Reading and reviewing Diefendorf In the Wake of War Essay

In 1945 intense bombing gave the Germans a unique opportunity comprehensively to redesign their towns and cities. The damage to the urban fabric was so great that reconstruction was expected to take sixty years. It took ten. Yet, the bland architecture of many cities today suggests that the Germans squandered their chances. They certainly demolished too much and arguably restored to little pre-war life and spirit of many of their finest towns. They could have done better; but, as In The Wake of War. The Reconstruction of German Cities after World War II, by Jeffry Diefendorf shows, they faced constraints which were as complex and critical as those affecting their economic recovery. The scale of the damage was staggering. The rubble from the ten worst-affected large cities lone would have covered Hyde Park to a depth of 500 feet. Moreover, capable planners and architects were scarce. Diefendorf, a professor of history at the University of New Hampshire, has written an excellent, extensively researched book on the reconstruction of war-damaged German cities after 1945. This reconstruction involved in part the massive clearance of rubble from streets and building sites; yet it also required a comprehensive rethinking of planning, architecture, and building law. German city planners had to resolve several dilemmas. First, they needed to distance German cities from their Nazi past, yet also restore legitimate architectural landmarks. Second, German planners’ alliance with the growing international modernist movement conflicted with this concern for historic preservation. Finally, the grand hopes of comprehensively redesigning the outmoded city centers were constrained by the urgent need for basic housing. In this scholarly study addressed to students of history, architecture, city planning, and development, Jeffrey M. Diefendorf makes two broad and interrelated contributions. He delineates the activities, ideas, and institutional processes that accompanied the rebuilding of many of West Germany’s ruined cities after World War II; and he shows that the country’s urban reconstruction between 1945 and 1955-60, when reviewed structurally, was influenced by manifest material exigencies as well as notable prior urban planning and design traditions. Many had emigrated in the 1930s. Those who worked under the Nazis were now distrusted or dismissed. These difficulties were compounded by shortages of power, equipment and transport and by the Allied requisitioning and dismantling of essential equipment. There were further problems. Each city had had a distinctive pre-war character. Each was differently affected by bombing. Thus, each faced different reconstruction problems and proposed different solutions. There was no central administration, and Nazi planning arrangements were in abeyance; so co-ordination and planning controls were weak. Nor could municipalities start with a clean slate. Buildings, building lines and property rights still existed: even the rubble belonged to someone. Moreover, the best course of action was unclear. Prussian, Weimar and Nazi planning and architectural traditions remained strong yet were now unacceptable; and no agreed alternatives existed. Were they to restore the old or build something new? Architects, lanners, local councils, the Allied occupation authorities and the local populations all had conflicting preferences. Aspects of the Reconstruction The primary focus is on the early postwar years, from 1945 through the late 1950s. Though reconstruction efforts continued well into the 1960s (and some even to the present day), Diefendorf argues that by the late 1950s the explicit reconstruction of bombed cities gave way to a broader process of growth and modernization. In fact, Marshall Plan aid and the West German economic miracle accelerated what many in 1945 thought would be a forty-year reconstruction period. Diefendorf wisely examines the events leading up to 1945, from the Bauhaus architectural influences of the 1920s to wartime bombing and planning (including plans to build underground, bomb-proof fortress cities called Webrstadte). He spends an entire chapter on prewar German planning, and an especially interesting chapter on postwar planners; both are useful references for comparative work on the profession and its intellectual history. Diefendorf reminds us that urban reconstruction is a very complex and emotionally charged subject, since so many concerns, both practical and psychological, need to be satisfied. Right at the end of the war reconstruction would have to take place immediately in order to the major cities of Germany to recover and get back on its tracks. The need for structures from the wide variety of sectors in German cities would reasonably come from the German population eager to start their lives anew. Apart from the financial limitations and other hindrances in terms of resources, the reconstruction of the whole German cities and the German pride would have to come at a price—a substantial where the stakes encompass not only the physical but, more significantly, the emotional and psychological aspects of the planners, builders, and of the entire population. At the end of the war, the first desperate need was for shelter for the unhoused, tired, and defeated civilian population, augmented by refugees, expellees, and returning war veterans. This was the time of clearing the rubble by the famous â€Å"Trummerfrauen,† as it was also a time of conflict between private initiative and public control, a period of vast black market activities and widespread illegal building. These things, on a larger perspective, prove to be huge hindrances to the restoration of the integrity of the country as well as for the physical reconstruction of Germany’s major cities. Conditions changed as soon as the currency reform of 1948 had taken hold. There were, of course, still problems of expropriation and compensation of private property and there was no generally applicable agreement as to who had jurisdiction over the rebuilding process. As the book sheds light on the disparity over the jurisdiction rights over the reconstruction process, the struggle between the public control and private initiative nevertheless emphasized the parallel aim of reconstructing the fallen country. And although the town, the state, and the federal government had conflict in determining precisely who is responsible over certain areas and aspects of the reconstruction process, funds were eventually provided by a special equalization of burden tax. Behind the Pages: Redefining the Postwar German Reconstruction Focusing on the experience of over thirty of Germany’s largest cities, this is the first general account in English of the mighty efforts to rebuild urban Germany after 1945. The research effort and the command of detail are impressive and Diefendorf tells the involved tale with clarity and style. However, the treatment is uneven. It covers only the West Germany and concentrates on just four cities: Munich, Cologne, West Berlin and, especially, Hamburg. The book, in general, is excellent history, thorough, documented, well organized, and readable written. On its own terms, there is little to criticize although at some point the aspects worthy of criticism shelve out the idea of discrediting the whole book. The illustrations are excellently chosen, with striking before-and-after photos, although some city plans would have helped. The organization by subject rather than chronology—rubble clearance, architectural style, historical preservation, housing, city planning, law, and administrative organizations—works well, even if it occasionally demands separating one event into pieces in different chapters. The research apparently occupied the author for fifteen years, took him to numerous archives, and led him to interviews both of key participants and of other researchers. Its assiduousness shows in the result—shows perhaps too much, when we are given lists of planners or names of streets occasionally burden the text without adding to understanding. Newly found sources tend to direct attention out of proportion, but everything is clear, and by and large a suitable degree of skepticism is sprinkled over the self-serving quotations from participants. The distinctive East German reconstruction effort is omitted: East Berlin and Dresden rate only passing mention. Furthermore, the detailed discussion of architectural and planning principles, wartime planning and the local politicking is a trifle microscopic. I should have preferred fewer endnotes and a briefer bibliography, which together constitute over one quarter of the book. But the reconstruction of West Germany’s cities after 1945 remains a tale worth telling. In his structuralist perspective, the post war reconstruction of West Germany’s battered cities marked neither a radical break with the past nor a completely new beginning. He emphasizes that â€Å"significant continuities linked the periods before and after 45† (p. xvi). The emphasis on continuities does not, however, keep him from sketching the signal discontinuity created by the wartime â€Å"war against the cities. † The war had been awesome and awful: 45 percent of the housing stock had been destroyed or damaged. Urban Germans needed to clear mountains of rubble, to procure scarce materials and labor for reconstruction, to rebuild both legally and illegally in order to survive. The legal and illegal ways in which the Germans engaged themselves into all for the name of salvaging whatever they can from the ruins of the war is partially discussed in the book. The very existence of these twofold activities meant that by any possible means the reconstruction of the major German cities, towns, and the entire nations would have to be met. Yet this is the part where the book gathers the conviction to assert the idea that such an objective was not an easy task as it may have sounded. A lot of hindrances would have to be faced along the way such as financial constraints and conflict over who is going to be responsible for which specific areas are to be reconstructed, and on what buildings are to be erected. Diefendorf’s accent, however is on the â€Å"face of reconstruction†: on such issues as architectural styles and historic preservation and such problems as old an new housing, town planning, and building laws. These topics take up most of the book, and he derives credible conclusions in each case. Throughout, he shows the importance of the long-term historical context. The ties of the book with history is both necessary and interesting apart from the reason that postwar Germany is a good ground for substantiating on the idea of how a nation faces the most wretched conditions and is able to stand on its own, recovering almost immediately from a pace hardly achieved by any other country. In architecture, he suggests that a broadly conceived â€Å"modernist† style, although struggling with traditionalism and bowing to expediency, survived into the postwar period, becoming dominant in the late 1950s. As to historic preservation, German cities chose separate paths after settling on whether, how, â€Å"and under what conditions to rebuild the damaged shell† (p. 69). Hamburg, Berlin, Frankfurt, Hanover, and Stuttgart generally favored modernization; Munster, Freiburg, and Nuremberg emphasized their historic character; Lubeck, Cologne, and Munich took a middle path. The chapter contains excellent photographs, and Diefendorf observes that planners tended to prefer modernization whereas citizens’ groups called for preservation. Planning Amidst Reconstruction Difficulties Debates about architecture and political behavior had taken place since the 1920s. The book highlights the idea that traditional architecture, with its component of historic preservation, and its stress on regional domestic variations and native building materials, vied with more modern forms of city planning, with its emphasis on commerce, industry and transportation, particularly on traffic by car. In many cases the aerial bombardment had razed the center and most densely settled area of the city, and had provided the planners with a ready-made ground and the opportunity for modern rebuilding. Here was a chance to solve the problems of earlier unplanned urbanization that had been brought about by the industrialization. In a large number of cases, underground sewage, water, gas and electricity conduits were not heavily damaged and could be used again. The rapid rebuilding of the German cities, done within almost a decade, can only be understood in terms of previous long-term urban planning. Notably, German housing shortages dated back to the turn of the century. Far from abating during the Weimar Republic, they were further complicated and compounded during the Nazi regime. A housing crisis developed particularly during World War II, persisting into the postwar period partly because extensive new construction did not begin until the currency reform of 1948. Thereafter, modest residential housing units in both suburbs and inner cities began to appear across the Federal Republic. This outcome was aided by a broad consensus on housing construction, the passage of a federal housing law in 1950, as well as private and public funding (with small Marshall Plan funds acting as â€Å"lubricant†). In this case, it can be noted that the existence of housing predicaments paved the way for the attention of the public and private sectors. Diefendorf further notes that â€Å"the growth of a body planning law paralleled the growth of town planning in Germany in the late nineteenth century† (p. 222). This observation of the author corresponds to the belief that the increase in the reaches of Germany’s body planning law has something to do with the increase in the planning for the reconstruction of various parts of Germany. From the minor to the major towns and cities, the laws enacted by the states to set limits and definitions on ways that affect the reconstruction of the various regions led to a sweeping set of changes in the urban lives of the people. The prominent architects and city planners, who were in direct participation in the efforts of reconstruction during the early period of the postwar era, had accumulated their training during the Weimar Republic, had been actively participating during the Third Reich, and were more than eager to use their skills and competence in the service of building during the postwar era. They saw themselves as individuals belonging to the nonpolitical group, just as the large number of doctors had done. They were engaged essentially in developing the cities while straying away from the political domain and the influence of political groups that seek to control the reconstruction process to their advantage. Yet even if the laws were enacted, there were notable lapses that undermine the very purpose in which these laws were created. For instance, the laws â€Å"usually sufficed for laying out streets but typically failed to address the issue of what was erected behind the street facades† (p. 222). There were certain lapses that the book highlights, which veritably amounts to the presumption that even if there were salient legal efforts to boost the reconstruction process by setting legal definitions on the process, these were nevertheless not without certain unique lapses on their own. Predictably, the enduring housing problems had kept the planners busy during peace and war. Diefendorf emphasizes that postwar planning remained largely in the hands of pre-1945 planners who had gained experience in the years 1933-45 but whose plans tended to predate the Nazi regime. Despite the planner’s ambivalence about public input and their debatable insistence that they were â€Å"apolitical,† Diefendorf treats them and their plans generously; Freiburg and Cologne came to exemplify â€Å"conservative† planning, Kiel and Aachen demonstrated the â€Å"pragmatic† approach, while the â€Å"partial planning† of Mainz and Berlin â€Å"resembled that of most other West German cities† (p. 197). If the planners failed to solve the burgeoning postwar traffic problems, it was because they could not anticipate the speedy arrival and proliferation of private motor vehicles. Diefendorf makes it clear that planning the reconstruction of vast cities and towns is not a process under the helm of pure democracy. It was at the same time burdensome and difficult to reconcile the wishes of the whole mass of populations who desire to avert back their familiar environment. It was also difficult to reconcile the needs of an expanding and forward-looking economy under the oversight of a wide variety of public and private organizations. The book has two related flaws: It misstates its subject, and it is not interdisciplinary. Its real subject is the planning for the reconstruction of German cities after the war (and the organizational and legal problems that accompanied that planning), but not the economics, the politics, or the sociology of the reconstruction process itself. Its focus is on what planners said, what theories they held, what positions they occupied, a little about what they accomplished, and much more about what they did not accomplish. Along the way, many interesting questions are raised: Is there such a thing as Nazi planning? (Yes, but only in limited areas. ) Did planning evolve continuously from the Weimar Republic through the Nazi era to the postwar years, or was the Nazi period a sharp break in continuity? (No sharp break. ) Was reconstruction planning â€Å"successful? † (Under the circumstances, remarkably so, although, in hindsight, with many shortcomings. ) Yet it appears that the flesh and blood of reconstruction is apparently still to be found. Planners may â€Å"plan† cities, but they do not create the decisions on what gets built, or where, when, and how these buildings are to be built. Not unlike in the United States, in Germany after the war, developers, builders, financial institutions, property owners, and politicians concerend about taxes, were all key players, as sometimes were groups of citizens with nonfinancial and nonpolitical motivations. Briefly, in discussing why comprehensive planning laws did not get passed, the author shares some intimation of pressures from property owners; briefly, in discussing organizations, he avers that when major banks played a role in planning, things went more smoothly. Yet it may well be that the department-store, real-estate offices were more influential in what actually happened than the entire planner put together. Diefendorf displays understanding for the difficulties facing German planners, but his conclusions could be taken as the starting point for a critique of a functionalism stripped of aesthetic ambition. Postwar architecture tended to satisfy neither modernists nor traditionalists. Associated with a new building style n the 1920s, standardized housing of the 1940s and 1950s was no loner expected â€Å"to result in exciting buildings† (p. 61). Functionalist abandonment of aesthetic concerns was also evident in planning. Emphasizing broad functional tasks, most city planners concerned themselves chiefly with public health and safety and with the flow of traffic in the cities. Although there may have been brilliant city planners involved in the reconstruction process, the funding for the entire process have also hindered the attainment of utterly expensive and grand architectural buildings, owing perhaps to the book’s observation that the proper appropriation of the financial budget had to be carefully managed so as to meet the ends. The author quotes Leo Grebler, a real-estate economist familiar with market forces, to the effect that postwar German planning produced â€Å"traffic improvements and decongestion on central areas† (p. 347), but his explanation for the amelioration alludes only to the personalities of planners and planning theories. Diefendorf cites none of either the old or the new urban sociology, no urban politics, no social history to explain reactions to central planning, and no urban economics—nothing on the forces shaping cities worldwide in the postwar era. Further, the book notes that â€Å"the war’s devastation offered Germany a unique opportunity to correct the failings of the urban blight produced by the industrial and population expansion of the second half of the nineteenth century† (p. 275). One of the book’s most fascinating discussions concerns the transformation of the German planning profession from the Nazi period to the early postwar years.

Television Does More Harm Than Good

Television does more harm than good When the TV was invented, it impressed the whole world, so everyone since then seeks to buy a one. In the past TV was only has less than ten channels and it were locked in the latest hours of night. But now there is thousands or millions of satellite channels are broadcasted on TV. As a result the number of TV owners has risen until 98% of American households have a TV set and the same is true of most developed countries.In fact, television channels should be boycotted by the public because most of these channels broadcast valueless programs and sometimes telecast programs that have a negative effect on the spectator and society, so television does more harm than good. Supporter of television argue that TV plays an important role in the educational field by presenting science, geography, history and news programs. It also presents useful programs for children like â€Å"Sesame Street†.However TV viewing is essentially a passive activity that discourage critical thinking as it shows one side of view and does not show the other opposing views, so this makes people use to fanatic for their opinions and do not listen to other points of view. As a result of continuous actions the watcher does not have much time to think of what he watch, so most viewers especially children watch television indiscriminately. Unfortunately this matter does not stop on that, there is a research suggests that TV can slow down young children's speech development.There is a link between literacy problems and frequent TV viewing; similarly there is a link between TV and Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD). Those in favor of TV claim that, it is an innocent form of entertainment, especially for housebound elderly people and the physically handicapped. On the other hand television interferes with conversation, for example visitors often end up staring at â€Å"the box in the corner† instead of programs that spread fear and depression by focusing on violence, war, crime and various disasters.There is some evidence that seeing on-screen violence makes us less sensitive to the real thing. Proponents of TV sometimes suggest that TV makes the world a small village as it closes the gap between different nations and cultures, for example satellite TV news reaches people simultaneously all around the world, as result cultures approached from each other, so the understanding and respect rose between them.However the satellite channels are controlled by powerful western corporations and the culture of the programs is predominantly North America, European or Australian, so they service the interests of these corporations, as a result of that there is not an equal sharing of information, opinions or cultural expressions. Television is often used as a propaganda tool way to enter everyone's home and brain, so the powerful western corporations used it in a very subtle way to encourage materialism by developing a desire in developing cou ntries for Coca-Cola, Big Macs, fast cars and western fashion.In conclusion, television has become a tool in the hand of the western world by which they can control the rest world, so everyone should stop for seconds before switching on a TV and think of what he is coming to do, he must deduce that TV viewing accelerate the process of â€Å"Coca-colonization†, destroys the art of conversation, healthy, optimistic view of life and turns people into unthinking, illiterate â€Å"couch potatoes†. Just a drug addict must be fought in order to avoid an early death, so the world must switch off its TVs if it wishes to produce active and intelligent citizens.

Statutory Disclosure Analysis of Annual Report

Below Is the analysis of annual report of consumer product (Hub Seen) and instruction company (Sunday) in compliance to the financial reporting standard. FRR 107 statement of cash Flows Sunday is using direct method while Hub Seen is using indirect method in presenting their Cash Flow Statements in the respective Annual Reports. Direct Method is preferable since this method shows the cash payment and receipts which are this Information are useful to the users of the financial statement In predicting future cash flow.Thus Sunday is using method that more relevance to the user while Hub Seen is using method that less relevance for the users. FRR 121 The Effects of Changes in Foreign Exchange Rates Both Sunday and Hub Seen are exposed to the foreign exchange difference. For Sunday, it is arises from operation of its subsidiary that located outside Malaysia. While Hub Seen foreign currency difference Is mostly due to the purchases that denominated In other currencies from Its functional currency.But Hub Seen did not engaged with any formal hedging activities since the transaction is at an acceptable level where as, Sunday is applying natural hedging which is to reduce its risk in foreign currency by borrowing in the country they invested so that they can match he borrowing cost to the revenue earned. Therefore, the foreign exchange risk is reduced. So this information Is useful for the users since the Information Is relevant to predict the future In safeguarding their Investment In the respective companies.FRR 118 Revenue Both companies recognized its revenue according to the approved standard to the extent that it is probable economic benefits flow to the companies. Similar revenues that recognized by both companies are sale of goods, dividend, interest and rental income. The deferent is that, Sunday have more source of income which is sales of repertories under development, land and property Inventories; sale of services, rights and enjoyment; club subscription f ees and time share revenue.It Is useful to the users of financial statement when they want to make decision in which industry to invest in or when they want to diversified their portfolios. FRR 119 Employee Benefits Both companies are compliance to the standard in disclosing the defined contribution plan and short term employee benefits to the users. But Sunday have another employee benefit that Is share based compensation that allows the employees to acquire share of Sunday at net of directly attributable transaction cost.Sunday is volunteering in providing such benefit to the employees. So this kind of benefit may improve the motivation of the employees in discharging their duties exceed expectation. Thus, this motivation will lead Sunday in higher performance which is this relevant information is useful to the users in predicting future performance of the company. FRR 124 Related Party Disclosures Key management personnel are considered related party to the company.Therefore, the companies need to disclose the total compensation paid to them. Hub Seen only provided short term employee benefit and defined contribution plan to their key management personnel while Sunday also providing share based payment in addition to the other two types of compensation. This shows that Sunday are more concern with the compensation paid to their key personnel since the key personnel are involving in decision making of the company which determine the company future performance.Therefore, by providing extra compensation compared to other company like Hub Seen, the key management personnel will be happy and motivated n discharging their duties diligently and with due care. FRR 124 Inventories Both companies stated their inventories at lower of cost and net realizable value. Net realizable value is the estimated selling price in the ordinary course of business less the estimated costs of completion and the estimated costs necessary to make the sale. But Sunday is using weighted average method while Hub Seen is using first in first out method (FIFO) in determining their cost.For Hub Seen, using this method will show the highest profit compared to weighted average method (WA) and last in first UT method (LIFO) because of the nature of inflation. Even though higher reported gross profit is seem to be favorable to the investor, still this will resulted in higher tax to be paid by Hub Seen. Maybe one of the reason Hub Seen adopted FIFO instead of other method is that, they are engaging in selling perishable item which is not suitable to use LIFO since the left inventories will be obsolete and thus, invaluable.

Australian VET System and Social Concerns Essay

Australian VET System and Social Concerns - Essay Example The systems also have some of the highly regarded standard frameworks for training providers such as the Australian Quality Training Framework (AQTF), qualifications such as the Australian Qualification Framework (AQF), and training products. Australia’s VET system is a competency based training system that focuses individuals’ capabilities and skills for enabling them to do substantial work. In essence therefore, it is suitable for continued learning of individuals within enterprises and those seeking to enter into enterprise work (Goldstein, & Ford, 2002; Bean, 2008). With a wide array of social issues impacting the Australian workforce system from an aging population, and increasingly diverse society and employers finding it hard to recruit staff, that is 44% in 2007 from 41% in 2005 (OECD, 2009), effective systemic responses in the VET system towards these trends have the capability in addressing them. This paper critically discuses the extent to which the current V ET system in Australia can and does address the concerns of contemporary Australian society. In specific, the study discusses three societal concerns that are critical to Australia, diversity training, safety training and customer service training. Background of Australia and VET System VET system in Australia can be traced far back to the mid and late 19th century where various institutions offered skills development and industry training in trades that were predominantly male such as mining. And for almost a century VET was mainly focused on training men in a few select industries such as mining agriculture and manufacturing. With the beginning in the decline of these industries in their economic significance in the 1960s and 70s, and the emergence of newer finance and communication industries in the economy, more women started getting trained (Training.com.au, 2012). With these there were more pre-vocational and preparatory training than trade based training and with the release of the 1974 Kangan Report, the TAFE system which seeks to improve on the needs in Technical and Further Education was established. The 1980’s saw the expansion of the service industries and the emergence of private training providers to meet the needs of the changing economy. A wide array of reports emerged on the need to take into account both the need of the industry and the individual into account in training and this resulted to a consensus that indeed the VET system required substantive reform based upon unified national effort (OECD, 2009; Training.com.au, 2012). The year 1992 was one of major reform in Australia’s VET system where a unified national system was created under the Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) which the system getting considerable input from the industry on what relevant skills were required. The Fitzgerald Report particularly had a crucial role in enabling a competency based and coherent system was established. With these the VET s ystem further evolved to include apprenticeship programs, development of

Answers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 4

Answers - Essay Example I plan to apply the OSHA program skills leant in my daily life, starting from my home to my future employment. If I was working in a group on a project and another member of the group was not performing their duties, I would handle the situation via verbal warning. If the group member would still not heed to the warning, I would give him or her a written warning, and if no change is seen; then dismissal of the individual. I would first communicate with the supervisor explaining the situation, and alerting that I would be late in delivering the weekly report due to the given pressing circumstances. Next, I would handle the situation at hand. This is because the report can wait, but the situation might be a life threatening one, which must be dealt with immediately. Root-cause analysis is a fishbone structural analysis useful in shaping the source of the issue and prevents reoccurrence. In root cause analysis, investigation of possible source of the problem is broken down as: man, machine, environment, and

Gas turbine science Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

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Early Childhood Disabilities Program Case Study

Early Childhood Disabilities Program - Case Study Example The research for this report was mainly secondary and qualitative since primary research is restricted by time constraint for this report. The data was mostly collected from secondary literature and books and was based on information which was already available. Books and internet were the two main sources for data collection. An outline of the project management with an overview of its key elements is covered in this report. Although there is an abundance material available on the topic, this report is restricted to the work made available by authors on the topic of project management. The topic is broad and the information available from internet sources is limited therefore it is beyond the scope of this research to cover every aspect of project management. The selected information is applied only to a particular organization in Kuwait. Project management is defined by the Project Managements Institute (PMI) as 'a temporary endeavor undertaken to produce a unique product, service or result' (Lewis, 2006). In his book Fundamentals of Project Management (2006) , Lewis describes a project as being a onetime endeavor having a definite beginning and end , a budget, a defined scope of the work which needs to be done and the performance requirements which have to be met. The integration of processes such as, initiating, planning and executing, monitoring and control, and closing, results in project management. According to Lock (2007) before a project can be initiated, it is important to clearly establish its requirements, document them and to understand them. The first stage of project management requires the project to be defined. He also states that a project cannot be expected to be successful unless the requirements are adequately defined and documented. This includes the development of a feasibility report, which appraises the technical, logistic, environmental, commercial and financial aspects which may impact the project (Lock, 2007). The purpose of the feasibility is to ensure that the project is headed in the right direction and lets investors can make their decisions based on expert advice. Initiation also involves developing checklists which ensure that no important activity is left out in the process of project evaluation. After the requirements are established, the project scope needs to be determined (Lock, 2007). Legal consideration, contracts and negotiations with vendors and customers, quality control and termination are all a part of the project initiation and execution (Cleland & Ireland, 2004). Project management includes the planning activities such as development of goals and objectives, development of WBS, schedule for work, control and evaluation. According to Lewis (2006) at a basic level a project management planning includes: A project statement Project mission statement Project objectives Project work requirement with all the

Conflict Management Styles Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Conflict Management Styles - Essay Example Prevention of conflicts can have dire consequences on productivity. This is because it is through conflict resolution that underlying issues affecting the employees are resolved. It is also through conflict that eventually people get to understand each other and hence work better together in future. There are many approaches that are used by organizations to deal with conflict at the workplace and of course each approach yields different outcomes. Some of these conflict management approaches include avoidance, negotiation, arbitration, litigation or dismissal and transfer of irreconcilable employees. In most cases organizations will apply a combination of two or more conflict management tactics. In my workplace the popular conflict management approach used is avoidance. This approach takes the form of simply ignoring conflicts among employees in the hope that the issues of contention will disappear. Needless to say this approach only suppresses conflict and aggravates the problems. With time the conflicts become irrepressible and erupt to scandals. Disgruntled employees sabotage office resources and in case the conflict is among co-workers the scenario may take to physical confrontation. This tarnishes the image and reputation that an organization takes so much to build. Another approach used at my workplace is instant transfer of one or both parties to the conflict and in some cases dismissal. This approach has its pros and cons in that transfers can have an adverse effect on the employee and the same for dismissal. However, other times it has been used to dilute tension betwee n worker with bad blood. Separation thus seems to be very logical. Management at the workplace should ensure that it refrains from using such a technique. The techniques used at my workplace contradict with my personal conflict management preferences at varying degrees. I highly believe that avoiding a problem in the hope that it goes away does not help. Communication is crucial to conflict management. It is important to note that conflict mounts slowly from simple arguments then accumulates to intolerable tensions culminating to conflicts. Management can contain and dissolve these arguments and tensions before it translates to conflict. This is possible by monitoring employee relations and identifying potential conflicts. (Nelson & Quick, 2006). In addition, frequent open discussions among the employees and the management can help to quell discontent felt by the workforce before it matures to conflicts and scandal. Further, proper channels and policies that clearly outline the organization's stance on conflict and the expected code of conduct at the organization can help to alleviate conflict. For example, harassment is popular at th e workplace because the organizations lack clear cut rules and regulations to govern relationship among people in the workforce. Women especially fall victim to sexual harassment from their bosses and managers and in most cases feel helpless and turn to conflict in order to grab attention of others. If proper codes of conduct are placed then conflicts at the workplace can be managed. Another shortfall of transfers and dismissal of parties to conflict is that it assumes that only main participants are

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Health Needs Assessment Proposal (2,000 words) - Essay Example HNA for the two boroughs; getting started, identifying health priorities, assessing the health priority, planning for change and lastly reviewing the entire process. Newham is the most ethnically diverse borough in London, experiencing the highest birth rate and having one of the highest rates of deprivation, ill health and early deaths (NHS 2009, pp. 91). According to Aston-Mansfield.org (2011, p. 4) the most recent data on employment in Newham indicates that it had the lowest employment rates in London, standing at 56.2% in 2008-09 and 59.5% in 2009-10 in comparison to London’s averages of 62.7% and 68.1% for the two years respectively. The diverse culture and high levels of deprivation and unemployment translate to existence of several health problems and health inequalities in Newham and thus lower health and wellness levels than London’s average. Redbridge on the other hand enjoys a similar or better health and well-being than London’s or England’s average as evidenced by significantly lower levels of most health considerations such as drug abuse, accidental injuries and teenage conceptions and generally a greater life expectancy (JSNA 2008, p. 58). The borough is similarly considerably multicultural, and bears health inequalities and problems (Trust for London and New Policy Institute 2010, Redbridge 2007, pp. 74-75). The decision to select these two boroughs was informed by the fact that they share a lot of considerations in terms of health needs assessment and yet have totally different health achievement profiles. The considerations for this step include the choice of population and the justification, the objectives of the HNA, the stakeholders to be involved, the resources required, the challenges and ways around them and lastly appraisal of the step (Cavanaugh and Chadwick 2005, p. 23). The populations selected in this proposal are the inhabitants of Newham and Redbridge boroughs. The subpopulations under question in both the boroughs are the

Critically assess the leadership style of chosen leader Essay

Critically assess the leadership style of chosen leader - Essay Example In this paper, I will examine Gandhi’s transformational leadership style, assessing it to reveal the different dimensions constituting it, such as strengths and flaws. Transformational leadership is one of the most effective leadership styles in the world, but it is also one of the rarest. There are very few transformational leaders in the true sense of the word, both because it is hard to develop and even harder to practice. The most revered and admired leaders in history have been transformational, so this shows how effective this type of leadership can be (Giannantonio & Hurley-Hanson, 2013). The foundation of transformational leadership lies in the fundamental essence of mankind. Human beings are social and emotional beings that need to be shown love and concern. Transformational leadership exploits this aspect of humanity by first developing a connection with people and then motivating and inspiring them both psychologically and morally. Gandhi portrayed himself not as a leader but also a follower. This is one of the primary attributes of transformational leaders. Despite being in a position of authority that allows them to use their powers to their advantage, transformational leaders prefer to live and act like their followers and, in the process, become like their followers. They like to suffer with them, to share their experiences, and to help them surmount the challenges they face as a team. Transformational leaders value unity and peace. Gandhi was not only an inspirational personality; he was also a peace merchant who preached peaceful demonstrations and activism (Molinaro, 2013). Exponents of transformational leadership are also often advocates of peace because it is difficult to cultivate connections with followers if there is no serenity or tranquility to support such an endeavor. It would not be too far-fetched to state that the

Packaging Machinery Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Packaging Machinery - Essay Example The most important packaging component means a covering component that is direct contact with the usage outward appearance. A secondary packaging part means a packaging part that is not in direct contact with the usage type. Environmental and human Safety should be considered for any packaging material, for example,: b) Pollution of the contents by the covering, together with those specific cases where the mixture of packaging fabric and contents may cause troubles. The stuffing, where potentially dangerous, should not leak through the packaging due to: be short of a seal (b) wear and tear of the casing caused by the outside influences, such as foreseeable mechanical forces or light (c) weakening of the casing caused by the substance. Where the casing may potentially cause harm and affect safety of the user should be clearly labeled. Consumers in some cases, various groups of users may have unlike, possibly disagreeing, necessities with reverence to opening means. For example, packaging of pharmaceuticals which may be simple to children should have child challenging closures. While the similar closure should be easy for a handicapped person, probably with the help of an assisting device Where possible, the covering and remnants of the substances should be capable of safe dumping by ordinary means, with no long or short term danger to the environment or human beings. Biodegradable resources are preferred. Clear directions on disposal of packaging should be given whenever ordinary means of disposal is unsuitable. Neither the shape nor the size of the packaging should give the wrong impression about the consumer as to the quantity of its contents. Where settling may happen, this information should be visibly stated on the outside of the covering. Three 40 bottom diameter, 105 base tall solid silos accustomed for storing the granulated sugar powder formed in the refinery. Each five million

Life in College Essay Example for Free

Life in College Essay College has changed my life in many ways. Even though I spent only six months in college, I feel it has helped me a lot with my education and social life. Students who enter college usually collide with many problems, and some may think it is just like high school. From my perspective, college life is a life of freedom because it gives a feeling of being an adult, and also at the same time helping out with necessary needs. Life in college meant a new life for me. When I entered my college for the first day, I looked around with a mixed feeling of perplexity, joy, and a little bit of fear. I was puzzled as I was not habituated to college life. After checking around and looking for my class, I saw other students in batches were moving up and down the corridors for their classes; professors were coming smilingly and exchanging greetings with the students in a friendly manner which helped me to calm down and gave me the confidence to move on without being too nervous. Social life in college is different from high school. Most people do not socialize that much because they are there to get their credits and leave. They just want to finish their courses as fast as they can for business purpose or other reasons (this happens mainly in community college. ) For this reason, college has created many club activities, study groups, library, and other open areas to meet friends or work together, which definitely gives the chance to socialize. Another important thing college has taught me is managing time. I have come to understand how time is precious and how it can improve our lifestyle in so many levels. Balancing time is really important to do well both in college and in other activities like, Jobs, clubs, and spending time with family. After spending some time in classes, I came to realize how fun and easy it can be if a student spends a little bit of his/her time in class activities. College is a wonderful place and one can make it happen by his/her will.

History Of Massage And Massage Therapy Nursing Essay

History Of Massage And Massage Therapy Nursing Essay Massage therapy is the manipulation of the soft tissue on the body by a practitioner through the movement of their hands and arms as well as advanced techniques. Massage has been used to help people relax as well as a way to help treat minor ailments as a complement to other medication or treatment. As A Whirlwind Tour through the entire History of Massage webpage states Massage is a universal instinct. From the day they descended from the trees, humans have known that it helps to rub a sore limb and that to touch is beneficial. So since then we have used and developed the skills and techniques through the years into the massage routines we see and use today. History of Massage; Throughout ancient history many different countries have been using massage and developing their skills as well as passing these down through the years. They have been borrowed, stolen and shared through different times as well as different places geographically around the world, many of the different types of massages resemble each other as techniques have been copied, borrowed and shared. Pre-historic people used to practise some forms of therapeutic touch or massage as there has been evidence to suggest that they used to massage their muscles and rub herbs and oils onto their bodies to help with healing or to protect as this has been found in caveman paintings and drawings showing the giving and receiving of massage. After then the next stage that has been recorded in history to show the major use of massage where the Chinese in around 3000BC in a book called Con Fou of the Tao-Tse. As mentioned in the eBook History of Massage, Therapies Rules in China for years, blind people where the main masseurs. According to A Whirlwind Tour Through the entire history of Massage Chinese writing dates from around 1400BC, near the start of the Shang dynasty, and it from around this time that we can reliably date massage. It was in China that the first exam in massage was sat about fifteen hundred years later as an addition to the occult studies schools. Around the same times as China the Egyptians also used massage and this has been depicted in tomb paintings of individuals being Kneaded by others. The Japaneses received their knowledge from China through the study of Buddhism and soon customised the techniques which became known as anma, which later became Japanese Shiatsu. According to The history of Massag e: Learn How Massage Dates Back over 5,000 Years Ago The primary goal of Shiatsu is to raise the energy level in the patient. In turn, this increased energy level regulates and fortifies the functioning of the organs and stimulates natural resistance to illnesses. The practitioners use a variety of techniques to pressure points on the body to balance the energies and work without needles or other equipment to do so. However, some sources believe India was practicing massage before the Egyptians and the Chinese while others believe they might have acquired it from China a little later so the dates of when India first started to use any forms of massage range from around 3000BC to between 1.800-500BC. Massage in India is referred to in ancient Hindu books such as Ayurveda (Art of Life) which was written around 1800BC. It describes how movements such as shampooing and rubbing were used to relieve tiredness, increase energy levels and improve general health. Francesca Gould in Body Massage for Holistic Therapists (2004). After this stage in history the next step in the time line is around 2000BC when the Greeks and Romans first started to use massage in the early foundations of their civilisations. The ancient Greeks used the knowledge from the Egyptians massage techniques, and it was given to the athletes, women and soldiers as described in History of Massage, Therapies Rules. The Greeks wrote many books on massage including some written by Homer, Aesculapius, Herodotus and Hippocrates who was the Father of Medicine. It was the Greeks who used to rub up the body towards the heart to help the venous and lymph in that direction, they also used this technique to move sickness towards the centre of the body to where is can be expelled with the waste materials. The Romans however used massage as more of an indulgence than as a medical therapy; it was saved for those who could pay for it. The Romans received massage from the Greeks and enjoyed bathing before a full body massage and it was said that even Julius Caesar was pinched every day. The Roman gladiators were vigorously massaged before fights to make sure their muscles where warmed up and supple. Galen was the main figure in Rome for massage but he was actually Greek, according to A Whirlwind Tour through the History of Massage he lived from 130AD to 201AD and he acquired his knowledge of anatomy and physiology through working with the gladiators. Massage then was used as an alternative for exercise to help relive their excessive eating and drinking. Massage was used throughout the different tribes in North America before the Europeans arrived, some tribes would massage/rub down their warriors before and after battle or rub ointments into ailing joints or muscles. Massage has also been seen through a variety of different countries through history including those such as Persia, Kurdistan, Thailand, Tibet, Indonesia and Hawaii. The most recent history of massage can be seen is western civilisation. The earliest record was written by Ambroise Pare (1510-1590) but he was ridiculed for his publication. However by the time Henrik Ling (1776-1839) became the father of modern western massage it had become less of a ridicule. As the History of Massage, Therapies rules tell us Henrik Ling once put. We ought not to consider the organs of the body as the lifeless forms of a mechanical mass, he wrote, but as the living, active instruments of the soul. And through this he finally developed the system known as Swedish massage. Massage has now moved back towards the old holistic attributes instead of the physiological attributes so we are back to seeing massage in the same way as the ancient Chinese, Egyptians and Greeks once saw the therapy. As reported by The Massage Bible, during the first World War injured soldiers were treated with massage, while the Californian bodywork movement in the 1960s combined massage with personal growth. There are many different kinds of massage practiced today all over the world and many of them can be received by almost anyone unless they have a specific reason that it cannot be preformed. There are a few different people who have been in the forefront of massage in modern history and those are Cornelius E. Who is the Father of massage in the USA, David Palmer, the Father of chair massage, Dr Tiffany Fields, the Mother of massage research and Jack Meagher the Father of sports massage. In figure I. In the appendices is a time line of the history of massage along with the cre ation and history of other therapies this has been take from the eBook History of Massage, Therapies Rules. Massage Principles and Holistic Experience: To decide if massage is a holistic therapy first of all we need to know what holistic means and according to thefreedictionary.com Holistic means Concerned with wholes rather than analysis or separation into parts. And with this definition we shall determine whether or not massage is a holistic experience. A massage whether it is a Swedish, Shiatsu or any other form of massage moves across the whole surface of the skin missing only a few vital places which are left for either health and safety reasons or due to the intimacy of the area. Most massages that even just incorporate one certain area such as an Indian head massage or even reflexology they all use different points of that area to correspond with different areas or energies upon the body. With different energies running throughout in specific channels which move around the entire body, when a massage is preformed to the whole body or even just a small portion of the body such as the hands, feet or head all the energies are involved which in turn incorporates the body as a whole. With this in mind a massage can be believed to be Holistic as this matches with the definition of holistic in taking the body as a whole instead of a separation of its individual parts. There is only one reason as to not treat a certain part of the body and that is due to a contra-indication such as pregnancy where you would not touch or massage the abdominal area or is say someone had a fungal infection upon their feet you would not massage their feet and would move onto the next step of the massage itself. These contra-indications could be on a temporary basis or they could be permanent and therefore this client would not be able to receive a treatment. There are some contra-indications such as cancer, epilepsy and a few others which would need a doctors approval before a treatment could be carried out upon the client for insurance reasons. For example for epilepsy if you do not know the trigger for a seizure and you had not received a doctors approval for the treatment and the client unfortunately had a seizure upon your table then the client might decide to sue the practitioner for causing this, this is why doctors approval is sought. Due to the Health and Safety at work act 1974 all employers and employees must maintain a high standard of health and safety in the work place as described in F. Goulds Body Massage for Holistic Therapists. Employers are responsible for the health and safety of anyone who enters their premises. If an employer has more than five employees, the work place must have a health and safety policy, of which all staff must be aware. There are many different procedures in the work place that all employees must adhere to such as the first aid and fire procedures, all employees should know where the first aid kits and fire extinguishers/ exits are located within the building for the safely of themselves and the clients, It is advisable however, that all practitioners are first aid qualified themselves in the event of an emergency. From the clients point of view the practitioner should know these things as well as have a basic understanding of personal hygiene in the sense of washing their hands properly, being of a clean and presentable appearance and be dressed appropriately for the treatment. This is due to the intimate nature of the massage with the close skin to skin contact as strong smelling perfumes or strong body odour can be very unpleasant for the client. A general knowledge of health and safety is beneficial for the example to clean up spillages as and when they happen as to avoid trips, slips and falls of either the client or yourself. A good general idea of protecting your equipment is ideal as oils and creams can become a hazard if left un-cleaned from the treatment table as this could cause a slip or the degrading of your equipment such as the vinyl of the table tops. For insurance purposes the practitioner must ensure that they do not perform a massage while they are unwell or when the client is contagious due to the spread of infection and should always wear gloves if they have any open areas upon their hands. This is for their own protection and that of the client as to not pass anything between them or onto any other client from the previous client. However it is also important to know if the client is well enough to receive the treatment, for this the practitioner must refer to the contraindication lists to see whether or not the client is acceptable to treat. The client should also be aware that at any point the practitioner is legally allowed to refuse treatment for withholding information or for unacceptable behaviour. The practitioner must also get the permission off the client at all times before a treatment if they can touch the client themselves, and they must ensure the client understands this and what is going to happen during the tr eatment for insurance purposes for the protection of both the client and practitioner. Personal safety for the practitioner is also important; these include the correct posture and the compression of the wrists. If either of these are incorrect then the practitioner later in their career could cause themselves more pain due to repetitive strain on the joints and could cause more damage if continued. To help prevent this the right table height should be selected for the practitioner as well as the correct foot wear to help with posture, also the right hand movements should be followed to help prevent the compression of the wrists. The most important piece of safety a practitioner should adhere to is their own safety when working with a client on their own such as a residential call or even in their own rooms at their treatment centre. If doing a residential call then the practitioner should only really perform these on clients that already know, they have a personal phone number for and they should always make sure someone knows where they are at which times and check i n after the appointment with either a family member or work colleague to show they are safe. If they get a new client after a residential call they should always follow the rules of asking for the residential phone number and insist upon phoning the day before the treatment to see if they still wish to receive the treatment. Making the treatment of a client a positive experience is one of the most important parts of making a massage holistic, the practitioner should look after their clients making sure they are comfortable with what is going on whether they are new or long term clients. To be a massage practitioner you should have excellent customer service skills, client care should be the most important thing to remember and should always be used every day with every client, the client should believe that the practitioner cares. The practitioner should always consult with the client and devise a treatment plan to suite the clients and stick to this plan unless anything changes in the circumstances with the client as well as receiving permission from the client for the practitioner to touch them during the treatment. During the treatment the discussion should be at a comfortable level for the client but also low enough for the client to relax and enjoy the treatment. After care should always be adhered to and offered to the client with a small encouragement of lifestyle changes if needed for the clients needs. Effects of Massage including the Physiological and psychological effects upon the client: Massage even though it is a holistic experience has been seen to have an effect of other areas of the human body and not just as a way to relax; a massage has been seen to show that it has both physiological and psychological effect upon the clients. Physiological effects are those which are shown upon the body itself and its function whereas psychological effects are those which manifest themselves in the mind and the emotions of the client. There are many different outcomes which could manifest for both on the anatomy and the body systems. In two different clinical trials that have been preformed independently of each other there is a show of the two different effects received after a massage treatment, one for the Physiological effects and one for the psychological effects. In the first trial the objective was to see if the early intervention with massage in children with Down syndrome would help with the motor skills and muscle tone. So parents with children suffering from Down syndrome where asked to attend one of two early intervention classes, one class was a body massage session and the other a reading session after a base line had been assessed upon their severity of the syndrome, some children were not used if sever mobility where involved or they had emotional problems as this might interfere with the trial. Twelve of the children were assigned to the massage sessions and eleven to the control reading session, so in overall there where twenty one children involved in this trial. Each session was scheduled for the same times each week and specific times of the day for both classes, and each session was on an individual basis, the sessions lasted for half an hour each, twice a week for two months, while the reading session was conducted the same way with the therapist holding the child while reading for the half an hour. This was the treatment that the children received in the following sequence: The 30-minute massage therapy session started with the child lying on a small mat on the floor. The therapist conducted the following sequence three times with the child in a supine position: Legs and feet-(a) while forming hands like a letter C and wrapping the fingers around the childs leg, long, milking and twisting strokes from the thigh to the ankles; (b) massaging foot by gliding thumbs across bottom of foot followed by squeezing and tugging each toe; (c) massaging across top of foot by gliding thumbs from ankle to toes; (d) flexing and extending the foot; (e) massaging from ankle to foot and back to ankle; (f) stroking from the ankle up towards the thigh; and (g) back and forth rolling movements (as if making a rope from dough) from the ankle to the thigh. Stomach-(a) slow, circular, rubbing movements to stomach area with one hand; (b) using the palms, hand over hand down the stomach in a paddlewheel fashion; (c) starting with thumbs together at the umbilicus, stroking horizontally to sides of body and then twice above and twice below the umbilicus; (d) using fingertips and starting below the umbilicus on the childs right side, small circular upward movements until even with the umbilicus, then continuing across to the left side, and then down on the left side to below the umbilicus; (e) with one hand following the other, short upward stroking from right side below the umbilicus, then Massage and Down syndrome 401 across the umbilicus to the left side of the body, and then down on the left side to below the umbilicus; and (f) cupping or holding sides of knees, bending both knees simultaneously towards the stomach and holding for three to five seconds. Chest-(a) with palms of hands on childs sternum, stroking outward across chest; (b) starting at sternum, stroking upwards and over tops of shoulders and down the sides of the ribs; and (c) starting at the right thigh, stroking diagonally through the chest to the opposite shoulder and back down to the same thigh; repeat starting at the left thigh; Arms and hands-same as legs and feet (i.e. replace legs with arms and feet with hands). Face-(a) making small circles to entire scalp (as if shampooing hair); (b) with flats of thumbs together on midline of forehead, stroking outward towards the temples; (c) stroking gently over the eyes and brows; (d) starting at the bridge of the nose, stroking across the cheekbones to the ears; and (e) making circular movements under the chin, around the jaw line, around the ears, to the back of the neck and the rest of the scalp. The following sequences were done after placing the children on their stomach (in a prone position). Back-applying oil to the hands: (a) starting at the top of the spine, alternating hand strokes across the back working down towards the tail bone (never pressing the spine) and reaching over to include the sides; (b) hand over hand movements from upper back to hips with flats of hands and then continuing to feet; (c) using circular motion with fingertips, from neck to hips stroking over the long muscles next to the spine and retracing on the other side of the spine; (d) making circular strokes with the palm of the hand to rub the tops of the shoulders; and (e) ending with long gliding strokes from the neck to the feet. As was described in the journal Children with Down syndrome improved in motor functioning and muscle tone following massage therapy (2006). The trial was held at the childrens early intervention pre-school centres, while the test was run by the university of Miami school of medicine. The results of this trial show that there was a greater gain for the results of the children who where massaged in their sessions than to those who where read too. The improvements were shown in the gross motor skills and fine motor skills development of the children as well as a marginal effect in their language development. This then showed that through the early intervention with massage it could help children with Down syndrome enhance their motor development at a faster rate than if they were left to mature in their own way. These results help to show that massage can have a physiological effect upon the body in helping to produce and enhance muscle tone. However, there is the argument that another control group could have been added into the trial to help show whether this is successful or not is a control group that uses light stokes instead of a pressure massage to help with the ethical problems of withholding the intervention from those in the reading session. This was all shown in the clinical trial journal of Children with Down syndrome improved in motor functioning and muscle tone following massage therapy (2006) which is located in the appendices. The second trial is to determine whether or not massage can have a psychological effect on the client and for this the trial was preformed for the Association of Paediatric Haematology/Oncology Nurses (2009). The aim of this trial was to reduce symptoms of children with cancer and to reduce the anxiety of their parents. Children with cancer, ages 1 to 18 years, received at least 2 identical cycles of Chemotherapy, and one parent, participated in the 2- period crossover design in which 4 weekly massage sessions alternated with 4 weekly quiet-time control Sessions. As described in the article Massage Therapy for Children with Cancer (2009). To determine if the massage was helping to relieve the psychological symptoms of anxiety in the parents and the symptoms of the children while the trial was progressing they measured everyones heart and respiratory rates, blood pressure, and salivary cortisol level as well as their pain, nausea, anxiety, and fatigue levels. According to the results of this trial the massage was more effective in reducing heart rate than quiet time in the children, the anxiety in the children aged fourteen and older and the anxiety in the adults. The clients all commented upon how the massage rather than the quiet time helped with their anxiety and helped them feel better. So due to their result it is feasible to massage children with cancer and their parents to help relieve their anxiety. Therefore this result helps to show that massage to the body can have a psychological effect upon the client in this sense it has reduced the anxiety of the both the children and the parents although in the younger babies the results did vary a little more than the other ages, but the results of the older children and the adults help to prove that just a massage on its own can have a psychological effect upon the human body. The trial that this assessment was based upon is located in the appendices as clinical trial 2. So both of these trials show that massage can had a successful outcome on the physiological and psychological effects portrayed on the body, they both proved that through a short massage the body can manifest its effects through muscle tone or motor function progression as well as to reduce anxiety in both children and adults. Neither of these two trials have a negative out come and therefore both are a success but there shall be a few trials where massage has not appeared to be successful at all or shows that it is a little less successful than anticipated, these however are normal and show both sides to an ongoing argument about whether massage is actually good for the body, mind and spirit on a whole or if it just theoretically works on the body.

Teaching The Noun Phrase In English English Language Essay

Teaching The Noun Phrase In English English Language Essay English syntax presents the nominal group or noun phrase (NP) as a basic constituent of the clause (S). Phrase Structure rules normally represent S as consisting of a Noun Phrase and a Verb Phrase (VP). (1) S Æ’Â   NP VP The constituents of the clause or sentence are then further broken down into their constituents. Yet the proposal of other theories to capture the constituents of S has resulted in more complex but more precise ways of explaining how the constituents of a sentence relate to each other. An extension on X-bar theory by Santorini and Kroch in their online textbook The syntax of natural language: An online introduction using the Trees program actually identifies NPs as Determiner Phrases or DPs. Although this paper will not delve into the layers of complexity advocated by such theorists, it does move away from the traditional strategies of teaching nouns and NPs and seeks to ratify approaches for introducing the teaching of NPs in the ESL/EFL context. We shall, therefore, describe the structure of the NP, mentioning the categories of count and non-count (or mass) nouns; and finally prescribe a viable teaching option with respect to the noun phrase. Nouns and the structure of NPs Traditional grammar defines the noun as the name of a person, place, animal or thing. This vague definition succumbs quite readily to criticism the moment we move away from holding it high in the canon of English grammar to one of closer examination. Huddleston (84) lists a few properties that help to classify this word class: It contains amongst its most central members those words that denote persons or concrete objects Its members head phrases noun phrases which characteristically function as subject or object in clause structure and refer to participants in the situation described in the clause, to the actor, patient, recipient, and so on. It is the class to which the categories of number, gender and case have their primary application It becomes significantly easier for us to define the noun and subsequently the NP by looking at its function and distribution in the clause. Brinton and Brinton (193) expand the NP in a table that has been reproduced below: Table 1. Expansions of NP NP Æ’Â   N dogs Det N the dogs Det A N the large dogs Det AP N the loudly barking dogs Det N PP the dog in the yard Det A N PP the ferocious dog behind the fence Det AP N PP the wildly yapping dog on the sofa Pro He PN Goldy In all of the expansions except the final two the head of the NP the noun (N) is obligatory. In the final two expansions the head has been substituted by a pronoun and a Proper noun respectively. These two are still subsumed under the category of noun so we can still say that the head subsists to some degree. The broadest expansion level of the NP, Det AP N PP presents categories that may be grouped in relation to the noun head of the phrase. Therefore, we may talk about pre-head dependents and post-head dependents. Huddleston asserts that an NP will consist of a noun as head, alone or accompanied by one or more dependentsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦pre-head and post-head dependents (85). He mentions that the pre-head dependents may be determiners and/or modifiers and that the post-head dependents consist of complements, modifiers and peripheral dependents. Where Huddleston calls these elements dependents (either pre-head or post-head), Downing and Locke, in order to simplify matters, label them modifiers (403). They locate the head of the phrase as the central element around which are located the pre-modifiers and post-modifiers. Figure 1 shows a diagrammatic representation of the general constituents of the NP. Figure 1. Diagrammatic Representation of an NP Noun (Head) Post-modifiers Specifiers Pre-modifiers Although the number of determiners is quite limited (Huddleston (86) states that there are approximately three determiner slots), there seems to be less restriction on what can fill the modifier position. Determiners have the form of: (ÃŽÂ ±) determinatives the, some, which, etc (recall that determiner is used as the name of a function, determinative of a class); (ÃŽÂ ²) Poss Ps the dogs, your fathersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦(ÃŽÂ ³) cardinal numerals: one, twoà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦(ÃŽÂ ´) embedded NPs expressing quantification: a dozenà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦a fewà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦An NP may contain up to three determinersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ (Huddleston 86). Downing and Locke (404) also suggest that the relatively restricted list of determiners (articles, demonstratives, possessives, Wh-words, distributives and quantifiers) can be put into three broad categories: Central determinatives: the articles, the demonstratives, the possessives, the quantifiers Pre-determinatives: all, both, twice, double, such Post-determinatives: the ordinal numerals and the semi-determinatives (same, other, former, latter, own) As said before, Santorini and Kroch in Chapter 5 of their online book argue a case for DPs. They believe that nounsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦cannot in general function as arguments on their own, but must be accompanied by a determiner. This makes sense even if there is a zero marker for the determiner. They go on to say to caution the reader: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦the traditional term noun phrase is a misnomer since noun phrases are maximal projections of D rather than of N. Because the term noun phrase is firmly established in usage, we continue to use it as an informal synonym for DP. However, in order to avoid confusion, we will use the term NP only to refer to the subconstituent of a noun phrase that is the complement of a determiner. We will never use it to refer to an entire noun phrase (that is, a DP) The NP can also be called the complement of a determiner as suggested by Santorini and Kroch, but in order to keep concepts simple we should stick to the distinction as prescribed by the diagram above where the determiner position is synonymous with specifier. The pre-modifier position (labelled AP in Brinton and Brintons largest expansion above) can be filled with a number of classes: adjectives (and adverbs), nouns, participial forms of verbs and possessives. Due to the recursive property of this position, there is a complex ordering sequence of these classes. This can be seen quite clearly if we solely look at the ordering of adjectives (Parrot 54): Table 2. Order of adjectives in the NP 1 Size 2 Shape 3 Colour 4 Origin 5 Material 6 Use Noun a large white loaf a sleeveless blue woollen pullover Small Spanish serving dishes The order also places the opinion of the speaker (subjective aspect) before a description (objective aspect) of the object. The post-modifiers, on the other hand, can exist as complements, modifiers and peripheral dependents (Huddleston 93). X-bar theory accounts for these elements by the use of the terms adjunct and complement. In the diagram below, these post-head elements are shown to the right of the X circles. XP X X Specifier Adjunct Complement X X Head Figure 2. Template for an XP in X-bar theory Whereas adjuncts are seen as optional modifiers, complements are shown to be obligatory. The diagram shows their differing positions within the hierarchy of the phrase (XP), where the complement appears closer to the head. Although this information may be helpful for the teacher, it would be better to stay away from X-bar theory when trying to explain phrase formation to the student unless the student has already had interaction with it. One cannot mention the noun, and even the noun phrase, without mentioning an aspect of nouns that is relatively unique to them their countability. Allan mentions that the notion of countability varies and has to do with the perception of the speaker and listener: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦that which is countable is denumerable. Although countability is a linguistic category, it typically has perceptual correlations: the reference of what is linguistically countable is ordinarily perceived in terms of one or more discrete entities. What is uncountable is typicallyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦perceived as an undifferentiated unity. (565) The countability of the noun is linked to its ability to be inflected for plurality and is also linked to the use of certain determiners. Uncountable or mass nouns in English are not normally pluralised unless the speaker is using some type of jargon peculiar to a field. However, the notion of countability also carries across into the NP. If the noun, as head of the phrase, is countable, it also means that the NP would be countable as well. Teaching the NP to ESL/EFL students The NP should not be introduced explicitly to low-level proficiency ESL/EFL students. Although the students may have some unconscious knowledge of the NP in their own languages, it is a more appropriate approach to teach Upper-Intermediate and Advanced level students about the workings of the NP to improve their stylistic capabilities and also to improve their communicative options. The teaching of the NP, like everything else, must be contextualised and not necessarily bogged down by solely teaching the students grammar. It is quite important to link the teaching of the NP to previous knowledge gained by the students so that its syntactic structure can be used as a refresher for students with respect to things like count and non-count nouns, adverbials and determiners. Students can be taught inductively by teachers where sentences are put on the board and students can also be asked to identify the syntactic categories that make up the phrase and also the apparent rules for the ordering of categories. Nevertheless, an indispensible teaching tool in this area would be to let the students be these categories. What do I mean by be? Well, if we look singly at the AP constituent of the NP and wish to help students to grasp the order of the adjectives (as listed in the table above), the teacher can put an AP on the board containing quite a number of these adjectives. Then random students can be asked to come to the front of the class and the teacher can assign the students a word. The students can write this word on a page and stick it to their chests or hold them up. Subsequently, the teacher can ask the students to move around in a line to represent the phrase, swapping positions with each other and encouraging the class to read the phrase according to the new orders. The teacher will have to have some knowledge of APs and be able to explain why random ordering of lexical items is unacceptable in APs. This exercise can also be done with NPs to some extent. The teacher can use it to show the recursivity of the modifier positions especially (vis-à  -vis embedded clauses and other modifiers) and to solidify the ordering of the constituents. This kinaesthetic approach can also be complemented by a musical one where a song can be used to show the meaning as well as the functional use of NPs. Gardners Multiple Intelligences is a good tool to take advantage of when teaching these primarily grammar-oriented topics, but calls on a lot from the teacher in the realm of creativity and preparation.

DNA Testing and the Conviction of Criminals Essay -- Exploratory Essay

DNA Testing and the Conviction of Criminals There have been many incidents where cases have needed a solid prosecution in order to convict the defendant in a murder or rape case. This is where DNA Testing comes in to help. By taking a DNA test, a person can be found guilty or not guilty. If a person claims they have been raped there can be a sperm sample taken from the suspect in order to prove that he is guilty or not. In addition, in a murder case there can be blood taken from the suspect so they can tell of his innocence. There are several ways to determine whether a person is guilty or not by this method. Many cases have begun to use this method saying that it is foolproof. People say this is the method of the future of crime scene investigation. DNA Testing is a foolproof way to prove whether a criminal is innocent or guilty. I believe in order to be able to DNA Test I have to know what DNA is in the first place. According to the National Institute of Justice DNA is "the primary carrier of genetic information in living organisms, consists of a very long spiral structure that has been likened to a 'twisted ladder"(1997). The handrails of this ladder are made up of bases, which are nucleic acids. These nucleic acids combine to form pairs, which then creates nucleotides. These pairs create the genetic code of DNA (National Institute of Justice, 1997). The National Institute claims that these nucleic acids combine to form pairs, which then creates nucleotides. These pairs create the genetic code of DNA (1999). The four nucleic acids are adenine, cytosine, guanine, and thymine (All About DNA, 1998). Many people cannot necessarily always rely on fingerprints. DNA evidence is the method of the future. Crimes will be sol... ... National Institute of Justice: Research in Action. (1998). The Unrealized Potential of DNA Testing. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. National Institute of Justice: Research Preview. (1997). Automated DNA Typing: Method of the Future? Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. Robertson, J., Ross, A.M., & Burgoyne, L.A. (Eds.). (1990). DNA in forensic science: theory, techniques, and applications. England: Ellis Howard Limited. Stevens, M., (2002, May). Do fingerprints lie? Retrieved April 8, 2004, from http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/ ?020527 fa_ FACT What every law enforcement officer should know about DNA evidence. (1999,September). Retrieved April 18, 2004, from http://www.ncjrs.org/nij/DNAbro/evi.html Wright, R. (1999). James Watson and Francis Crick. Time Magazine. Retrieved April 6, 2004, from http://www.time.com/

Alcohol Viewed Through the Eyes of Raymond Carver Essays -- Drinking A

Alcohol Viewed Through the Eyes of Raymond Carver   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Some people feel that alcohol is a substance that can be used to escape reality and live in a world where there are no dilemmas or problems that must be solved. Whether the alcohol is abused or just used in moderation, many people are drawn to the several aspects it has to offer. One example of someone who follows these characteristics is the very famous and talented writer, Raymond Carver. Raymond’s use of alcohol is clearly displayed not only through his writings, but in his daily lifestyle. It is a general understanding that in many writers’ works, a small portion of how they live their lives are influenced and portrayed through their stories. Having stated this, two very distinct stories of Raymond Carver eloquently display how alcohol has had an impact on his life.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The first story that allows the reader to have an inside look at the effects of alcohol on Carver is â€Å"What We Talked About When We Talked About Love.† In the beginning of the story, it seems as if all the characters are thoroughly enjoying themselves. Their casual drinking assists them in their conversations, as they appear to be completely sober and in control of their actions. As their discussion grows deeper and more complex, their consumption of alcohol increases at an even faster rate. Carver intends to show his readers the difference in the way the characters act when they are sober, compared to the way they act when they are intoxicated... Alcohol Viewed Through the Eyes of Raymond Carver Essays -- Drinking A Alcohol Viewed Through the Eyes of Raymond Carver   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Some people feel that alcohol is a substance that can be used to escape reality and live in a world where there are no dilemmas or problems that must be solved. Whether the alcohol is abused or just used in moderation, many people are drawn to the several aspects it has to offer. One example of someone who follows these characteristics is the very famous and talented writer, Raymond Carver. Raymond’s use of alcohol is clearly displayed not only through his writings, but in his daily lifestyle. It is a general understanding that in many writers’ works, a small portion of how they live their lives are influenced and portrayed through their stories. Having stated this, two very distinct stories of Raymond Carver eloquently display how alcohol has had an impact on his life.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The first story that allows the reader to have an inside look at the effects of alcohol on Carver is â€Å"What We Talked About When We Talked About Love.† In the beginning of the story, it seems as if all the characters are thoroughly enjoying themselves. Their casual drinking assists them in their conversations, as they appear to be completely sober and in control of their actions. As their discussion grows deeper and more complex, their consumption of alcohol increases at an even faster rate. Carver intends to show his readers the difference in the way the characters act when they are sober, compared to the way they act when they are intoxicated...

Nordstrom SWOT Essay

Representing people with disabilities in their catalogs since 1997, which is rare. This is a strength because it represents all customers of Nordstrom, not leaving out certain groups because of industry ‘norms’. This speaks volumes to all customers that Nordstrom recognizes them as individuals, but also, as O’Connell mentioned in an interview, â€Å"people with disabilities represent a significant marketing opportunity with $225 billion in discretionary income†¦ and companies that understand this will have a competitive advantage.† Has a customer first attitude to differentiate Nordstrom from other high-end retailers and department stores and build customer loyalty. They are in a highly competitive market involving high fashion, quality items at a premium price, but their service is what drives their business in. They invest in high quality staff, greet customers by name, write personal thank you notes, make follow up calls about satisfaction with prod ucts, have large well lit stores and fitting rooms, have a price match system, as well as a very lenient no questions return policy, all combined to keep their customers as satisfied as they can. Find a study that talks about service driving in customers, customer surveys, reports, etc. Nordstrom has different brands and product lines to reach different market segments and keep up with trends. These include: Rack, Haute Look, Treasure & Bond, and Trunk Club. This offers mid price markets opportunities to join with regular high price markets, online exclusive shoppers to join the Nordstrom network and fashions, appeal to â€Å"give-back† shoppers, and gives men a new online shopping experienced linked to the perks of Nordstrom’s inventories and in store tailors. This is a strength of the company because it creates a larger customer base to represent and build markets in, allowing the company growth in a variety of areas that competitors are not hitting. Compared to retail apparel competitors, â€Å"Nordstrom Inc. reported Total Revenue increase in the 2 quarter 2014 by 6.13 % year on year. The sales growth was above Nordstrom Inc.’s competitors average re venue growth of 0.99 %, recorded in the same quarter. With net margin of 5.4 % company  achieved higher profitability than its competitors.†   The Nordstrom Brand name and size are also strengths of the company. The Nordstrom brand has been around long enough to build relationships with suppliers and attain exclusive brands to carry, and establish lines of distribution, which puts them above new entrants because it is difficult to gain licensing for exclusive brands when you are not already established as well as establish your distribution system. They also have a size advantage having 118 original Nordstrom stores, 162 Nordstrom Rack locations, 2 Jeffrey boutiques, 1 clearance store and they also reach customers online in 96 countries through Nordstrom.com and reaching customers online through HauteLook and NordstromRack.com as well. The high brand awareness, and availability is what competes in department and apparel retail. The company carries unique products; exceptional, high quality brands that are not going to be found at discount retailers to create the exclusive feel for customers. They also new experiences an d brands within the company through their Spa and Restaurants within some of the Nordstrom front-line stores. These differentiate Nordstrom from direct competitors, but also from restaurants competition by using quality, sustainability, and responsibility as their guide to the best experience. (http://wwwiebe.com/nordstrom-customer-service-first/) Find article about competitors with restaurants and spas, and how this makes a difference compared to their revenues and restaurants too. Has established online presence in 96 countries and built network through their multiple websites for each store brand, built their own app to shop from your phone, and gotten involved in social media, more specifically Instagram with their â€Å"Instalog† while keeping all of this integrated with their mortar stores. They also understand that â€Å"when you stop evolving with your customer, you die,† as Jamie Nordstrom, president of stores, has said. They are building fulfillment centers to accommodate online shopping more quickly, use RFID chips to keep their perpetual inventory system for stores and online to share, and invested more into online growth than brick and mortar stores,  knowing that this is where their growth is coming from. â€Å"Over the next several years Nordstrom expects to derive half of its sales from the Rack and from its online units, versus 38 percent today,† and that’s because â€Å"the U.S. Commerce Department estimates that electronic commerce amounted to 6.2 percent of total retail sales in the first quarter of 2014.† Analysts have also been saying Nordstrom has thrived compared to competitors because it is a pioneer in perks like free shipping and also having the unique diversity of products online. Their expansion into Canada this year also gives them an advantage against competitors who have not branched out internationally yet. This opens their market up to Calgary shoppers, Canada’s strong economy, an area underserved of luxury items, shoppers who are familiar with the brand, and expectation to grow to a total of 5 Canadian stores within 2 years. If their expansion continues in a positive way like their first opening, they will continue to have this s trength over their competitors. Weaknesses: Because Nordstrom focuses mainly on their customer service and does price matching on their items, they are at risk to be directly affected by price fluctuations and economic trends. The fluctuations in the market are out of Nordstrom’s control, but their choice of pricing strategy to match prices are internal choices that they are choosing to be vulnerable to. If they don’t want this as a weakness they would try to reinvent their pricing strategy to keep competitive pricing without matching competition because that is directly relative to the market. Offering free shipping does improve their customer loyalty, but it also comes with a high cost for the company. This is a weakness because they internally chose to make this sacrifice for the greater good of the company and take the hit on spending, but is hard to measure the direct effects of customer loyalty because of  free shipping. Nordstrom has the opportunity to invest more into their credit business because many of their competitors have more resources in this area giving them an advantage. Their competition is external but the choice to not invest highly in their credit business is a weakness of Nordstrom. The company would have to look into how they allocate their resources to see if there is room to invest additionally into this sector of business and if it would bring sufficient benefit to them. Opportunities: Already reaching 96 countries with their online retailing, Nordstrom continues to have room for growth in this area. New technology is keeping the market on their toes with ideas to expand and take advantage sooner than competitors, which is why Nordstrom is spending to grow fulfillment of network for direct sales channels to make delivery faster, and improve mobile app and in store personalized experience. They already have an app that was revealed earlier this year, Instagram, and multiple online stores with Nordstrom.com, NordstromRack.com and HauteLook.com, with plans to introduce Canadian Nordstrom Rack soon. The company plans to invest $150 million into its’ online retailing. They plan to hire up to 400 people for their e-commerce group, including Kirk Beardsley, the former director of business development at Amazon. Their acquisition of HauteLook changed their ecommerce capabilities, and they continue to look for integration opportunities to grow expansion further. They need to continually understand new markets such as the discount merchandising market, which they have recently made their footprint grow Rack sales by 20% in the first quarter of the year, compared to comparable stores that only grew 6.4%. The reason their growth opportunities online and in different markets remain an opportunity is because technology, online trends, and consumer preferences are always changing. They need to continue to stay on their toes with the online retail market since growth is higher than physical stores currently. Currently Nordstrom is â€Å"developing a strategy to secure their supply  chain in a resource constrained world will enable them to leverage their customer service brand image† by investing in recycling, transportation, paper and packaging, energy, water, human rights, organic food, and community support. They have the opportunity to continue this path of enhancing social and environmental sustainability, corporate social responsibility, and supply chain management to appeal to environmental supporting markets. The Canada debut of stores is their first branch into international markets, which says the company is in a stable enough spot to take on these new complex roles in the market. They have a good economy with a high median family income at $90,000 in the areas they plan to continue growth in. According to government data, this is the highest in metropolitan areas in Canada, giving the company the opportunity to expand and capture their market. There are not current plans to expand beyond Canada, but if they succeed there then that again leaves open an entire new box of options for the company to move overseas. Nordstrom will also be opening up Nordstrom Rack locations in Canada once they accomplish their mission with front-line stores, opening up opportunities to reach the middle class Canadian consumers who want designer brands at a bargain. Continuing to be an innovative brand will be an opportunity for Nordstrom to take advantage of. They launched their â€Å"first time private-lab el brand that will give 5 percent of its earnings to Girls Inc. and other nonprofits that seek to empower women and young girls. The move comes amid the increasing popularity of â€Å"give-back† fashion.† The charitable boutique Nordstrom opened in New York’s SoHo neighborhood in 2011, Treasure&Bond, will be available at 86 stores around the country and online as well to promote their â€Å"give-back† persona. There will be constant opportunity to follow trends and compete in the market with things such as these, and Nordstrom has the opportunity to continue its’ successful planning to meet them and conquer.   Disposable incomes in the US are rising, for instance June 2014 were at an all time high at 13021.20 billion versus the previous month at 12969.70 billion. What this means for Nordstrom and all retailers is that spending will begin/continue to increase and they need to be the brand/company that captures those sales. Their expansion, online presence, and quality need to continue to improve, and there marketing strategy relying heavily on word of mouth may need re-evaluation to determine if this is the best way to promote the brand while maintaining their high image.   Sales per square foot vary company to company and your ability to stock, merchandise, and turnover quicker than your competitor is an opportunity to capitalize on. Maintaining highest sales per square foot is a competitive tool in the retail industry and in 2013 Nordstrom had the highest sales per square foot at $400 in comparison to direct competitors Macy’s at $173 and Saks Fifth Ave at $350. Their ability to stock more into a space and turnover that merchandise faster than competition is a strength of Nordstrom in the external market. Threats: The department store and apparel industries are highly competitive, with direct competitors of Nordstrom being: Bloomingdale’s, Macy’s, Dillard’s, Saks Fifth Ave, and Neiman Marcus. As consumer preference continues to shift, and incomes continue to rise the market will only continue to be more and more competitive, leveraging many opportunities for each company. There is also a lot of indirect competition of Nordstrom including food service, spas, boutiques, discount retailers, online retailers, and specialty stores. This creates significant competitive areas and factors in position including their customer service, unique fashion trends, selection, quality, environment, location, and convenience. Further threats for the company to consider while making decisions also include plans for growth, market share, pricing, supply chains, brand image and much more. There is also indirect competition for Nordstrom’s credit business like banks, credit card companies , and other stores that offer a store card such as JCP, Saks,  Dillard’s, Macy’s and Dillard’s. Because some of the competitors in this area have more financial marketing and resources to dedicate to their credit business, it makes it a huge threat to Nordstrom The economy will continue to be a threat not only in the US but also in their new Canadian expansion. The US economy and Americans spending is going up, as listed in the opportunities column, but because the past decade has been rough its effects may still linger and possibly shift into Canada’s economy as well. The threat of an economic downturn is something that all businesses face though, so to be safe Nordstrom should continually set realistic expectations and plans for what they would do in that situation. Price changes and increasing costs also threaten Nordstrom’s supply chain of designer and high-end brands. Because of the global climate changes and shortages in resources, the market for material, labor, and transportation are not as stable. This threatens Nordstrom because higher costs for them are not good if they’re not producing higher sales or profits, and the environmental effects on their business is completely out of their control. Online expansio n of all retailers especially a dominator like Amazon has put up many obstacles for Nordstrom. It is difficult and expensive to constantly and quickly transition to new technological changes. Nordstrom is threatened by these changes to see if it can successfully invest and continually update to the markets demands. Their repositioning online and through social media with the wave of technology seems to be going well so far, but time will tell if they are able to continue on top or if they will fall behind the industry. In Canadian market they just entered there is a battle for the luxury market, which is not sufficiently claimed yet. Hudson’s Bay Company has Canadian roots and just bought Saks, with plans to move them up to Canada as well. This will harshly threaten Nordstrom’s pull on luxury market share in Canada. There is  also the 177-year-old brand Holt Renfrew that announced expansion in its Calgary luxury store, which is in the same place as the first Canadian Nordstrom. This is again a direct threat to their business in Canada and how their expansion will determine if they can grab and hold onto market share. There are also not many to choose from talent wise in Canada because the luxury market is not prominent so there is little experience to find. There is also a higher average wage in the area they are stationed because of the oil-fueled jobs in the Calgary area, so they will have higher labor costs demanded as well. References: http://seattletimes.com/html/businesstechnology/2024579800_nordstromcanadaxml.html?cmpid=2628 https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/nordstrom/id474349412?mt=8 http://www.luxurydaily.com/nordstrom-integrates-instagram-to-create-shopping-experience/ http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/business/ci_26254983/models-disabilities-star-nordstrom-catalog http://wwwiebe.com/nordstrom-customer-service-first/ http://seattletimes.com/html/businesstechnology/2024313399_nordstromearningsxml.html http://seattletimes.com/html/businesstechnology/2024291908_nordstromstorexml.html http://www.internetretailer.com/2014/05/19/nordstrom-invests-heavily-e-commerce http://callisto.ggsrv.com/imgsrv/FastFetch/UBER1/306343_GDRT31838FSA