specified budget objectives for financial performance measures. (Shastri K. and Stout D.E. 2008) The dual roles of budgeting gives rise to agency problems in the budget-setting process and affect the accuracy of budgets. Majority of participants seek to maximize their personal gain during the process of setting budgets. Once, goal congruence is not achievable, there are conflicts of interest between company and employees, and this is where the agency problems are occurred. Tying budget targets to compensation contracts encourages ma nagers to game the budgeting system to increase the probability they will receive positive performance evaluations and, therefore, any related bonus (Libby T., and Lindsay M., 2007). Budget gaming is when managers are use to receive positive performance. For examples, when companies are using budget integrated with incentive program, managers will try they best to show a good performance but gaming the budgets. Managers might defer necessary expenditures (such as, maintenance of machine, advertising cost, research and development) to meet current period budget targets, which will affect effectiveness and efficiency of company. Besides that, managers will take big bath when budget targets could not be attained, which mean the effort of producing the budget is not appreciated. Using budget as the tools of evaluating performance will lead to negative behavioral consequences. Budgets can still be useful in the current environment Budget should use as the basic for performance evaluation but not the only means to evaluate performance. As mentioned above, solely focus on budget as the only way to evaluate performance and compensate managers will result in agency problems. Agency problems will lead to company underperformance. Budget can be useful once, the incentive program is not mostly depending on it. In order to measure performance, budget is not the only option; companies should design an effective performance measurement system by integrated financial2 and non-financial3 indicators as tools of measuring efficiency or performance. Moreover, companies should design an effective system which can link to strategy and goals of the organization to encourage goal congruence, recognize controllability and emphasize on employees empowerment. By designing a system besides budget to measure performance can solve agency problem. Measure performance of managers based on controllability and responsibility, which mean t op management should back out non-controllable variances before comparing actual to budget. For instance, companies such as Allstate, Fujitsu, Nationwide Financial Services, Owens Corning, Sprint and Texaco, are compensating the managers for achieving measurable results (Banham, R. 2000). For example, when evaluate performance of production managers should back out the machine breakdown hours, because it was not under his controllability but is engineers responsibility. Besides that, provide incentive to managers who manage to generate an accurate budget, managers will tend to provide secret information to the budget, thus, it make the budget more accurate. In addition, Hope and Fraser propose a new management model to take the place of budgeting for control purposes. This new model is based on employee empowerment and alternative methods of performance management, which to suit the requirement of todays highly challenging environment (Libby T., and Lindsay M., 2007). Financial indicator such as, return on investment (ROI), residual income (RI) and economic value added (EVA). Non-financial indicator such as, benchmarking, balance-score card, customer satisfaction measures, defect measures, product quality measures, accident measures, machine downtime measures, delivery time measures and etc. Moreover, there is a new model which known as Beyond Budgeting was developed by two consultants, Jeremy Hope and Robin Fraser, in order to find and develop alternative tools to the planning and budgeting process (Abdullah N.B. 2008).This new model is based on employee empowerment and alternative methods of performance management (Libby T., and Lindsay M., 2007). Most of the organizations which are high profile companies, have abandoned the major annual budget preparation, the Beyond Budgeting Round Table (BBRT4) members realized that attempts to make incremental changes to improve the budgeting system by introducing zero-based, activity-based or faster budgeting are not solving the problems caused by the fast-changing business world (Abdullah N.B. 2008), but to change the underlying culture of contract, compliance and control embedded in the traditional budgeting. Beyond Budgeting model, BBRT have developed a generic model that is based on 12 principles to create a flexible a responsive management model with an underlying culture of responsibility, enterprise and learning. Companies that operate in a business environment that is market led, highly competitive and unpredictable, and in which intellectual capital is the key strategic resource; and which have already successfully implemented various management tools like the Balanced Scorecard, Activity-Based Management and Rolling Forecast, should be the ideal candidate for the Beyond Budgeting model. The BBRT is the combination of a new concept (beyond budgeting) and a community (round table). The BBRT community is an independent research collaborative that shares its knowledge across its global network through conferences and workshops. Source: Abdullah N.B. 2008. Chapter 3: Scenario of Corporate Planning and Budgeting in a rapidly changing environment. These 6 principles (Table 1.a) concern creating a flexible organizational structure in which authority is devolved to employees. The following 6 principles (Table 1.b) deal with designing an adaptive management process for a flexible organizational structure. Table 1.b: The 12 Beyond Budgeting Principles and Practices Source: Abdullah N.B. 2008. Chapter 3: Scenario of Corporate Planning and Budgeting in a rapidly changing environment. Conclusion Budgeting, despite being proven to effectively act as one of the building blocks of management control system, was commonly viewed as a restriction of companies flexibility and competitive ability. Yet, despite various criticisms, budgets are in fact alive and well, rather than becoming obsolete, most organizations use a traditional budget because they are easy to put together and simplify coordination of budget assumptions across different departments. This is the simplest method of budgeting. But, indeed, with a traditional budgeting, company might be underperformance. In order to be more competitive in today challenging world, adopting advanced budgeting approaches is needed as it is focus on empowerment employees as well as responsibility.

Writing Technology :: Writing Technology Technological Papers

Writing Technology How many times in an average day does one think about how their shoes were made, and how the invention has evolved over the years? A person could never know the full extent of it until they tried to make a pair with only the simplest of materials to use. It is so easy to say that society does not know what they have until it is gone. For this project every tool that I have ever used for writing was taken away, and it left me more than a little frustrated. It is so hard to think about going through a day without a pen, pencil, or marker to use at will. These things have become as standard as the shoes we wear on our feet. Society knows why it has them, but they do not know to what extent until they are taken away or simplified beyond recognition. There is so much thought that has to go into making something to write with. Ideas can become so complex and intricate. Most of the ideas that I came up with were just too much in the sense that I was making it harder than it needed to be. Being that I am an impatient person, I was looking for something that I could do pretty quickly. I started to look at what was available to me, and I realized that hey I live in Michigan; there are a lot of rocks around. I did not want to lug a bunch of huge, heavy things around, and so I focused on the smaller pebbles and stones instead. I found a sandy area close to where I found the rocks, and shaped small piles of them into letters. This idea was a decent one by my standards, and it was legible when it was completed. I formed the word ‘rock’ with the stones. Toward the end I did get lazy though and used twigs I found for the last letter. Upon finishing, I realized the final outcome would last for a while, but it is not transportable. This could be a problem in a more realistic setting. I can not imagine taking notes in class with stones and having to leave it there. This would make studying nearly impossible. After contemplating this for a while I came up with a plan of attack. Many ideas that have come about in the technology of writing have built on other ideas (Baron, Dennis, 36).

Essay --

Introduction: The Basis for Nuclear Power The technological and scientific undertaking on the discovery of actinides such as uranium, plutonium, and neptunium cannot be ignored. It led, for example to the Manhattan Project of 1945; a Cold War arms race between the United States and the Soviet Union; and more recently, the active development of nuclear weapons by proliferating states, such as North Korea and Iran1-2. Although the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) in 1970 called for peaceful applications of nuclear technology, including technological by-products, derived from nuclear weapons3, environmental problems remain a concern as a byproduct of this age . In accordance to the NPT, efforts to recycle weapons-grade material, as a new energy source, has become an attractive alterative for power generation of the world’s electrical power supply via fuel reactors for two reasons. First, it can curb cost and foreign dependency of oil, by allowing the United States to invest their domestic policies on further development of their nuclear reactors programs. For instance, by August 2000, the average price paid by U.S. refineries for a barrel of oil had risen from $10 to $30 as defined by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)4. Second, nuclear power can take the place of burning fossil fuels by reducing carbon dioxide emission thereby addressing the concern of the greenhouse effect4. Even though nuclear power, accounts for 13-14% worldwide energy5, if nuclear fuel can produce electricity more cheaply compared to coal, gas, or oil, then the desire to be independent of international trade for energy supplies is indeed worthwhile. In sum, nuclear power is a remarkable solution for peaceful uses of energy especially i... ... (CTR) program: the consolidation and security of loose nukes from the former Soviet Union in the nuclear arsenal stockpile21, should also extend to the containment and security of new technologies, such as UOFs at designated nuclear engineering facilities in the United States. As a result, this will help inflate compliance to the NPT, and more importantly, reduce the likelihood of theft from threatening parties. Conclusion Uranyl organic frameworks, as a new fuel alternative is indeed an exciting and promising technology that can mitigate the nuclear waste problem in the United States. Even though UOFs introduce new issues in global security via nuclear proliferation and nonproliferation, the current and proposed safeguards of UOFs will help strengthen the United States posture in the international community by their continual adherence and transparency to the NPT. Essay -- Introduction: The Basis for Nuclear Power The technological and scientific undertaking on the discovery of actinides such as uranium, plutonium, and neptunium cannot be ignored. It led, for example to the Manhattan Project of 1945; a Cold War arms race between the United States and the Soviet Union; and more recently, the active development of nuclear weapons by proliferating states, such as North Korea and Iran1-2. Although the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) in 1970 called for peaceful applications of nuclear technology, including technological by-products, derived from nuclear weapons3, environmental problems remain a concern as a byproduct of this age . In accordance to the NPT, efforts to recycle weapons-grade material, as a new energy source, has become an attractive alterative for power generation of the world’s electrical power supply via fuel reactors for two reasons. First, it can curb cost and foreign dependency of oil, by allowing the United States to invest their domestic policies on further development of their nuclear reactors programs. For instance, by August 2000, the average price paid by U.S. refineries for a barrel of oil had risen from $10 to $30 as defined by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)4. Second, nuclear power can take the place of burning fossil fuels by reducing carbon dioxide emission thereby addressing the concern of the greenhouse effect4. Even though nuclear power, accounts for 13-14% worldwide energy5, if nuclear fuel can produce electricity more cheaply compared to coal, gas, or oil, then the desire to be independent of international trade for energy supplies is indeed worthwhile. In sum, nuclear power is a remarkable solution for peaceful uses of energy especially i... ... (CTR) program: the consolidation and security of loose nukes from the former Soviet Union in the nuclear arsenal stockpile21, should also extend to the containment and security of new technologies, such as UOFs at designated nuclear engineering facilities in the United States. As a result, this will help inflate compliance to the NPT, and more importantly, reduce the likelihood of theft from threatening parties. Conclusion Uranyl organic frameworks, as a new fuel alternative is indeed an exciting and promising technology that can mitigate the nuclear waste problem in the United States. Even though UOFs introduce new issues in global security via nuclear proliferation and nonproliferation, the current and proposed safeguards of UOFs will help strengthen the United States posture in the international community by their continual adherence and transparency to the NPT.

Attention levels in children

Topic: Observe a child of under five years and comment on their attention levels in relation to the research carried out by Cooper, Moodey and Reynell ('78). Is their attention at an age appropriate level? Child observed: Hamza Age: 1 year 5 months Attention level develops as a child grows, it develops with age, helping a child concentrate better on his surroundings and learn new things. It is also very important for language development. Hamza is a one and a half year old child who is ery active and is seen getting into mischief at all times of the day.He has a single track of mind when it comes to doing things his way and he is seen playing with his toys for hardly a few minutes at a time. He is fonder of playing with electrical appliances and will cry and whine until he gets what he wants. Then one can see him playing and laughing for a long time. One of his favourite activities is playing with a torch light. He will sit on the floor and play with it, switching it on and off, unti l its atteries run out. Then he starts to whine and his attention has to be diverted with another activity.Hamza likes to open and close the drawers, causing frequent mishaps. At this time, he is not willing to listen to anyone who calls him and does not respond to his name being called out. At times, he screams if he is called over and over again while he is playing with the drawers, indicating that he did not like the interruption. He will rush back into the room and start opening them and exploring he contents of the drawer if someone carries him out and tries to divert his attention.Thus, he displays the rigid attention stage, as he is not easily distracted from his activities. The best way of distracting him is by getting him to play hide and seek. He will forget all about his mischievous activities and rush to search anyone who is hiding, peeping behind the curtains. Then one can see him playing for hours at an end, and frequently the adults get tired of his innocent play, but he continues o play happily, running to go and hide behind the curtains.Here again he displays the rigid attention stage, where he has to be distracted by an activity which he enjoys and the adult ahs to follow his lead, thus motivating him. He displays bouts of anger when he does not get what he wants or when things are not done as he pleases. His rigid attention stage is visible once again when it is time for him to eat. He will not eat a single morsel of food, no matter how he is coaxed until he sees an airplane flying by. As he s busy waving â€Å"Bye! to the airplane, one places a morsel of food into his mouth. After that his mother plays with him as she helps him finish his meal. At this stage he is beyond the fleeting attention stage, as he is better able to concentrate on what he is doing and enjoy his activities. However, he displays clear signs of rigid behavior at this age. Thus, his attention levels are at an age appropriate level in relation to the research by Cooper, Moodey and Reynell.

Environmental Case Study Essay

Malathion is a type of pesticide that is usually used in health pest control programs. For example, in mosquito eradication. It is used in various areas and public recreation areas. Other synonyms of Malathion include ‘carbofos’ ‘maldison’ and mercaptothion. It has been used in the past, to eradicate mosquito, Mediterranean fruit fly and the West Nile virus. Malathion use needs to be assessed well. In any urban set up, people are at a very high risk of being affected in case of careless use of this pesticide. Towns support a large number of populations, together with their facilities. As a member of the town council, it would be very crucial for me to carry out a risk assessment exercise before embarking on Malathion use in and around the town. The states of risk assessment will include: hazard identification, dose-response, exposure and risk characterization. In hazard identification, the hazards of using Malathion are identified together with their consequences. Hazards can be grouped into several major groupings. One major group is hazards of Malathion use on human beings. In an urban set up, a large population of people is concentrated at one point. For example, what danger can Malathion use be, if absorbed or ingested into the human body or if present in water sources. If Malathion use can case disorders in unborn babies is also identified. Another category of hazard identification is, hazards Malathion use may cause on the natural environment. This includes vegetation and even soil components. Both domestic and wild animals could be affected by its use. Just like humans, what consequences does Malathion use result to, if absorbed or ingested into the animals’ bodies. The soil interaction with the pesticide means, Malathion use can as well be a hazard to it. Soil supports life on the planet. Chemicals that would change soil composition puts at risk other life forms that depend on that soil. It would be very vital to identify Malathion use hazard and consequences on the environment that people live in. It would also be important to identify hazards of Malathion components on the water bodies. People, animals and plants use water. Identifying the hazards Malathion- contained water may expose to them is crucial in any risk assessment exercise. Dose-response This term refers to the change in effect caused by differing levels of pesticide use (Malathion) in an organism. Organisms can be affected in differing ways, by differing levels of Malathion use. Dose-response assessment would be very critical since, it helps one to identify consequences of Malathion use on organisms. It would be good, to note the effects of Malathion on organisms that exist on that environmental set up. If differing levels of exposure or doses to a stressor triggers change in effect of organisms, the effects will assist in recognizing the risks people, animals or plants are exposed to (Baker et al). Exposure of Malathion use, in risk assessment causes changes in effect of organisms. At this state, chemical components of Malathion, plus their doses are analyzed to determine effects they may have on organisms. For example, quantities of Malathion that differ will not have similar effects on either organisms or the environment. For example chronic exposure to low levels of Malathion have been hypothesized to impair memory. (U. S department of Health and Human Services, retrieved on 2008). This would need to be established if it is true or not. Possible effects of Malathion doses should be established and research done on them, for confirmation before a mission to use Malathion is embarked on. Risks can be characterized depending on affected subjects, areas affected or systems affected. Previous studies have indicated human deaths from Malathion use. Others include intestinal disorders in children, children leukemia, lung damage and kidney damage. Human birth defects have been confirmed in women exposed to Malathion lice shampoo. Malathion results to brain damage and chromosome defects in human blood cells. Genes could also be lost. The immune system is weakened, where there is increased risk of bacteria or viral infection. Animal deaths have occurred and tumors detected on their bodies. Heart defects appear in exposed fish. (Epidemology, 1992: World Health Organization: Edwards et al, 2007) As a result of the risk assessment, I would not vote for the use of Malathion in Genericville city. The hazard exposed to the people, animals and the environment is too great. The effects outweigh any justification for Malathion use. It would be good if other options of controlling the pest were completely exhausted before using the Malathion. Economically, Malathion use could result to extra costs incurred to correct its negative effects on the people, animals and environment. It may lead to political conflicts. Where the community does not agree with Malathion use, use by the council authority will result to disagreements with the community. References Baker E. et al. 1978. Epidemic Malathion poisoning in Pakistan malaria workers Edwards J. et al. 2007. Worker exposure and a risk assessment of Malathion and fenthion Used in the control of Mediterranean fruit fly in south Australia. Environ. Re. 103 (1) Mediterranean fruit fly in south Australia. Environ. Re. 103 (1) Epidemology: Jan 1992. 3 (1): 32-39 U. S Department of Health and Human Services: agency for toxic substances and disease Registry- medical guidelines for Malathion. Retrieved on 15 April 2008 World health organization www. //who. int/entity/water-sanitation-health/dwq/chemicals/malathion/en Retrieved on 15April 2008

Rococo, French Baroque and Classicism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Rococo, French Baroque and Classicism - Essay Example Rococo art is characterized by elegance compared to the classical approach which emphasized grandeur and symmetry making it a prerogative and preference of the aristocracy. It is more ornate whose approach complements the overall architecture and paintings of a home or structure and is praised for its aesthetic qualities. It objective is to appeal to the senses of its audience rather than evoke or stimulate the intellect. It strives for no deeper meaning other than to be beautiful and ornamental. Thus, it serves the elegant taste and ornamental use of the aristocrats making it their prerogative. For example, the murals that adorn the buildings and the homes of the aristocrats in the eighteenth century were Rococo in approach attesting their preference and for the art movement. The Rococo as an art movement was not received well from its inception and had been criticized as superficial owing to its ornamental and aesthetic approach. This criticism came from the perspective of the prev ailing art genre during that time which was French Baroque and Classicism. As an art movement, it even took a while for Rococo art to be formally recognized by art historians that only in the mid nineteenth century was it formally recognized. Having said this, philosophers became critical of the Rococo movement because it emphasizes elegance and aesthetics which run in contrast to philosophy which emphasizes depth and search for meaning. Philosophy is also particular about rules, symmetry and harmony which Rococo.

Leadership and Motivation Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Leadership and Motivation - Assignment Example ese steps include identifying the important priorities, considering the ability and commitment of the available staff and application of the best situational leadership (Learn to be a leader, n.d.). For instance, a manager can determine the staffs level of maturity and competence and after that, adjust their leadership to support the least mature staff while offering the mature staff more room to operate with minimum support. A manager has to understand perfectly the key role of the human resources department (HR). A HR department ensures that an organization reaps benefits from its investment in its staff. Hence, performance can be hampered when an experienced executive assistant discovers that he/she earns the same amount of money as a newly hired janitor. To effectively correct the discrepancies in the payment of the employees, a newly appointed manager can initiate an employee performance appraisal (PA). The PA will enable the organization to make informed choices, such as the contribution of the executive assistant and the janitor to the organization. Once their contribution is analyzed and identified, the management can come up with an effective remuneration plan that matches the input and contribution of the individual employee (Daft, 2013). Specifically, the new manager can also employ rewarding and resourcing as specific HR strategies to address the situation. Through a reward policy, the organization would ensure that its best employees are rewarded for the great job that they are doing. This means that, even if the basic salary for the executive assistant and the janitor are equal, the executive assistant will receive a reward on top of their salary based on the successful application of their work. The company’s decision to offer semiannual bonuses is a good motivation strategy for its employees (Daft, 2013). If employed correctly, such a motivational tool can help in the retaining and motivation of the staff during the tough economic times. The

Contract between criminological theories Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Contract between criminological theories - Essay Example Some of the most common approaches that explain crime include the classicism and the positivism approaches. Under the classicism approach, there are control theories, which explain the causes of crime. With regard to the positivism approach, there is biological positivism, which can be regarded as instrumental in explaining the causes of crime. This paper will explore the usefulness of biological positivism and control theory in explaining assault as offense. The usefulness of control theory in explaining assault as a crime Unlike other theories of crime, which aim at exploring why people commit crime, control theories aim at examining the reasons why many people do not commit a crime. According to control theorists, the reasons why people commit crime should not be explained because people tend to suffer from some weaknesses that make them commit crime. Control theories focus on controlling factors, which can be considered as absent in people’s personality. While explaining c rime, the control theory focuses on the interplay between sociological, psychological, and psychiatric factors. The most notable theorist who expounded the control theory is Travis Hirschi who developed the theory in 1969 (Gottfredson and Hirschi, 1990). Control theory can be termed as instrumental in explaining assault as an offence. ... As such, those who choose to carry out assault are motivated to do so by the choices they make. This shows that the social control theory can be said to be connected more with the classical school that the positivist school (Gottfredson & Hirschi 2001, p.70). The social control theory holds that there tends to be shared beliefs, norms, as well as values in the society. Criminals who engage in assault share the belief that there is a need to follow the rules in society. Moreover, based on the social control theory, offense such as assault can be regarded as behaviour that can be predicted, but the society cannot control it. The social control theory contends that although every person is taught to conform to the norms of society, offenders find it hard to cope to these norms. Rather, they break down the rules even if they know the sanctions and consequences that result from breaking the rules. Based on the social control theory, crime can be seen to result from the lack of relationshi ps with other people in society. Therefore, delinquency such as assault results from the failure to engage in these relationships, which leads to the freeing of individuals from social constraints (Siegel 2012, p.45). The social control theory is useful in understanding crime with its explanation of the role of parenting in the acquisition of delinquent behaviour. Based on the theory, family bonds and social bonds play a crucial role in determining whether people will become offenders. At a young age, children’s social control emanates from interactions with their parents. Poor parental attachment can be regarded as a cause of delinquent behaviour. In this regard, children who are overly attached to their parents have the possibility of not

Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Assignment - Essay Example Through the trial and error of experience society has a system of allowing us to find which system works for us. For example going to college right after high school or getting a job both systems yields results. We decide which is best for us as individuals. 2. Guided by the discipline’s three major theoretical approaches come up with sociological questions about (a) television, (b) war, and (c) colleges and universities. How has television changed in the approach to children’s programs? Well children’s programming is becoming more and more adult in nature. Sexual implications are now acceptable content for children’s animations and cartoons even some language has become acceptable. Children should not be exposed to such things. Children copy what they see. A child should behave as a child not an adult. How has war (unable to resolve conflicts) affected our society? Well war to me is any unresolved conflict whether or not it’s a battle in the field or in the office the results during and after war are pieces trying to come together. The situation in Libya is an unresolved conflict over government regime. That unresolved conflict has resulted in the rising of gas prices.

Reflective Journal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Reflective Journal - Essay Example It is our destination and the process of reaching the end of that destination. It is the real meaning of Martin Luther King Jr.’s vision: a sympathetic community where race and social class is surpassed and economic and social justice is the tenet and not the exclusion. It is as well the vision of this empowerment paradigm to social work tradition. The paradigm becomes profound and stretches out to integrate further explanation of how-to and for what reason, enlarged by stronger professional, community, multiethnic, multicultural and global points of view on empowerment mechanism and the commemoration of differences. Countless individuals still desire to live in a society where dearly loved community can be built, where caring bonds of affection and knowing unite us together through our differences. We just cannot give up that yearning. We call for such ties not for the reason that we embrace utopian dreams but because we have wrestled throughout our loves to build this community. The petite circles of affection and care we have been able to shape in our personal lives embody a tangible realistic note that beloved community is not a fantasy, that it previously is present for those of us who have carried out the task of enlightening ourselves for higher consciousness. Ambivalence and indecision indicate the likelihood of resistance. The social work business can be signified as a victorious hegemonic knowledge, yet it cannot attain absolute finality on its manner of perceiving the world: One of the unique features is the pursuit for ties of mutuality and collective identities, through which individuals and their concerns and motives are shaped and which transcend involved exchanges between individualized individuals. This pursuit may have been diminished, yet it has not been totally eliminated. There are other discussions wrestling for articulation from users of services provided by social work: types of

Exploring the Past Essay Example for Free

Exploring the Past Essay All of us have little secrets which we don’t want to share with others – things which we are ashamed of, things which are too intimate to tell or just things which happened in the past and we don’t want to tell them because they may hurt someone or they may cause troubles to us. I have the perfect example that exploring the past sometimes may be painful. I have a friend – Lora- which is very amorous and gives all of herself for her boyfriend. But her ex one didn’t understand that. Tom – her ex-boyfriend was very weird and he wanted to know all about Lora’s previous relationships. One day he asked her why she has broken up with her last boyfriend. At first she didn’t want to talk about that but he was urging her. So she told Tom that she has betrayed her last boyfriend and that was the reason of their parting. When she has been at a party at a friend of her she has got very drunk and a boy from the party has embraced the opportunity and got alone with her. In the morning she couldn’t remember anything but it has been too late. The lover had gone off. Her only fault was that she had drunk so much but she wasn’t guilty for the rest of the occurrence. But her then boyfriend didn’t understand that and he left her although she loved him very much. As for Tom he thought Lora could do that again. They have been together for two years and he chucked her up because she might repeat the same mistake again. It was such a stupid reason. She could correct her mistake but she loved Tom very much. He loved her too but feelings were obviously insufficient to keep them together. They both pined after each other for a long but they didn’t get together again. We can’t return the time and fix our mistakes, nobody can change the past. So it is extremely purposeless to explore the old times. It’s just a waste of time which we can spend in creating the future.

Alcohol Composition Analysis

Alcohol Composition Analysis ALCOHOL Chemical Composition (ingredients) of 4 types of alcoholic beverages: The ingredients differ according to each beverage but there are a couple that are available in all of them, these are water and ethanol. These two ingredients are essential in every alcoholic beverage. Champagne can only be made from white Chardonnay grapes and red Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier grapes. It’s usually a blend of two or three of the grapes, but is sometimes just made from one (though rarely is Champagne made from just Pinot Meunier). Champagne made entirely from Chardonnay is called â€Å"blanc de blancs† (meaning white wine from white grapes), and Champagne made entirely from Pinot Noir is called â€Å"blanc de noirs† (meaning white wine from black grapes). Even though black grapes are used, the wine itself is never red. The skins (where the pigment resides) are removed immediately after the grapes are pressed, which keeps the juice clear. The only exception is with rosà © Champagne. Rosà © can be produced by leaving the skins in the juice just long enough to tint it, or by producers adding red Pinot Noir wine directly to the blend. This second method allows them to create the same color each year. Carbon dioxide is added in the process which cre ates the fizzy bubbles. Vodka is usually made from rye or potatoes if it is from Eastern Europe and molasses from other parts of the world. It contains flavors derived from wheat, grain or starch. Apart from the main raw material, the other major constituent of your bottle of Vodka is water. Over 60% of your bottle is composed of water, so its purity is of utmost importance to the taste of your vodka. Quite an elaborate purification process is undertaken. Tequila is made with the fermented sap of the blue agave plant; tequila is produced in and around the town of Tequila in Mexico’s Jalisco province. Many superior brands of tequila are made entirely from Blue Agave, and will say so on the label. Tequila can also be made with a mixture of agave and other ingredients, like sugarcane—these products are called mixto tequilas. Malt whisky must contain no grain other than malted barley and is traditionally distilled in pot stills. Grain whisky may contain unmalted barley or other malted or unmalted grains such as wheat and maize (corn) and is typically distilled in a continuous column still. Color and flavoring chemicals are added to create that unique color and taste Methods and Procedures used in the production of alcoholic beverages: If the sparkling wine is produced outside of Champagne, France, but is made by the French Method, it is usually labeled Mà ©thode Champenoise. This is true of most American sparkling wines. Mà ©thode Champenoise, which is the method used in Champagne, involves several distinct steps. The key reaction of winemaking is alcoholic fermentation, the conversion of sugar into alcohol and carbon dioxide by yeast. The maximum amount of alcohol attained through alcoholic fermentation is about 15% because the yeast cells are killed by high alcohol concentration. The maximum alcohol content can be determined by multiplying 0.55 times the percent sugar initially present in the grape juice before fermentation. For example, if 24% sugar is initially present, about 13% (0.55 x 24) alcohol will be realized. Most still wines (i.e., table wines) contain 12 to 14% alcohol. The key process in producing Champagne is a SECOND fermentation that occurs in a sealed bottle. Theoretically, vodka can be made from almost any fermentable organic material from whey to molasses. Absolut Vodka, however, is made solely from grain, which more than 400 years of tradition has proven to produce the best and purest vodka possible. Absolut Vodka uses a special method of distillation that retains a smooth grain character and is extremely low in unwanted by-products. A few thousand years ago, someone made the bright discovery that when deprived of oxygen, the yeast cell turns sugar into carbon dioxide and ethanol. Fermented beverages are born. These beverages were eventually distilled, giving us dozens of different spirits, one of which is vodka. Fermentation is an extremely delicate and complicated process where the yeast cell converts the sugar in the mash to ethanol. The result is a mixture with an 8% alcohol content and a hundred or so by-products, some unpleasant tasting, some harmful. A concern for quality from the very beginning of the production process minimizes these impurities using only high quality grain, preparing the grain, safeguarding against bacteria and carefully controlling the fermentation process. Virtually all remaining impurities are removed in the distillation and rectification. Turning the fermented grain mash to vodka takes distillation. The principle has remained unchanged ever since it was discovered over a thousand years ago. There are two kinds of distillation: batch distillation and continuous distillation. Batch distillation is an age-old method used for many types of spirits. Refined to a high degree of sophistication, this method is still used in areas like Cognac and the Scottish highlands to make cognac and whisky. Absolut Vodka, however, is distilled using the second method, continuous distillation. This type of distillation builds on the same laws of physics as batch distillation. The essential difference is that the spirit is cycled back and forth producing a very pure final product. Continuous distillation turns the 8% fermented mash into crude spirit with an alcohol concentration by volume of 85-90% (170-180 proof). The last step is rectification, a method of removing unwanted by-products introduced over a century ago by the man on the bottles medallion Lars Olsson Smith. The crude spirit passes through a number of columns, each designed to remove a different set of impurities. One column extracts unpleasant tasting solvent compounds; another removes fusel oil; a third methanol; a fourth concentrates the spirit 96% pure alcohol by volume and extremely low in impurities. It is here we are faced with the dilemma of vodka production distillation and rectificati on technology have advanced so far towards producing absolutely pure vodka that it has also succeeded in removing trace elements that give vodka the character of the raw material from which it is made. Absolut Vodka has solved this dilemma by, parallel to the main distillation, producing a spirit where the goal is to retain the fine character of the grain. The final composite spirit, produced at or above 95% alcohol by volume (190 proof), has that unique smooth and fine character. Exactly how this is done is a well-kept secret. The process of making tequila begins with the jima, the harvest, and the jimadores, those responsible for growing and eventually harvesting the agave plant. The plant will be weighed, cut up in halves or quarters, and cooked. The modern method involves using steel pressure cookers called autoclaves. The latter approach cooks the plant faster. Fortunately, flavor doesnt vary with either process. Agave is cooked to transform starches into sugars, which will then become transformed into alcohol. To extract the agua miel, or honey water, the cooked fruit passes through grinding blades. Fibers are sprayed with water, ensuring all sugars are released. Leftover fibers, known as bagazo, are generally used as fertilizer for agave fields. The juices are now ready to be fermented. This is each tequila starts to acquire its unique taste and classification. If the producer wants 100% agave tequila, then the juice passes straight to fermentation vessels. However, if he wants mixto tequila (not 100 % agave tequila), then the agua miel (honey water) must be placed in formulation tanks. Sugarcane or molasses sugar are then added to the juice. Only then can the mixto be placed in fermentation vessels. Now’s the time alcohol begins to appear. Producers will introduce yeasts. These can either be chemical catalysts or natural ingredients. The tanks are lightly heated and carbon dioxide is released, giving the agave juice 5% alcohol content per volume. The mosto, or fermented agave juice, is finally ready for distillation. The juice will be heated to alcohol’s vaporization point and then cooled and condensed to create ordinario (ordinary in English). Tequila is distilled to increase its alcohol content. Becomes tequila blanco. You could try to drink this ordinario, but chances are you’d be blinded and intoxicated afterwards! That is why Mexican law requires all tequila to be distilled twice. The mosto can be distilled three or even four times for top-shelf tequil a. The first distillation will remove all â€Å"heads† and â€Å"tails†, the first and last portions of the distilled product. These contain bad alcohols and other impurities, which is why they must be discarded in favor of a quality (and safe) drink. A second distillation determines the percent of alcohol the tequila will have. Premium tequila will aim for 40% alcohol per volume. A bulk, mixto, or lower quality spirit instead aims for 55% alcohol per volume, which will be later diluted with purified water. Tequila then will be aged depending of the final product that is wanted. There are five stages in the production of whiskey, malting, mashing, fermentation, distillation and maturation. Barley contains starch and it is this starch which needs to be converted into soluble sugars to make alcohol. For this to occur, the barley must undergo germination and this first part of the process is called malting. Each distiller needs a type that produces high yields of soluble sugar. The barley is soaked for 2-3 days in warm water and then spread on the floor of a building called a malting house. When the barley has started to shoot, the germination has to be stopped by drying it. The barley is now called malt and this is ground down in a mill, with any husks and other debris being removed. Now we begin the â€Å"mashing† step. The ground down malt, grist, is now added to warm water to begin the extraction of the sugars. The liquid combination of malt and water is called the mash. It is put into a large vessel called a mash turn and stirred for several hours. The liquid that comes out of that is called wort. This process is normally carried out three times with the water temperature being increased each time to extract the maximum amount of sugar. Only wort from the first two times is used. The third lot is put back into the next batch of new grist. Any residue, such as husks, is called draff. This is collected and used in the production of farm feed. â€Å"Fermentation† begins when the wort is cooled and passed into large tanks called washbacks. These are traditionally made of wood, but now a number of distilleries use stainless steel. Here the yeast is added and the fermentation begins. The yeast turns the sugars that are present into alcohol. As with the barley and water, the distiller will carefully select the strain of yeast that they use and it can also have a small effect on the final flavor of the spirit. The fermentation normally takes around 48 hours to run its natural course, although some distilleries will let it go fo r longer so as to create further characteristics that they require. The liquid at this stage is called wash and is low in alcohol strength (between 5-10% ABV), like beer or ale. Alcohols from the beginning of the distillation (called foreshots) are very high in alcohol level and very pungent. Alcohols from the end (called feints) are weak but also pungent. It is only the alcohol from the middle or heart of the distillation that is used and this is skillfully removed by a stillman and collected through the spirit safe. The foreshots and feints are then mixed with the next batch of low wines and re-distilled. The heart is the spirit that is then taken to be matured and that will become whisky. This heart has an alcoholic strength of 65-70% ABV. The final step is â€Å"maturation†. The spirit is put into oak casks and stored. The most common types of oak casks are those that have previously been used in the American bourbon and Spanish sherry industries. The spirit must mature i n casks for a minimum of three years before it is legally allowed to be called whisky in Scotland. During maturation, the flavors of the spirit combine with natural compounds in the wood cask and this gives the whisky its own characteristic flavor and aroma. Why do people drink? People resort to alcohol for many reasons. Some people drink it because they like the taste and feeling that alcohol gives them