Wednesday, November 27, 2019

Names of Family Members in Spanish

Names of Family Members in Spanish Who are the members of your family, how many are there, and what do they do? These are among the first questions you may be asked when you meet and first become acquainted with a native Spanish speaker. Depending on your age, you may be asked about your parents and what they do for a living, or you may be asked if you are married or have any children. Learn the words on this page as well as a few words to describe your family members, then bring a photo along, and even if youre a beginner and know only simple grammar, you can engage in conversation. Gender and Family Members Keep in mind that masculine plurals in Spanish can refer to mixed groups of males and females. Thus cuatro hijos can mean either four sons or four children, depending on the context. And while it may sound strange to the ear attuned to English, padres is a grammatically correct way to refer to both a mother and father, even though padre alone refers to a father. Also, note that the word pariente means relative in general; the Spanish-English cognate  doesnt refer only to parents. Vocabulary of the Family Following are the names for the most common relatives and some of the uncommon ones: padre: fathermadre: motherhermano: brotherhermana: sistersuegro: father-in-lawsuegra: mother-in-lawcuà ±ado: brother-in-lawcuà ±ada: sister-in-lawesposo, marido: husbandesposa, mujer: wifeabuelo: grandfatherabuela: grandmotherbisabuelo: great-grandfatherbisabuela: great-grandmothertatarabuelo: great-great-grandfathertatarabuela: great-great-grandmotherhijo: sonhija: daughternieto: grandsonnieta: granddaughterbisnieto: great-grandsonbisnieta: great-granddaughtertataranieto: great-great-grandsontataranieta: great-great-granddaughtertà ­o: uncletà ­a: aunttà ­o abuelo: great-uncletà ­a abuela: great-auntprimo: cousin (male)prima: cousin (female)primo carnal, prima carnal, primo hermano, prima hermana: first cousinprimo segundo, prima segunda: second cousinsobrino: nephewsobrina: niecepadrastro: stepfathermadrastra: stepmotherhijastro: stepsonhijastra: stepdaughterhermanastro: stepbrotherhermanastra: stepsistermedio hermano, hermano de padre, hermano de madre: half brothermedia her mana, hermana de padre, hermana de madre: half sister concuà ±ado: husband of ones spouses sisterconcuà ±ada: wife of ones spouses brotherconsuegro: father-in-law of ones son or daughterconsuegra: mother-in-law of ones son or daughterprometido, novio: fiance, boyfriend, groomprometida, novia: fiancà ©e, girlfriend, bridecompaà ±ero: male partner in a couple relationshipcompaà ±era: female partner in a couple relationshippadrino: godfathermadrina: godmotherahijado: godsonahijada: goddaughteramigo: friend (male)amiga: friend (female)conocido: acquaintance (male)conocida: acquaintance (female) Miscellaneous Family Terms La familia polà ­tica  or los polà ­ticos may be used as the equivalent of the in-laws. In other words, the terms refer to people to whom one is related by marriage. (In a different context, polà ­ticos can also refer to politicians.) The term amigovio or amigovia can be used colloquially in some areas to a person with whom a person has a romantic or sexual relationship that hasnt necessarily been formalized, such as a friend with benefits or a live-in lover where there isnt necessarily an expectation of marriage. This is a word of fairly recent origin, so its meaning isnt uniform in all areas. Note that while marido refers to a husband, there is no corresponding feminine form, marida, in standard use. Sample Sentences Referring to Family Members Here are some simple sample sentences you can use as models for your own: Mi padre es carpintero. (My father is a carpenter.)Mi tà ­a es dentista.(My aunt is a dentist.)Mi madre es ama de casa. (My mother is a housewife.)Tengo dos hermanos y una hermana. (I have two brothers and a sister.)Tengo cuatro hermanos. (This sentence can be seen as ambiguous by English speakers. It can be correctly translated as either I have four brothers or I have four siblings.)Tengo nueve tà ­os. (I have nine aunts and uncles or I have nine uncles.:)Mi madrastra vive en el estado de Nueva York. (My stepmother lives in New York state.)Mis sobrinas viven en Chicago. (My nieces live in Chicago.)Mi padre est muerto. (My father is dead.)Mi prima est muerta. (My female cousin is dead.)Mi madre est viva. (My mother is alive.)Otto y Edith Frank fueron los padres de Ana Frank. (Otto and Edith  Frank were the parents of Anne Frank.)Los primos no pueden casarse segà ºn nuestra cultura. (Cousins cannot marry accoridng to our culture.)Los suegras siempre tienen mala reputacià ³n. (Mo thers-in-law always have a bad reputation.)

Saturday, November 23, 2019

How the Compromise of 1850 Helped Delay the Civil War

How the Compromise of 1850 Helped Delay the Civil War The Compromise of 1850 was a series of five bills intended to stave off sectional strife that passed during  Millard Fillmores  presidency.  With the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo at the end of the Mexican-American War, all the Mexican-owned territory between California and Texas was given to the United States. This included parts of New Mexico and Arizona. In addition, portions of Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, and Colorado were ceded to the US. The question that arose was what to do with slavery in these territories. Should it be allowed or forbidden? The issue was extremely important to both free and slave states because of the balance of power in terms of voting blocs in the US Senate and House of Representatives.   Henry Clay as Peacemaker Henry Clay was a Whig Senator from Kentucky. He was nicknamed The Great Compromiser due to his efforts at helping bring these bills to fruition along with previous bills such as the Missouri Compromise of 1820 and the Compromise Tariff of 1833. He personally owned slaves which he would later free in his will. However, his motivation in passing these compromises, especially the 1850 compromise, was to avoid the Civil War. Sectional strife was becoming more and more confrontational. With the addition of new territories and the question of whether they would be free or slave territories, the need for a compromise was the only thing that at that time would have averted outright violence. Realizing this, Clay enlisted the help of Democratic Illinois Senator, Stephen Douglas who would eight years later be involved in a series of debates with Republican opponent Abraham Lincoln.   Clay, backed by Douglas, proposed five resolutions on January 29, 1850, which he hoped would bridge the gap between Southern and Northern interests. In April of that year, a Committee of Thirteen was created to consider the resolutions. On May 8th, the committee led by Henry Clay proposed the five resolutions combined into an omnibus bill. The bill did not receive unanimous support. Opponents on both sides were not happy with the compromises including southerner John C. Calhoun and northerner William H. Seward. However, Daniel Webster put his considerable weight and verbal talents behind the bill. Nonetheless, the combined bill failed to win support in the Senate. Thus, the supporters decided to separate the omnibus bill back into five individual bills. These were eventually passed and signed into law by President Fillmore.   The Five Bills of the Compromise of 1850   The goal of the Compromise bills was to deal with the spread of slavery to territories in order to keep northern and southern interests in balance. The five bills included in the Compromises put the following into law: California was entered as a free state.New Mexico and Utah were each allowed to use popular sovereignty to decide the issue of slavery. In other words, the people would pick whether the states would be free or slave.The Republic of Texas gave up lands that it claimed in present-day New Mexico and received $10 million to pay its debt to Mexico.The slave trade was abolished in the District of Columbia.The Fugitive Slave Act made any federal official who did not arrest a runaway slave liable to pay a fine. This was the most controversial part of the Compromise of 1850 and caused many abolitionists to increase their efforts against slavery. The Compromise of 1850 was key in delaying the start of the Civil War until 1861. It temporarily lessened the rhetoric between northern and southern interests, thereby delaying secession for 11 years. Clay died of tuberculosis in 1852. One wonders what might have happened if he had still been alive in 1861.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

IT INFRASTRUCTURE Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

IT INFRASTRUCTURE - Essay Example In the Middle East, BDB is one of the leading service providers in gas, power, water and chemical industries providing maintenance, rehabilitation, construction, O&M and lifecycle services (Boudreau, 2008). It has an asset base of over  £500 million and order intake of  £58 million. It has over 1300 employees operating from Saudi Arabia, United Emirates and Kuwait. It parent company Bilfinger Power Systems GmbH AS AT 2012 had over 10,000 employees and an order intake of  £1.178 million For it to operate more effectively and serve a wide base of clients, BDB realized that it requires a network that will facilitate seamless communication between its diverse locations without compromising security of its resources. It has a number of departments including sales with 300 employees while other 900 employees are spread across Finance, Operations, Human Resources, Marketing, production and corporate office in 10 offices in United Arab Emirates. BDB network consist of a backbone, campus, data center, branch/WAN and Ethernet edge. Of late, it has reported a number of vulnerabilities and security breaches in its networks. Due to recent security breaches in the campus network BDB took a major step in 2012 and deployed a secure network provided sufficient security for its operations. Remote access will allow telecommuting employees to access to the main office resources without being necessarily being there. Security is a major concern for remote access and should be treated as such during network design process. Because of the demands for seamless network access for remote and in-house users as well as security of internal resources, BDB contracted the services of a technology contractor to analyze the business needs and recommend a company-wide solution. The contractor recommended the deployment of a IPSec-based VPN and the process of planning

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

Comment on how these may have contributed to the crisis and describe Essay

Comment on how these may have contributed to the crisis and describe the action subsequently taken on these two matters by the UK Government, see other instructions - Essay Example rigger for the crisis was the bursting of the housing bubble in the US, several corporate governance issues at banks were equally responsible for the spread and deepening of this crisis. Two of the most important corporate governance issues at play were – the merger of retail and institutional banking under one banking entity and the fat bonus culture at financial services companies. Whereas retail banking refers to banking in which banks interact/transact with individuals, institutional banking refers to transactions with corporate. The retail banking is rather risk averse and mostly a stable business in itself whereas institutional banking generally involves a lot more risk taking and the business is quite volatile. By having retail and institutional banking under one parent company, the risks taken for doing business in one area become a possible liability for the other. Therefore, losses incurred at institutional banking would have to be borne by the retail banking branch as they fall under the same group. Secondly, some institutions can indulge in putting more risk in its institutional banking business in order to increase their retail business, which is what explains how many banks were able to sell sub-prime mortgages before the crisis started. Sub-prime mortgages are high risk investments for banks and by packaging them into mortgage-backed bonds and sel ling/buying them through their institutional banking arms, banking groups take on significant risk on their balance sheets. Now, in the event of losses in the institutional banking business, financial services groups had to delve into their equities and reserves to cover these losses and to pay their dues. Thus, from retail banking clients’ point of view, the financial groups were using up their savings put in the bank to pay for losses incurred on the institutional banking business. This led to loss of confidence in the retail banks and caused bank-runs at some banks. As the retail banks keep only a

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Comparison between Japanese and Canadian Central Bank Policies Essay Example for Free

Comparison between Japanese and Canadian Central Bank Policies Essay The present paper is an investigation of the central bank policies in the countries of Japan and Canada. The paper takes into examination Bank of Japan and Bank of Canada and explores the grounds on which similarities and differences, if any, can be noted. This study is a comparison between the central banks’ policies of both the countries. The structure of the paper overviews the banking system of both the countries then furthers with individual analysis only to bring a major comparison at the second last section. The paper discusses findings in the conclusion section and makes recommendations for future policy making and development. 2- Overview This section overviews the past, present of the two banks in the concerned countries. This is in the attempt of creating a base of the later sections that would be dealing with specific policy issues of the two banks. 2.1- Japanese Banking System Today Japanese banking system finds its foundational roots in the aftermaths of World War II and is still continuing to grow support for the financial and industrial organizations of the country. Ever since World War II, Japanese banking system has gone through a number of changes and adaptations in corporate behavior as well as in the shaping of economic and regulatory policies. The period that can be said to be the golden time for the development of the Japanese banking system is regarded to be from the early 1950s to the early 1970s. This was the time when Japanese firms were growing rapidly and needed financial backing and monetary assessment to hold solid on the corporate grounds. However, from the 1970s, some changes were experienced by this banking system and that solid position was shaken. Of the major reasons, international paradigm change in financial transactions, corporate behavior with regard to investment of funds both internal and external, (firms started issuing securities rather than borrowing from banks) and other such reasons can be said to be the causes for the shaking of such a strong banking system as was in Japan once especial up to the early 1970s. Up to the present day, in the Japanese financial system, bank loans still possess the dominant place as the external financing source for the corporate sector which is non-financial – until 1986 the borrowings done from private institutions were recorded to be more than seventy percent. Other such common services as issuance of bonds, client monitoring, cost monitoring for different services, and so forth are also found to be in practice in the Japanese banking system. As such, there is much more that is needed to be examined in this country’s banking system that makes it notable on the international horizon (Aoki, Patrick, Sheard, pp. 1-15, 1994). 2.2 – Canadian Banking System The central banking system of Canada is also with its typical issues and challenges and up to the present time, these challenges have been multiplying for a number of factors. For example, nowhere in history general public was so much conscious about the evil unemployment and is now showing a hyper attitude which simply put the government and its financial institutions up front to the criticism. As such, the challenges are to make such financial policies as can help confront these challenges and move over them. Although the central bank of Canada did go through a long period of adjustments, say the depression period of the 1930s and later, Neufeld (1958) notes that â€Å"The constitutional adjustments experienced by the Bank of Canada were not as great as those of some older central banks† (p. 4). There are noteworthy reasons for this observation. For instance, beginning in the market, the bank was sponsored by the government leading to a stable position. However, political interventions and the bank’s responsibilities to cater for the needs or demands of the political party government continued to exist. The bank went through war crisis, financial instability, and social pressures like unemployment, all along its birth becoming an adult from an immature youth. At present the Bank is in a more favorable position to serve for the purposes of the government and perform its multifarious purposes with regard to financial activities along with the challenges. Some of the challenges that the bank faced during its stability periods were â€Å"serious foreign exchange outflows and phenomenal capital inflows† (212). The three areas, back in the stability phase, i.e., bond market, stock exchanges, and foreign exchange markets, have been tactfully established by the bank to create a positive picture of the overall economic situation of the country. Presently, the Bank holds a primary position in the decision making process of these three areas. Today, as a successful bank, the expert opinion about this bank is that it has dealt in the time of difficulty more with technique which was versatile than conservatism (213). The banking system of Canada is in a constant process of up gradation for better output; one such instance is the use of geographic information systems (GIS) technology â€Å"for a wide range of applications† (Macdonald, 2001, p. 419). Therefore, it is important to have a deep examination of the policies and practices of this bank so that the insider’s view can help others form such a system in any other country. 3-Policies of the Bank of Japan There are a number of policy issues that need to be revisited but for the limited space of the paper, only a few major are discussed. First of all, policies of the Bank of Japan (BOJ) have been central to critics’ attention due to a number of reasons but the most important is that it is one of the three G-3 central banks that have been reviewed in the past decades. The special features of BOJ are numerous. The most apparent, however, is its stance on deflation. Although BOJ was forced to take â€Å"a highly leveraged position† in local financial environment, it has taken no risk to fight the challenge. Moreover, it might have been possible for the bank to give in to a number of challenges that were created by deflation, however, the bank continued to survive with a number of different policies and measures (Cargill, 2005, p. 311). BOJ’s approach to monetary policy is pragmatic. The overall focus of this monetary policy is to maintain stability in price and encourage economic development. To meet these ends, the Bank monitors such areas as exchange rates, the aggregates of money, the indices of consumer and wholesale rates, growth of the GDP, production taking place in the industry, on-going interest rate in the market, prices of assets, and a number of other factors. It is also notable that in the functions of the Bank, international policy association and coordination can also play a role in the Bank’s domestic policy making. It is important to note that throughout its existence the BOJ has never come to stand as hardcore monetarist. Instead of this, the Bank has been treating the policy making of money more like a form of art. There are a number of methods by which the Bank lets its policies become public. The implementation of policies also takes a number of forms, for instance, â€Å"discoun t window† guides other financial institutions through loans etc. (Miller, 1996, pp. 1-47). By the late 1980s, BOJ held its position as positive in the eyes of the critics due to a number of policy making issues since WWII. Up to then the bank had gone through a number of remarkably shaky times coping up with such challenges as industrialization and establishment of it. By that time major characteristics of BOJ were its commitment to price stability and positive outcomes that came out of its policies. The most important point is that since its establishment, its legal position did not go through a change. Then it was the only bank rated as the most dependent of all the central banks in the world. Hence the notable feature is its keeping price stability instead of being a dependent bank. It also contradicted the widely acclaimed view that the more independent a central bank, the more price stability would be extended (Cargill, 2005, p. 311).   May 1989 is the period called the low point policy period of BOJ which continued through the year 2004. Here the bank increased the rate of discount in a number of steps that included historically low rate of 2.5 percent to 6.0 in the first stage of 1991. It was sternly a reaction against the asset inflation of the 1980s. However, the sharp recession and diminishing asset rate backed the bank to move for ease of policy in 1991 and the call and discount rates came down to 0.05 percent by the early 1995. Until it obtained the first â€Å"0 rate of interest† policy in 1999, the bank went on lowering call rate discount. It was drawn to a close in 2000. It came back to zero rate policy again in 2000 and moved on to a statistical easing down of policy in 2001 because declining economy alerted the authorities; moreover, it needed to adopt a different framework of operation for short-term rates on interest which had to be fundamentally zero (Cargill, 2005, p. 311). Although internationally, it is the reputation of the Bank of Japan that it has been moving too gradually in terms of the formation of monetary policy, fiscal policies, and resolving the issues present to it, there are important areas where this criticism becomes void. For example, Japan is often compared with the USA without considering the fact that former faced a great many more problems than the latter. Additionally, there are such instances as Japan’s tighter economic policy in 1996 that has much to discard this criticism (Browne, 2001, p. 3). 4- Policies of the Bank of Canada The Bank of Canada (BOC) is often criticized for influencing the level of price, jobs, and the development of its country’s economy. However, in the recent years the Bank has acquired a reputation that it is very concerned with keeping the inflation rate low so that it can make other ends meet for broader goals of economy. The Bank has also been charged with its acute concerns to inflation rate only and looking over such challenges as unemployment and economic growth. However, there are proponents of the Bank’s policies who come forward to defend the policies of the bank as they are presently in practice stating that if the focus of the Bank shift to the vice versa perspective, there would be no growth in economy and inflation rate will increase causing devaluation of the dollar. Vanderhart (2003) conducted an in-depth analysis of BOC’s response to inflation rate and other such concerns as unemployment, growth of economy, and other factors. The author found that there is insufficient evidence to suggest that the Bank of Canada’s response to economic data available on inflation is direct, â€Å"inflationary precursors as raw materials and intermediate goods prices are only significant when other important factors are omitted† (p. 357). But the author does not make it a remark that the Bank does not follow the procedures to pursue anti-inflationary policy. What the BOC has successfully achieved with regard to keeping control over inflation is that it responds to those factors which are other than â€Å"the releases of price level data†. Moreover, the recent policies also prompt to the suggestion that the Bank is taking measure to fight the challenge of unemployment. Two factors also came up to the author’s analysis that determined the actions and responses of the BOC. These are exchange rates and federal fund rate. The bottom line that the author draws is the there is little doubt about the health of the Canadian economy and the BOC is actively involved in the process of keeping this health stable. However, if some out-of-Canada issues are present, there may be some criticism on the Bank for example, its interconnection with the U.S. monetary policy because there are voices that might want a Canada which is independent of U.S. related economic policies (Vanderhart, 2003). If we review comparative analysis of Canadian economic growth with other countries (say Australia), there is sufficient evidence to mark the above observation that the Canadian economy has grown stronger than before and that such challenges as labor utilization has been carefully handled in the favor of the country. Harchaoui, et al. tell us that the growth of Canada’s real average income has large credit to a magnificent improvement in the way labor has been utilized, i.e. â€Å"the combination of high average hours worked and a high rate of employment in the total population†. In addition to this, capital deepening effect has also played an important role in the present stability of the Canadian financial outlook (Harchaoui, et al., 2005, p. 36). 5- Bank of Japan and Bank of Canada Comparing the policies of the central banks of Japan and Canada each gives us more insight. There are a few studies that have been done on the comparative analysis. In one such study, Tomljanovich (2007) informs that the central banks of these two countries (including banks of other countries, as well) are on a constant pursuit of having open dialogue with the general public and this is in the efforts of increasing efficiency and reducing volatility in financial markets. In the case of Canada, which comes in the category of a majority of interest rate maturities, it is found that there is greater predictability in terms of market functions because there is a high flow of information to Canada and this flow coincides with sub-periods simultaneously to lower interest volatility rate. However, Japan (as well as Germany in this study) appears to be the only country in which there is no such evidence of lower interest volatility. Moreover the study shows that the central Bank of Japan and the central Bank of Canada both moved to greater transparency measures in the 1990s which shows that both these banks want to progress on the modern lines (p. 791). As for the policies of Canadian central bank, it is evident that there is inclination of these policies to those of the U.S. There is no doubt that Bank of Canada has greater interests in keeping these ties with the financial environment of the U.S. monetary and fiscal policies. However, Bank of Japan has stood on a very different turf that is of independence with dependence and of unique regulatory framework of all policies handled ever since World War II. There is no doubt that government like Canada and Quebec recognize China and Japan for their strategic partnership in the region of Asia. For this the credit goes to Japanese ever-growing economic curve which in turn holds credit for the policies that the central banking system of Japan for a long time formulated, ran, and implemented successfully (Inomata, 2002, p. 259). 6- Conclusion Examination of the policies of central Bank of Japan and the central Bank of Canada in detail reveal that both countries have to face challenges that emerge from their specific environment. There are similarities and differences in the approaches of the Banks of both the countries. One acute similarity is that both countries have moved to greater transparency and are considered successful banks on the international horizon. Another is that Banks of both these countries are focusing more on interest rate and inflation level stability. For this purpose, however, the approaches of the two banks are different; both are putting efforts to fight the challenge of unemployment. As for the differences, Japanese bank is legally dependent, whereas, Canadian bank is independent; yet there is this sharp observation that Bank of Canada looks at the U.S. financial environment for policy making, whereas, Japanese Bank looks at its own typical challenges that need to be tackled on the international f ront. Another important thing which comes out from this study of the two banking systems in two different countries is that both function in their own environment and that it is not possible to find acute similarities in both the systems because of different financial and social outlook of the countries. This is important to look into more details in these central banks and banks of other countries as well so that a sound analysis about policy making and other measure against present and upcoming challenges can be met.

Thursday, November 14, 2019

An Unnatural Family as the Punishment for Sin in Hawthornes Scarlet Le

In an introductory paragraph to Nathaniel Hawthorne’s works, Perkins and Perkins say that â€Å"Hawthorne elevated some of the darkest events of the colonial period and transformed them into universal themes and questions†(Perkins 433). One of these themes is that of the penalty of sin. In Romans 6:23, Paul says that â€Å"the wages of sin is death† and Hawthorne seems to share this view, or at least some version of it. This view is prevalent in his novel The Scarlet Letter. In it, the penalty for Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale’s sin is a family that is disfigured and unnatural. Dimmesdale, the â€Å"father† in this family shies away from his patriarchal duties and stands by while he lets Hester do all of the work regarding Pearl. First of all, Dimmesdale is absent for the majority of Pearl’s life. He is present in the town but hardly ever sees Pearl, even though she is his daughter. He says that Pearl has, only â€Å"twice in her little lifetime† shown kindness to him(Hawthorne Ch.19). Out of seven entire years, Dimmesdale and Pearl have shared only two meaningful moments together. Dimmesdale has obviously shied away from his duties as a father to Pearl. Even though she is illegitimate, it is his responsibility to help raise her. He also does not deal with Pearl directly when she is acting like a crazed animal. He implores Hester to calm her, telling Hester to â€Å"pacify her,† through any means to show him â€Å"if thou lovest me!†(Hawthorne Ch. 19). Hawthorne uses specific images through the words of his characters to show how much Dimmesdale is shying away from his responsibilities as a father. As a father, Dimmesdale should be raising his child to become a contributing member of the Puritan society in Massachusetts. Instead of doing this, Dimmesd... ..., but this is exactly what Pearl does over both Hester and Dimmesdale. Clearly, during the forest scene, Hawthorne is giving the reader a sense of how unnatural this family that came from a single adulterous act is. It sheds light on Hawthorne’s romantic views because it shows how an unnatural family is detestable. In a much more broad sense, it gives the reader a glimpse of Hawthorne’s own personal theology. He firmly believes in severe consequences for sin and it shows in his novel. Works Cited Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter. 1850. New York: Bantam Dell, 2003. Print Perkins, George, and Barbara Perkins. â€Å"Nathaniel Hawthorne.† The American Tradition in Literature. Ed. Perkins and Perkins. 12th ed. Concise ed. Boston: McGraw Hill, 2007. 433-36. Print. The Holy Bible: New International Version. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 1996. Print.

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Policy-making in the Federal System Essay

The U.S. government’s expansive role in public policy is caught in a swirl of conflicting cross-currents. On the one hand, popular expectations about government’s responsibility to solve problems often exceed the capacity of state and local authorities to respond effectively. On the other hand, policies developed at the national level may not sufficiently reflect the great diversity of interests across the U.S. to be effective at the local level. Moreover, the search for effective policy is further complicated by theoretical debates about the constitutional framework of federalism, e.g., what limits on national power can be derived from the Tenth Amendment? A policy area in the middle of these cross-currents is elementary and secondary education – a subject traditionally under local control, with some oversight by the states. However, during the last four decades – especially since 2001 – the national government’s role in education has grown significantly as a result of initiatives by Republican and Democratic administrations. Use the assigned resources to inform yourself about this role and the arguments of its supporters and critics. In your initial post of at least 200-250 words, briefly summarize the national government’s education policies. Explain the main pros and cons in the debate about these policies. Evaluate them from two perspectives: The policies’ effectiveness in improving the quality of U.S. elementary and secondary education. (Justify your assessment by clearly explaining your definition of â€Å"effectiveness† and how it should be measured or determined.) Their consistency with the constitutional framework of federalism. (Justify your assessment by clearly explaining your interpretation of American federalism’s constitutional framework and why federal education policies are or are not consistent with it.) Fully respond to all parts of the question. Write in your own words. Support your position with APA citations to two or more different resources required for this discussion. By Day 7, respond to at least two of your classmates’ initial posts. Your peer responses each must be at least 75 words. They must demonstrate  critical thinking (e.g., ask a relevant question about your peer’s post while explaining why your question is significant, or state a perspective that contrasts with your peer’s while explaining or justifying your position). In the Federal government’s role in education, I think it can be seen in the â€Å"No Child Left Behind Act† that the Federal Government has set down certain educational guidelines for the states to follow. These guidelines have to provide the Federal government from the states with information such as student achievements, performance by school districts; test performed by students in grades 3 through 8, and ensures that teachers meet minimum qualifications for teaching, in order to get federal funding from the Federal government. I think that in one way, it could be construed as within the federalism’s constitutional framework, in that the Federal government is making sure that in order for the states to receive federal help that they must be in compliance with certain guidelines to best give a proper education to the children of today. Yet according to K. Hettleman, the U.S. Government has not gone far enough, as seen in his article, Expand â€Å"No Child† through Federal Standards, Funding, that the Federal Government holds states accountable for the low performance of poor and minority students, but is undermined by political compromises, that allow state and local officials to continue to devise their own academic standards and tests. I think there ought to be stricter regulations by the federal government of making the states do more for the students in education practices that would make all students equal in performance no matter of race, color or statue in order for that state to receive federal assistance. As seen by educational statistics, â€Å"Illiteracy in the U.S. Compared to the rest of the world, the U.S. is doing well. According to the latest International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS), between 19% and 23% of American adults performed at the top levels for each of the three literacy scales: document literacy, prose literacy and quantitative (number) literacy. Sweden is the only country that scored higher. Yet many Americans are being left behind. The same survey found that between 21% and 24% of U.S. adults performed at the lowest level  for all three scales, a figure echoed by the National Adult Literacy Survey (NALS). I think that the State and Federal Government ought to work closer together to ensure a better education for all Americans. Reference: Wong, K. K. (2008, December). Federalism revised: The promise and challenge of the No Child Left Behind Act, Retrieved from: Public Administration Review: Special Issue on The Winter Commission Report Revisited, S175-S185. Document ID, ProQuest Social Science Journals database in the Ashford Online Library Gabriel, T. (2011, October 9). G.O.P. anti-federalism aims at education [News analysis]. Retrieved from: New York Times (Late Edition (east coast)), A28. Document ID: 2480540871. Retrieved from ProQuest Newspapers database, in the Ashford Online Library Levin- Waldon, O.M. (2012). American Government. San Diego, Ca: Bridgepoint Education, Inc. Http://www

Sunday, November 10, 2019

Nike Market Analysis Essay

There are many companies offering similar but not identical products, this is called Monopolistic competition market, and there are also many buyers that perceive differences between these products like service, features, design and quality, so they are willing to pay different prices for them. Therefore, each firm influences each other on the extent of the product prices or has some control over some. For instance, exists different marketing tools that firms use for competition, such as branding and personal selling to differentiate their offerings and advertising. Nike is located at Bearverton, Oregon. The company was founded in 1978by Bill Bowerman and Philip Knight, named Nike and become the number one sports manufactures in the world design by Nolan Breitbarth in the 1970’s.This company sells sports products worldwide. Nike sells a huge range of products, including shoes and apparel for sports activities like volleyball, cycling, golf, athletics, American football, tennis , combat sports, basketball and football. Nike is a company that has attained success in the market thanks to the excellence of its products and the passion for everyone to use its brand products that create the Nike Just Do It feeling for the competition. The proven strategy of the company is to create a consumer’s perception of brand influences their buying decision in sports industry by athletic expectation that is endorsed by real athletes, technique that has revolutionized the sports marketing. Nike recently teamed up with Apple Inc. to produce the Nike + product which monitors a runner’s performance via radio device in the shoe that communicates with the iPod nano. American brand Nike is number two in terms of name recognition among foreign consumers and is a sponsor of different players, events and sports teams, among others, and is the number one sports brand in the world. The direct competition of Nike has always been the sports brand Adidas. Adidas is a German worldwide firm that also produces different sporting goods, founded in 1949 in Herzogenaurach, Germany. Adidas’ market capitalization is 18.09  billion, well below the capitalization of Nike. Adidas is considered the second sports brand in the wor ld, competing with Nike since this American company was founded. Adidas has never been able to pass or improve the figures of Nike. Adidas recently began to make very similar decisions to Nike; this allows the competition to grow. Adidas decide to use marketing strategies similar to those of Nike in the moment that they decide to invest a large portion of their capital in advertising and celebrity sponsorships, the strategy used by Nike since its inception. Adidas, after ups and downs in the market against Nike, recently decided to acquire the Reebok firm, a sustitute brand of sporting goods, this decision was made in order to topple the market leader Sports, Nike, based on a â€Å"partnership†. Adidas competes strongly with Nike, but Nike still has this kind of monopoly because it makes better things with much less production factors than Adidas. Another example of substitute brand in the sports market is the signature Puma, with a market capitalization of 3.46 Billion dollars. Puma does not compete strongly with brands like Nike or Adidas, their products are also substitutes but it does not has a wide range and variety. Similarly, Reebok products, before the firm was acquired by Adidas, were competing in the sports market with these two giant. Although often substitute products could be better than those of the two big firms, people prefer the big firm’s products for the fact that marketing and advertising is way much better and people get carried away by the image that firms are selling them, beyond quality. Similar examples are for companies like Converse, New Balance and Under Armour, among others. Nike’s market capitalization is 57.58 Billion dollars and the company spends millions of dollars annually in promoting events, celebrities and numerous flashy ads that catch the attention of consumers and promote the culture of sport as a benefit to the world. Nike has managed to remain world leader in sports products since the 90’s and even when there are many other sports brands in the world, Nike is kind of a monopoly in this market thanks to the market strategies used that have allowed this firm to place and especially, remain, well above their competitors, that is why this firm falls into the category of monopolistic competition. Nike has many strengths and weaknesses as a consolidated company in a market that is competitive by nature, as are the sports. One of its strengths is that it is a world class company that has the facility to  sell their products anywhere in the world. Nike has more than 700 production factories around the world. Other two major strengths of the company, as already mentioned, is their slogan and symbol, which have allowed, through their marketing that this brand can become increasingly known. Nike is a well established company that has managed to get out of economic crises and demands, which also represents a threat to the assets of the company. Nike risk much as any brand with celebrities sponsoring by the fact that they may be involved in scandals, but it still retains its credibility as a firm around the world. Moreover, Nike is a company that is dedicated to their customers; it does not neglect any part of the business and react properly to any changes in the consumer behavior by taking steps that allow them to maintain a leading position in the market. This company is a leading innovator, they are alw ays looking to offer the best and satisfy consumer tastes even when the population is different. In conclusion, consumers are always going to prefer products from companies like Nike or Adidas because they have sold them the idea that their products are at the top of the market, and indeed, they are. Nike has an inelastic demand since the variation in the prices of their products does not affect the number of consumers that the brand has, again thanks to their marketing and advertising techniques. The countless ads that Nike publishes around the world are not specifically to view them, Nike have managed to create images that consumers hardly forget, innovative images. Consumers are always changing by the products they promote the more. Nike dominates and will continue to dominate the global sports market as its products are accessible and because they offer many promotions and discounts to their customers around the world, if Nike dominates this market nowadays is all thanks to its marketing beyond the quality or accessibility of its products. Source: http://nikesports.wikispaces.com/Finance â€Å"This chart demonstrates just how much of the market share for shoes Nike currently owns.† http://www.socialbakers.com//storage/www/daily-fan-growth-nike-vs.-adidas-originals-from-apr-01-2012-to-apr-30-2012.png This graph shows the ups and downs in demand for different brands of competition in the sports market from April 02 to April 30 that are not very different from nowadays. References: 1. Nike Inc. (NKE) -NYSE. [ONLINE] Available at: http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=NKE. [Last Accessed 5/15/13]. 2. Dmitriy Kha. Monopolistic Competition.   Available at: http://mail.beaconhill.org/~dkha/data/Micro%20Lectures/Lecture%2011.pdf. [Last Accessed 5/14/13]. 3. Paige Adams, Haley Smith, Laura Freeman, Dan Lawson, Hayley Jacobs, Gage Mitchell. NIKE Industry and Company Analysis. Available at: http://kimboal.ba.ttu.edu/MGT%204380%20Fall%202012/001/NIKE%20Industry%20and%20Company%20Analysis.pptx. [Last Accessed 5/13/13] 4. John B. Taylor, Akila Weerapana, (2009). Principles of Microeconomics. 6th ed. Boston, MA, U.S.A.: Houghton Mifflin. 5. Avinash K. Dixit, Joseph E. Stiglitz. Monopolistic Competition and Optimum Product Diversity. Available at: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1831401. [Last Accessed 5/14/13].

Friday, November 8, 2019

Whether to Use Whether or If

Whether to Use Whether or If Whether to Use Whether or If Whether to Use Whether or If By Mark Nichol Sometimes, when it comes to deciding between using the word whether and employing the word if, the correct choice is obvious: â€Å"I don’t know if to turn the oven knob left or right† is obviously wrong, but the almost-identical statement â€Å"I don’t know if I should turn the oven knob left or right† is acceptable. However, because if implies probability, and whether indicates a choice between alternatives, in formal writing, the latter is more appropriate. Similarly, â€Å"I don’t remember if I turned the oven off† is correct, but because â€Å"I don’t remember whether I turned the oven off† more clearly expresses that two alternatives exist, it is better in formal contexts. â€Å"Turn the oven off if you are leaving† is a conditional sentence it involves probability, not choice and therefore if is correct. But â€Å"Turn the oven off whether or not you are leaving† conveys two alternatives, so whether is better. Note also the insertion of the phrase â€Å"or not† into the sentence: When the sense of whether is â€Å"regardless of the possible alternatives,† include the phrase. However, in such constructions as â€Å"I don’t remember whether I turned the oven off,† because whether already has a sense of â€Å"yes or no,† â€Å"or not† is redundant. The phrase â€Å"as to whether† to mean â€Å"about whether,† as in â€Å"I am unclear as to whether a decision has been made,† is correct, but it’s an unnecessary formality; â€Å"about whether† will do. The phrase is also somewhat pedantic in constructions such as â€Å"The question as to whether it will do any good hasn’t been answered.† Simplify to â€Å"Whether it will do any good hasn’t been determined.† When whether follows a noun such as decision, issue, or question, it should do just that, without the word of intervening, if the phrase appears in a sentence such as â€Å"They will make a decision whether we’re there or not.† (â€Å"Or not† is necessary here because the sense of whether is â€Å"regardless.†) But if the sentence structure is something like â€Å"It’s an issue of whether they’re qualified† (here, â€Å"or not† is superfluous), of is integral. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Misused Words category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:7 Classes and Types of PhrasesConfusing "Passed" with "Past"Practice or Practise?

Tuesday, November 5, 2019

7 Must-Have Items for Your Author Media Kit

7 Must-Have Items for Your Author Media Kit Youre finally done with your book. But youre exhausted. And vulnerable to making mistakes. Before you plunge ahead with marketing, dont miss a critical tool whose absence could push your book into the remainder bin. You must create a complete, well-written author media kit. This package of marketing materials brands you and your print or digital book. If built correctly, the media kit includes items that will help journalists, bloggers, reviewers, retailers, individual buyers, event planners and others promote, sell and buzz about your book. Here are seven things indie authors shouldnt do without in an author media kit: 1. Cheat Sheet for Book Reviewers Three out of four authors who ask me to review their books fail to send the bare minimum a press release. If I dont find one, I put the book on my bookshelf. A year later, when Im de-junking, your book ends up in a cardboard box I donate to the church rummage sale. Tuck a short note in your book with a link that leads me to your digital media kit. Help me find your press release, great photos and a cheat sheet that tie into your title, and Im interested. 2. Sell Sheet for Retailers Bookstore buyers dont want the same information youd give to a reviewer. They want whats referred to as a sell sheet. A sell sheet includes a short summary of your book. Additional information about your marketing plan will help buyers compare your book to similar books on their shelves, and shows them how hard you work to help them sell your book. This should be full-color, and professionally designed, printed on 100 lb. Text-Gloss paper. 3. How to Order Form for Readers Youll need a marketing piece that explains about the book, and includes several killer endorsements and a How to Order form. The order form must address issues such as bulk orders, sales tax, C.O.D. payments, shipping and how to pay with a credit card. Its similar to the sell sheet for bookstores, but its for individual book buyers, not sellers. 4. Press Release with a High-Res Cover Image Consumer and industry magazines love featuring books. The New Product Section of these publications could be the perfect home for your book if you can provide a high-resolution photo of your book cover. Editors tell me they are practically begging for good-quality photos for these sections. 5. Interview Topics or Questions If you write and deliver a pitch that gets you booked on a talk show, dont show up at the station without a list of questions the interviewer can ask you. Most talk show hosts will not read your book. Broadcasters rely on these questions as a crutch. 6. Author

Sunday, November 3, 2019

Sustainable Practices in the Redevelopment of Canary Wharf Research Paper

Sustainable Practices in the Redevelopment of Canary Wharf - Research Paper Example This paper will highlight the success of the Canary Wharf regeneration or redevelopment based on reviews and analysis through use of sustainable design. As an aspiring architect, carrying out further research on the sustainability of Canary Wharf as a major development project will guide me as well as fellow learners about the importance of sustainability and innovating in design to achieve it. Summary Canary Wharf, a marshland located in the Isle of Dogs in Borough of Tower Hamlets in East London used to be one of the busiest ports in the world since it opened as West India Docks 1802. Its peak was seen from the 1930s when the Port of London carried about 35 million tons of cargo carried by some 55 thousand ships until its peak in 1961 when it handled about 60 million tons of cargo. The decline of the port industry in the 1950s led to its closing in 1970s. It has undertaken several seemingly insurmountable steps and processes since then to replace its glory days. Today, it is a majo r business district of about 1.3 million square metres of offices and retail space (Canary Wharf Group, 2012). Introduction Redevelopment projects are usually major challenges for built environment industries including the designers and architects in a given team. The many factors that redevelopments consider are double against new developments: temporary relocation and displacement of residents and workers in the given area, the disruption of economic, social, and other activities, addressing decay, re-design in consideration of history and the tradition of the people in the given area, funding and other requirements, regulation and governance, and external factors that may be adversely affected by the project. The major obstacles to the redevelopment of the Canary Wharf have been many and its success owed much to the various architectural feats implemented. The design and architectural approaches that need to address the challenges motivated me to research using secondary data (me thodology) and provide a report on the Canary Wharf redevelopment. Discussion Canary Wharf Canary Wharf was became a high concern after the closure of the docks due to its economic impact. Secretary of State for the Environment Peter Walker assigned consultants Travers Morgan to undertake as study of the Thames-side area between London Docks and Barking Creek and the consultants proposed in January 1973 a wide range of options which did not prosper. By 1976, the Docklands Joint Committee or DJC created the London Docklands Strategic Plan or LDSP. Redevelopment, however, can be traced from the creation of the London Docklands Development Corporation by the local Government Planning and Land Act 1980. By 1982, the Isle of the Dogs became an Enterprise Zone that offered tax breaks for developers and investors within a ten-year life cycle. In 1988 when then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher launched the Canary Wharf construction project, it was considered one of the world’s larges t developments. As a major project, Canary Wharf met a lot of challenges including perception that â€Å"Large projects are liable to focus benefits on relatively few individuals, and impose costs over a wide group whose members each have relatively little to lose,† Hall (1981, 15). Redevelopment was led by Canadian developer Paul Reichmann (LDDC, 2009) through the Canadian the Olympia & York- an international property development firm. Tax breaks provided by government to regenerate the rundown areas was provided them and they bought the

Friday, November 1, 2019

Biology Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Biology - Research Paper Example Therefore the hypothesis is that "Light deprivation during fetal development and infancy affect the brain function during adulthood". Since this experiment cannot be performed on humans, we need to test this hypothesis in rat model for light deprivation. There will be three sets of experiments, viz., 1. Light deprivation of mother during fetal development (pre-natal). 2. Light deprivation after birth (post natal) for 6 weeks. 3. Light deprivation during fetal development and after birth (both pre-natal and post-natal). Pregnant mothers will be either reared in dark. The pups born to these mothers will be either grown in dark (group 3) or normal light cycle, i.e., 12 hours light followed by 12 hours dark (group 1) for six weeks. Alternatively, pregnant mothers will be reared in normal light and the pups born to these mothers will be reared in dark for six weeks (group 2). All other variables like room temperature, humidity, access to food, quality of food and water will remain constant. After six weeks, the animals will be tested for learning behavior, by a T-maze. In a T-maze, the reward (food) can be placed at on e end and the hungry rat is allowed to choose the arm several times. The number of trails it takes the animal to choose the correct arm gives a measure of its learning capability. Atleast 6-8 animals will be tested in each group and the number of trails recorded.