Wednesday, November 27, 2019

How Should You Spend the Night Before the ACT

How Should You Spend the Night Before the ACT SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Planning the night before the test is the last thing you really have to worry about before taking the ACT. But how do you know what to do so that you get the best score possible the next day? This comprehensive guide will lay out everything you should (and shouldn’t) do before you head to bed the night before the ACT. Follow these tips - covering everything from logistical concerns to last-minute exam prep - to wake up confident, refreshed, and ready. Let’s get started! Take Care of the Small (But Important) Details If you square away all of these small logistical concerns the night before the ACT, you’ll cut down on stress and worry the next morning. Logistical Details to Take Care of the Night Before the ACT Print your admission ticket.This ticket has important details printed on it - you also won't be able to take the test without it. Know what time the test is and when you need to be there - standard check-in time is 8 am. If you’re late, you won’t be allowed to take the exam.Plan on getting there 15-20 minutes early so that you won’t be rushed (or late) if anything happens in the morning, like unexpected traffic. Know where the test is, how to get there, and how long it’ll take you to get there.You can double-check the location on your admission ticket or at your ACT Account. Try usingGoogle Mapsto plan out the fastest route. Enter your arrive-by time for the next morning in addition to the testing center address and your starting point - Google Maps will tell you when to leave! Have a wake-up plan, especially if you're prone to oversleeping.Set multiple alarms, giving yourself an extra cushion of time (10-15 minutes) to get ready.Plan on having a family member wake you up as a backup plan. Set out all your outfit for the next morning. Choose something you’d be comfortable sitting around in for several hours. Layers are a good idea, in case the testing room is warmer or colder than ideal. Organize everything you need to bring for the test. There are only a few items you have to bring, but there are several other items that would be smart to have for the test: Mandatory: Your admission ticket Mandatory: Photo ID Mandatory: Several sharpened #2 pencils Good quality erasers An approved calculator + extra batteries A watch (without an audible alarm) A bottle of water and snacks to eat during breaks. Officially, you won’t be able to eat or drink in the testing room, but you should have access to food + water during breaks. Plan on leaving forbidden items at home.If you bring any forbidden items, you could jeopardize your scores. Here’s a list of items you should leave at home: Any electronic device aside from your calculator and watch (no smart watches, obviously) Anything with an alarm Any writing utensils or tools aside from your #2 pencils Any pamphlets or papers Dictionaries or other books You can find more info on prohibited behavior here- basically, just listen to directions and be polite and you'll be fine A note about cell phones: If you don’t have to bring it, then don’t. If you do choose to bring your phone, make sure it’s turned off and out of reach during the test and during breaks. If it goes off at any point - even if it’s an innocent alarm - all of your scores will be canceled. Have a Plan for Self-Care I think that the best thing you can do before the ACT is to make sure you’re relaxed, well-rested, and well-fed. Even if you prepare really well for the exam, you won’t do very well if you’re stressed, tired, or hungry. Here, I’ll go over the things you should and shouldn’t do the night before to make sure you’re in the best possible shape the next morning. Things You Should Do Eat a satisfying and healthy dinner -ideally something with produce, fruits/vegetables, and whole grains. Your brain needs fuel! On that note,plan your breakfast for the next morning.Something quick, easy, and filling should do the trick, like whole-grain cereal or a bowl of oatmeal. Get to bed earlier than usual - maybe 30-60 minutes prior to your normal bedtime. This gives you a bit more time to fall asleep if you're having trouble. Take a shower to save time the next morning.This may also help you relax and get to sleep. If your normal routine is to shower in the morning, though, then skip this step. Still having trouble falling asleep?Here are some things you can try: Gentle stretches (no cardio!) Listening to relaxing music A warm bath Caffeine-free tea (chamomile is always a good choice) You can't go wrong with a cup of tea if you need to wind down and relax. Things To Avoid Disrupting your regular routine. Our normal bedtime rituals help prepare us to fall asleep - try not to deviate too much from what you’d normally do. Playing video games, texting, or surfing the internet.Staring at screens for fewhours before you head to bed can keep you up longer than you’d like. Taking any sleep aids. Unless sleep medications are part of your normal bedtime routine, avoid them. They can make it really difficult to wake up the next morning, and you don’t know if you’ll have other adverse reactions. Prepare for the ACT You might be feeling pressure to cram as much info as you can into your brain the night before the test. You want to make sure you remember as much stuff as possible, right? Well, stressful cramming might do more harm than good. The ACT isn’t a test where memorizing factoids will help you perform better - the best preparation strategy is a long-term one. Ultimately, there are a couple of ways you could â€Å"prep† for the ACT the night before the test without stressing yourself out. Here are your options: Strategy #1: Don't Prepare at All If you feel well-prepared for the ACT - or even if you don’t - there's not much you can do toprocessimportant, helpful information the night before the test. Good ACT prep happens through long-term practice, not short-term cramming. Last-minute prep for any test tends to stress me out, so I avoid it. If you feel the same way, this is probably the strategy for you. Strategy #2:Briefly Review Key Concepts or Problems Some students might get nervous if they’re missing out on time to review tricky concepts or practice problems. It would be silly to actively avoid ACT preparation if this would stress you out more than flipping through your study materials. The best way to approach Strategy #2 is to work through a few practice problems on paper (remember, stay away from screens). You don’t want to pick particularly difficult problems - we’re trying to avoid stress - but reviewing problems that’ll help you start thinking through weaker skill areas may help ease some of your anxiety. Putting Your Best Foot Forward: The Morning of the ACT No matter what you ended up doing the night before, there are a few things you can do the morning of the ACT to make sure you do as well as possible. Here are the most important steps you can take to ensure success: Eat breakfast.Hopefully, you’ve planned one the night before, but if not, make sure to grab something on the way out the door. Avoid caffeine, unless you usually have caffeine in the mornings. It’ll make you more jittery and anxious than awake and alert. Caffeine also acts as a diuretic, which means more bathroom breaks for you during the ACT - this could lead to less time available to work on the test. Take the test one step at a time. Once a section is over, it’s over - your only responsibility is to the section you’re currently working on. Try not to let concerns about earlier sections of the ACT affect your performance. Treat yourself! Taking the ACT is stressful and exhausting. Plan on doing something nice for yourself - like getting lunch with a friend, going for a nice run, or even watching episodes of your favorite TV show - after you’re finished with the test. No matter how you feel about how the test went, remember that you followed through on a really important commitment - that’s a big deal! If this is the first time you take the ACT, and you plan on taking the test a second time, this first test will serve as a really important learning experience. Good luck, and (who knows), maybe even have fun! Think of the ACT as a marathon, not a sprint. What's Next? You know now what to do the night before the ACT, but what aboutbefore that? Don't worry - we've got you covered. You'll want to start off by checking out our last-minute tips and strategies for taking the ACT. If you have more than a night to prepare for the test but you're still on a tight schedule, you'll definitely want to take advantage of our 10-day ACT study guide. If you're just looking for some easy reading to ease your nerves before the test, check out our guide to the ACT rules and regulations you have to know before the test. Want to improve your ACT score by 4+ points? Download our free guide to the top 5 strategies you need in your prep to improve your ACT score dramatically.

Saturday, November 23, 2019

Profile of Serial Killer Jerry Brudos, AKA the Lust Killer

Profile of Serial Killer Jerry Brudos, AKA the Lust Killer Jerry Brudos was a shoe fetishist, serial killer, rapist, torturer, and necrophiliac who stalked women around Portland, Oregon in 1968 and 1969. The Early Years Jerry Brudos love for shoes began at the age of five after he rescued a pair of high-heel shoes from the garbage. As he grew older, his unusual interest in shoes developed into a fetish which he satisfied by breaking into homes to steal shoes and womens underwear. When he was in his teens he added violence to his repertoire and began knocking down girls, choking them until they were unconscious, then stealing their shoes. At age 17 he was sent to the Oregon State Hospital psychiatric ward after he confessed to holding a girl at knife-point in a hole he dug in the side of a hill for the purpose of keeping sex slaves. There he forced her to pose nude while he took pictures. Brudos was released from the hospital after nine months, even though it was clear he had developed a need to act out his violent fantasies towards women. According to his hospital records, his violence toward women developed from a deep hatred he felt for his mother. Married With Children Once out of the hospital he finished high school and became an electronics technician. Whether he refrained from acting out on his obsessions over the next few years or he just didnt get caught is unknown. What is known is that he married, moved to Portland, Oregon and he and his wife had two children. His mother later joined the family in their small suburban home. Brudos relationship with his wife began to falter after he approached her dressed in womens underwear. Up to that point, she had gone along with his strange bedroom habits, including his request that she walk around the house nude. Rejected by her lack of understanding of his need to wear womens underwear, he retreated to his workshop which was off-limits to the family. No longer intimate, the two remained married despite his wife discovering pictures of nude women and an odd molded breast among her husbands possessions. Brudos Known Victims Between 1968 and 1969 women in and around the Portland area began to disappear. In January 1968, Linda Slawson, 19, working as a door-to-door encyclopedia salesperson, happened to knock on Brudos door. He later confessed to killing her, then cutting off her left foot to use as a model for his collection of stolen shoes. His next victim was Jan Whitney, 23, whose car broke down while driving home from college in November 1968. Brudos later admitted to strangling Whitney in her car, then having sex with her body and bringing her corpse back to his workshop where he continued to violate the body for several days while it hung from a hook on his ceiling. Before disposing of her body he cut off her right breast in order to make a mold from it in the hopes of making paperweights. On March 27, 1969, Karen Sprinker, 19, vanished from the parking garage of a department store where she was to meet her mother for lunch. Brudos later confessed to forcing her into his car at gunpoint, then bringing her to his workshop where he raped her and forced her to put on various womens underwear and pose for pictures. He then killed her by hanging her from the hook in his ceiling. As with his other victims, he violated her corpse, then removed both breasts and disposed of her body. Linda Salee, 22, became Brudos next and last known victim. In April 1969 he kidnapped her from a shopping mall, brought her to his home and raped and then strangled her to death. Like all of his victims, he disposed of her body in a nearby lake. The End of the Killing Spree During the two-year killing spree, Brudos attacked several other women who managed to escape. The clues they were able to provide police eventually led them to Brudos door. While in custody at police headquarters, Brudos gave a detailed confession of the four murders. A search of his home gave police the additional evidence they needed to convict Brudos of three of the four murders. Included in the evidence were various photographs he took of his victims posed in his collection of womens underwear, parts of the corpses which had been found in a lake, along with some of his victims body parts stored in his home. He was convicted and given the death penalty and a life sentence. On March 28, 2006, Brudos, 67, was found dead in his cell at Oregon State Penitentiary. It was determined that he died of natural causes. Source Rule, Ann. Lust Killer. Books: Lust Killer by Ann Rule

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Journaling Exercise Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Journaling Exercise - Essay Example In the light of the educations systems failure, there are questions to pose to the educators: Do educators teach about poverty? In order to attain the education system goals to solve the problem of poverty, America should change the education system to include poverty, poverty reduction strategies and effects of poverty. Singer in his article mentions these strategies to restructure the education system (Singer, 2009). Singer being a renown author in the field of ethics brings about a point in his argument. He looks at the topic of poverty as being narrowly covered in international development. However, singer proposition is that the system should integrate it in economics, ethics, cultural studies and sociology. Political science, a social science should have an in-depth coverage of poverty as a topic of study. Science courses should be designed to equip learners with skills to solve the poverty problem. And the psychology and other social sciences should analyze the view of not helping other countries. In the view of this major fields of study other important ones that should be part of the solution are: medicine and law (medical student should strive to reduce diseases and law scholars are to develop legal regimes that dont sanction trade with dictators) (Rivera-Batiz, 2001). Public education is also another key solution, as education the public about poverty changes the view of the people on poverty. Singer suggests that there be a modification on art and cultural values to eliminate poverty. Another view I get is that the lack of funds is a hindrance to the organizations that seek to provide assistance to the society. The issues tackled by this non-governmental organization are poverty reduction and health-care services. The united nations children fund (UNICEF) is a humanitarian and development assistance

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

LEGAL IMPLICATIONS IN HUMAN RESOURCES CASE ASSIGNMENT 1 EMPLOYMENT LAW Essay

LEGAL IMPLICATIONS IN HUMAN RESOURCES CASE ASSIGNMENT 1 EMPLOYMENT LAW - Essay Example There have been a number of changes in terms of the industrial environment and employment laws due to the changes in terms of the global economic environment. It is the responsibility of the company to ensure that all human resources are managed and work in sync with the labor laws and employment laws. Here this plan includes detailed explanation of the changes in the laws and this will prove to be beneficial for the human resources team to deal with the various employment laws across the various locations. The next sections will deal with the changes in the employment and labor law. Changes in Employment and Labor Law: There have been a number changes and amendments in the employment labor laws. The subsections below detail these changes. a) Equal Employment Opportunity and Health and Safety Act: The government has implemented laws like EEOQ and OSHA in order to control issues like age and gender discrimination. All the states where the company operates including the two locations i n India follow the federal labor department regulation (The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission). Here it has been set down by law that the countries cannot discriminate among employees based on the age, gender, nationality, race, color, or disability. Also, it is mandatory for the firms to provide the employees with sufficient health and safety benefits. Here it has been altered to ages of 18 to 55 (United States Department of Labour). b) Human Trafficking: One of the most recent changes in the employment law was the human trafficking. The issue of human trafficking has been intense and here people are forced to move out of their home or country and are forced to work for low or no pay at all (Students & Artists Fighting to End Human Slavery). This law has been revised and the law now states that people below the age of 18 if exploited for profits through different means like prostitution will be severely punished under the first degree punishments. Locations like India, I ndiana, Kansas and Florida do not allow people to be pressurized or manhandled to work without pay. India has taken a number of steps to help reduce the issue of human trafficking and the country has strengthened its human trafficking law to a great extent (Students & Artists Fighting to End Human Slavery). The state of Kansas has also included a strict penalty for human trafficking. It is crucial for the firms to be clear about the law and to pay the employees correctly based on the regulations set down by the employment law. c) Minimum Wages: The minimum wage has also been increased as of 1st January 2011 and now companies are expected to pay a minimum of $7.35 per hour (United States Department of Labour). However in terms of other locations like India and Tennessee there are no set minimum wages. d) Prevailing Wages: There have not been major changes in terms of the prevailing wages. The companies are expected to pay the fringe benefits and also the bonus activities as per the l ocal going rate (Employee Issues). The main change occurred in this employment law is related to the equal pay and fringe benefits for the private sector employees as the government sector employees are gaining. It is crucial for the company to provide the employees with the minimum wages and the prevalent benefits as per the different locations like Hawaii, Indiana, India and

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Individual Assigment Essay Example for Free

Individual Assigment Essay Narration: The world of technology has evolved over the years, and that means the need for technology has increased as well. Businesses have evolved over time with the use of technology, it allows us to shop, sell, trade, and function overseas. As I read over your business plan it seems that it is designed to compete in the local market, as well as add value to the community. Technology will play a huge part in both, it allows you to create and implement a plan that will help increase profit and customer satisfaction. As your business will compete in the local market, you will need to consider implementing Enterprise 2.0 or Web 2.0. Both Enterprise 2.0 and Web 2.0 offer many benefits to help your company succeed and grow with the ever changing economy and local market, both will allow your company to widen your market from county to county, state to state and even other countries. Enterprise 2.0 The attributes of Enterprise 2.0 practices can be very useful and sufficient in brainstorming, sharing, and evaluating ideas by utilizing enterprise social networking. Enterprise 2.0 helps business decrease IT costs by decreasing the amount of hardware and software that is needed (McAfee, 2010). Enterprise 2.0 would be a good asset to your business, it would keep it cost down and allow the marketing that you need to be competitive in your local market. Web 2.0 Web 2.0 also has many beneficial factors that would also be a good asset to your company, it includes social networking sites that would create great marketing tools, it allows you to create website which can also be a great tool for marketing and it allows you the user to be in control over the data  used. Web 2.0 offer rich user experience, user participation, scalability, and freedom. Web 2.0 offers a wide variety of marketing tools as well as creating a safe and valuable way to increase profit, and safe guard your assets (McAfee, 2010). .

Thursday, November 14, 2019

Star Dreck: Paranoia & Patriotism in Alien Invasion Films :: essays papers

Star Dreck: Paranoia & Patriotism in Alien Invasion Films My premise is really quite simple: aliens are among us.And they're bad.But they're not the aliens you think they are, and they're not bad for the reasons you might imagine.In order to understand who these aliens are and why they're bad I want to begin by reaching back into the dark heart of the McCarthy era, when American paranoia in its most popular incarnation as American patriotism was at its peak.The year is 1951 and the film is Howard Hawkes' The Thing: From Another World. For those of you who have somehow come this far in your otherwise admirable education without once seeing this influencial film, a brief synopsis: a group of scientists at the North Pole discover a flying saucer buried in the ice, and with it the body of a man from Mars.Unintentionally, they blow up the saucer and melt the Martian.The thawed Martian, or Thing, proceeds to run amok, killing scientists and draining their blood in order to nourish its progeny.Importantly, a group of visiting air force men have taken over in this moment of crisis, a coup which the film seems to believe requires no justification.Thus the major conflict is defined; not, that is, between man and Martian, but between soldier and scientist.The leader of the scientists, Dr. Carrington--who is referred to earlier in the film as both a genius and, more significantly, the "man who was at Bikini," thus aligning him with the H-bomb--is portrayed as arrogant, cold, precise, unemotional, i.e., everything we've come t o expect from a card-carrying 1950s egghead.In the four short scenes I'm about to show you, Dr. Carrington demonstrates just what we have to fear. Thus the film has given us an intellectual whose chief characteristic is that he admires things more than people, aliens more than Americans.Carrington suggests that the Thing is in every way superior to the humans with which he is surrounded, and he is entirely willing to sacrifice himself and the others in order to add the alien's superior knowledge to the "brain," as he calls it, of his own culture.We might see in Carrington an enthusiasm for other ways of thinking and being taken to suicidal extremes, a sort of multicultural mania. The soldiers, on the other hand, understand the mortal threat the Thing represents from the very beginning; in fact, they can't even stand to look at it--a deep-seated aversion which sets the plot in motion, as it causes a soldier to put a blanket over the block of ice which contains the Thing, thus melting the ice and setting it free. Star Dreck: Paranoia & Patriotism in Alien Invasion Films :: essays papers Star Dreck: Paranoia & Patriotism in Alien Invasion Films My premise is really quite simple: aliens are among us.And they're bad.But they're not the aliens you think they are, and they're not bad for the reasons you might imagine.In order to understand who these aliens are and why they're bad I want to begin by reaching back into the dark heart of the McCarthy era, when American paranoia in its most popular incarnation as American patriotism was at its peak.The year is 1951 and the film is Howard Hawkes' The Thing: From Another World. For those of you who have somehow come this far in your otherwise admirable education without once seeing this influencial film, a brief synopsis: a group of scientists at the North Pole discover a flying saucer buried in the ice, and with it the body of a man from Mars.Unintentionally, they blow up the saucer and melt the Martian.The thawed Martian, or Thing, proceeds to run amok, killing scientists and draining their blood in order to nourish its progeny.Importantly, a group of visiting air force men have taken over in this moment of crisis, a coup which the film seems to believe requires no justification.Thus the major conflict is defined; not, that is, between man and Martian, but between soldier and scientist.The leader of the scientists, Dr. Carrington--who is referred to earlier in the film as both a genius and, more significantly, the "man who was at Bikini," thus aligning him with the H-bomb--is portrayed as arrogant, cold, precise, unemotional, i.e., everything we've come t o expect from a card-carrying 1950s egghead.In the four short scenes I'm about to show you, Dr. Carrington demonstrates just what we have to fear. Thus the film has given us an intellectual whose chief characteristic is that he admires things more than people, aliens more than Americans.Carrington suggests that the Thing is in every way superior to the humans with which he is surrounded, and he is entirely willing to sacrifice himself and the others in order to add the alien's superior knowledge to the "brain," as he calls it, of his own culture.We might see in Carrington an enthusiasm for other ways of thinking and being taken to suicidal extremes, a sort of multicultural mania. The soldiers, on the other hand, understand the mortal threat the Thing represents from the very beginning; in fact, they can't even stand to look at it--a deep-seated aversion which sets the plot in motion, as it causes a soldier to put a blanket over the block of ice which contains the Thing, thus melting the ice and setting it free.

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Leopold the Land Ethic

â€Å"The Land Ethic† by Aldo Leopold â€Å"The Land Ethic†is an individual essay that was collected from the major publication â€Å"The Sand County Almanac† written by Aldo Leopold during his life time, and it was published one year after his death in 1949. This essay was read by many people during his lifetime and was a powerful force in ecological sphere for many years. Leopold collected all his knowledge in this major publication, and in â€Å"The Land Ethic† he calls for people's attention in order to preserve the environment, protect the land from changing, and protect species from the extinction.Aldo Leopold in â€Å"The Lend Ethic† explains to his readers what is meant by land ethic. It's a sort of combination of rules about what is right and what is wrong, and Leopold writes that it â€Å"is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability, and beauty of the biotic community† and â€Å"is wrong when it tends otherwise†. In the chapter â€Å"The Ecological Conscience† Leopold writes that this ecological set of â€Å"rules† can not be written down on a paper as a book of laws, because â€Å"obligations have no meaning without conscience, and the problem we face is the extension of the social conscience from people to land†.What the author means is that people must take action by following the rules either written on paper or not. â€Å"Education must precede rules† writes Leopold in his essay. People should be more educated regarding the conservations they have and understand that without land ethic there is going to be no â€Å"place to compete for†. In my point of view, Leopold is absolutely right at this point and as a result, we can see thousands of species that are already extinct forever from the face of the planet. Our future generations will not have a chance to see them.As an example, Wikipedia Encyclopedia gives a wide variety of those species that were extinct and will never be seen on this planet. The tragic part is that most of those species disappeared as a result of mankind's unethical decisions. That is why it is so important to understand the idea and the whole point of the land ethic in order to truly follow the â€Å"unwritten† rules of ethic. Leopold raises one of the very important issues of the humanity today, and it is a land use. By mentioning the land Leopold means â€Å"soils, waters, plants, and animals†.He concerned about how people can abuse the land in nowadays and exterminate all resources that it provides. When the author talks about resources he says that lend ethic suppose to â€Å"affirm their right to continued existence†. The main ideology of the land ethic is that people should be responsible for their actions when they use land and keep it in the original condition like they received it when they came on this land. In my point of view, in order for people to establish the kind of l and ethic that Leopold describes, people should take action seriously on what is happening today.People should switch to a clean natural energy sources like wind, water, and sun. There should be stricter regulations on factorial’s waste, because still most of the factories dump into the close by river or ocean, which causes deaths of thousands of animals. Cars and trucks should minimize exhaust gases in a larger proportion then we see it today, because only very few people can afford driving expensive electric cars or hybrids. Those types of cars should be more accessible through cheaper prices and government help.As of today, our government doesn't help people who are concerned about the environment, and there is no budget for that. Government doesn't see any economical advantage in helping those people, because â€Å"the evidence had to be economic in order to be valid† – writes Leopold in â€Å"Substitutes for a Land Ethic†. In my point of view, this i s a critical mistake, and I agree with Leopold at his point, that â€Å"a system of conservation based solely on economic self-interest is hopelessly lopsided†. Today's ideology is if some species don’t have any economic value they will be exterminated.For example, timber crops â€Å"grow too slowly, or have too low a sale value to pay†. Moreover, it's not only some specific species that luck on economic value, but there are entire biotic communities, like â€Å"marshes, bogs, dunes, and deserts†. Is that mean that we should get rid of those things as well? Things like dunes and deserts are homes for millions of species. In order for people to develop a conscience with regard to their use and abuse of the land, they should clearly understand the land pyramid system.Leopold talks about the importance of the land pyramid in â€Å"The Land Ethic†. The land pyramid is a sort of a food chain structure, where mankind is tightly involved. Soil, plants, in sects, and animals are all tightly involved in this food chain and cannot survive without the existence of one another. Soil provides food for plants, plants for insects, insects for animals, and â€Å"man shares an intermediate layer with the bears, raccoons, and squirrels which eat both meat and vegetables†.At this point, people should clearly realize that by exterminating of one of these layers humankind exterminates itself. By abusing the land people can loose everything they have today, and it can be no future for people. Realizing people's position in the land pyramid can help people to understand how important it is to protect every single layer of the pyramid, and preserve what they have. In my point of view, people should follow land ethics and respect what the land gives them. People should be thankful to the land for what it gives them.For example, when it comes to the use of natural resources, people should think about the environment and not damage what was natur ally created. They should not interfere or destroy the natural cycle, otherwise it can lead to disastrous consequences. Even though people don't see from their perspective that some things such as dunes, deserts, and rocks can bring economical or financial value, it doesn't mean that they can get rid of them. They are valued beyond an economical standpoint; they can protect lands from flooding and prevent millions of species from extinction.When it comes to me personally and what I do in order to follow ethical values, I take responsibility for my actions. For example, I recycle plastic bottles and bags, or when I go out to the forest with my friends I never leave trash behind. Maybe my actions seem too little when it comes to a global issues, but I believe that anything big starts from a little. I really hope that more people will follow Leopold's ideas, and all together we can make a difference. | | Leopold the Land Ethic â€Å"The Land Ethic† by Aldo Leopold â€Å"The Land Ethic†is an individual essay that was collected from the major publication â€Å"The Sand County Almanac† written by Aldo Leopold during his life time, and it was published one year after his death in 1949. This essay was read by many people during his lifetime and was a powerful force in ecological sphere for many years. Leopold collected all his knowledge in this major publication, and in â€Å"The Land Ethic† he calls for people's attention in order to preserve the environment, protect the land from changing, and protect species from the extinction.Aldo Leopold in â€Å"The Lend Ethic† explains to his readers what is meant by land ethic. It's a sort of combination of rules about what is right and what is wrong, and Leopold writes that it â€Å"is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability, and beauty of the biotic community† and â€Å"is wrong when it tends otherwise†. In the chapter â€Å"The Ecological Conscience† Leopold writes that this ecological set of â€Å"rules† can not be written down on a paper as a book of laws, because â€Å"obligations have no meaning without conscience, and the problem we face is the extension of the social conscience from people to land†.What the author means is that people must take action by following the rules either written on paper or not. â€Å"Education must precede rules† writes Leopold in his essay. People should be more educated regarding the conservations they have and understand that without land ethic there is going to be no â€Å"place to compete for†. In my point of view, Leopold is absolutely right at this point and as a result, we can see thousands of species that are already extinct forever from the face of the planet. Our future generations will not have a chance to see them.As an example, Wikipedia Encyclopedia gives a wide variety of those species that were extinct and will never be seen on this planet. The tragic part is that most of those species disappeared as a result of mankind's unethical decisions. That is why it is so important to understand the idea and the whole point of the land ethic in order to truly follow the â€Å"unwritten† rules of ethic. Leopold raises one of the very important issues of the humanity today, and it is a land use. By mentioning the land Leopold means â€Å"soils, waters, plants, and animals†.He concerned about how people can abuse the land in nowadays and exterminate all resources that it provides. When the author talks about resources he says that lend ethic suppose to â€Å"affirm their right to continued existence†. The main ideology of the land ethic is that people should be responsible for their actions when they use land and keep it in the original condition like they received it when they came on this land. In my point of view, in order for people to establish the kind of l and ethic that Leopold describes, people should take action seriously on what is happening today.People should switch to a clean natural energy sources like wind, water, and sun. There should be stricter regulations on factorial’s waste, because still most of the factories dump into the close by river or ocean, which causes deaths of thousands of animals. Cars and trucks should minimize exhaust gases in a larger proportion then we see it today, because only very few people can afford driving expensive electric cars or hybrids. Those types of cars should be more accessible through cheaper prices and government help.As of today, our government doesn't help people who are concerned about the environment, and there is no budget for that. Government doesn't see any economical advantage in helping those people, because â€Å"the evidence had to be economic in order to be valid† – writes Leopold in â€Å"Substitutes for a Land Ethic†. In my point of view, this i s a critical mistake, and I agree with Leopold at his point, that â€Å"a system of conservation based solely on economic self-interest is hopelessly lopsided†. Today's ideology is if some species don’t have any economic value they will be exterminated.For example, timber crops â€Å"grow too slowly, or have too low a sale value to pay†. Moreover, it's not only some specific species that luck on economic value, but there are entire biotic communities, like â€Å"marshes, bogs, dunes, and deserts†. Is that mean that we should get rid of those things as well? Things like dunes and deserts are homes for millions of species. In order for people to develop a conscience with regard to their use and abuse of the land, they should clearly understand the land pyramid system.Leopold talks about the importance of the land pyramid in â€Å"The Land Ethic†. The land pyramid is a sort of a food chain structure, where mankind is tightly involved. Soil, plants, in sects, and animals are all tightly involved in this food chain and cannot survive without the existence of one another. Soil provides food for plants, plants for insects, insects for animals, and â€Å"man shares an intermediate layer with the bears, raccoons, and squirrels which eat both meat and vegetables†.At this point, people should clearly realize that by exterminating of one of these layers humankind exterminates itself. By abusing the land people can loose everything they have today, and it can be no future for people. Realizing people's position in the land pyramid can help people to understand how important it is to protect every single layer of the pyramid, and preserve what they have. In my point of view, people should follow land ethics and respect what the land gives them. People should be thankful to the land for what it gives them.For example, when it comes to the use of natural resources, people should think about the environment and not damage what was natur ally created. They should not interfere or destroy the natural cycle, otherwise it can lead to disastrous consequences. Even though people don't see from their perspective that some things such as dunes, deserts, and rocks can bring economical or financial value, it doesn't mean that they can get rid of them. They are valued beyond an economical standpoint; they can protect lands from flooding and prevent millions of species from extinction.When it comes to me personally and what I do in order to follow ethical values, I take responsibility for my actions. For example, I recycle plastic bottles and bags, or when I go out to the forest with my friends I never leave trash behind. Maybe my actions seem too little when it comes to a global issues, but I believe that anything big starts from a little. I really hope that more people will follow Leopold's ideas, and all together we can make a difference. | |

Sunday, November 10, 2019

Vestas in Russia

Vestas in Russia Introduction For my exam project in International Business Environment I have chosen to write about the Danish cooperate Vestas Wind Systems A/S (referred to as Vestas throughout the paper). Vestas is the world’s largest producer of wind turbines and in addition to this it is also the leading company when it comes to green technology regarding wind energy . Vestas not only serves the Danish domestic market, but the company is also present on several foreign markets in other parts of Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia and North and South America. With over 22. 00 employees spread over 35 countries Vestas is categorized as being a multinational cooperation. As for the market of entry I have chosen The Russian Federation (referred to as Russia throughout the paper). Vestas has not yet entered the Russian market so my exam project will be a hypothetical one. One could question why a global actor like Vestas not already has entered a market with so big opportunities a s Russia, but along with visions for great profit comes the reality of great risks and challenges as well. Russia is a vast market for windmills taking the size of the country and the climate debate into perspective.The country is the fourth largest consumer of electricity in the world , but lack of technology hinder Russia to produce it in a climate friendly way. The relevance of a successor to the Kyoto Protocol is at its highest and Russia has expressed great will to find sustainable solutions for its large electricity consumption. Companies capable of exploiting such market are in position for massive gains. This is however easier said than done. Denmark and Russia differ on several aspects of their countries’ structures and Danish companies planning on doing business in Russia hence carefully have to consider these differences.In this paper I will first describe and motivate the entry strategy of Vestas by using John Dunning’s OLI-framework . In this context I wil l argue why more advanced forms of FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) are appropriate for Vestas when entering Russia. Furthermore I will analyze the differences between Vestas’ home market conditions in Denmark, and the conditions of the target market, Russia, regarding adjustments in the marketing mix. To illuminate this section I will use E. Jerome McCarthy’s principle of the four P’s .Lastly I will summarize the above mentioned and discuss the best internationalization strategy for Vestas. Vestas’ competitiveness In order to describe and motivate the entry strategy of Vestas I will outline the advantages based on John H. Dunning’s OLI-framework. Although Vestas already has expanded into many different countries with regards to different culture, political systems and business systems it is not always suitable to use the same entry strategy although the firm is the same in every case. O – Ownership advantage: Vestas’ competitive advan tageThe O in Dunning’s OLI-framework of specific advantages deals with the Ownership advantage. To expand into new markets Vestas has to be in possession of something that gives the company an advantage compared to its competitors. Vestas has a clear ownership advantage first and foremost in form of its technology and know-how. Denmark has exploited wind energy since 1850s with the purpose of making agriculture more efficient. In the beginning of the 1970s the oil crisis influenced Denmark as well, and to avoid another economic breakdown the Danish government searched for an alternative energy industry.Vestas had already done R&D (Research and development) and tried out the construction of windmills since 1971. However they first entered the market in 1979 with a licensed windmill. In the development of the required technology, subsidy from the government and research on RISO (The National Laboratory for Sustainable Energy) has had a vast significance for Vestas, enabling it to play the leading role it does today. Besides the support from the government, Denmark has a highly skilled labor force, which of course also adds to Vests’ ownership advantage.Nevertheless as Lars Andersen (Managing Director of Vestas’ Sales) mentions, it is not only the technology and the skilled employees that give Vestas an ownership advantage: â€Å"However, it also has to do with our ability to deliver on time, the fact that things work from day one, and, in particular, the fact that we fulfill customers’ expectations for a good, reliable return on their investment. In other words, we are not simply selling a wind turbine†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Vestas does not only manufacture and sell the wind turbines, it also provides installation and subsequent after-sales-service, which not many Russian competitors can match.Vestas is, in addition to the above mentioned, a multinational company with more than 30 years of experience and is therefore in a greater position tha n later emerged firms. Vestas is on top of this a world-known and respected brand with focus on quality and is represented in 35 countries spread out all over the world. The company has the largest market share, 24,8% , of the global market, which again places Vestas in a favorable situation when it comes to taking advantage of for instance the experience curve. L – Location advantageThe L in Dunning’s OLI-framework deals with the location advantage. Saying there should be an advantage for Vestas for doing business in Russia as a location for export or more advanced forms of FDI. Russia is geographically an enormous country (covers over 17 million square miles) and includes areas with a very low population density. These areas have great potential for windmill parks and the coastal areas of the Pacific and Arctic Oceans, the vast steppes and the mountains are the areas of highest potential.On the other hand it would also be favorable to place the wind energy system in regions where there is an existing power infrastructure and major industrial consumers. Areas, which fulfill these requirements, are the steppes along the Volga River, the northern Caucasus Mountains and various locations in Siberia including the Chukotka Peninsula in the Magadan region . Chukotka Peninsula is especially to prefer, because of its already existing hydropower stations, which could be used to compensate for the possible intermittent wind power.Another location advantage for Vestas is the fact that the Russian population is the fourth largest consumer of electricity in the world. Hence there is a demand for Vestas’ products and in particular when taking the Russian will to reduce greenhouse emission into consideration. Russia is willing to play an active role regarding the improvement of the global heating problem. The country has already reached its commitment stated in the Kyoto-protocol, but the Russian president Dmitri Medvedev declares that Russia â€Å"wou ld try to reduce greenhouse emissions by 25% by 2020. † The quotation signals a will from the government o find more sustainable solutions for production in Russia, and because Vestas does â€Å"business to business† and â€Å"business to government† commerce, it is of great importance with prospect for government interest and support. In this setting it is worth mentioning that The Ministry of The Russian Federation has published â€Å"The 2020 Energy Strategy†, which describes how to reach the new goal by prioritizing, among other things, ecological energy security through energy policy. In addition to the above-mentioned advantages of Russia as a location for Vestas’ expansion come the possibilities of reducing the overall production costs.As it is with most emerging markets, like Russia, wages are lower than in more developed markets like Denmark. Hence by moving production to Russia Vestas would be able to compete on both quality and price, alt hough their main focus most likely would be on quality . The location advantage is even greater when taking into consideration that there are no real national or international competitive competitors settled in the market yet, hence there is a possibility of a first mover advantage for Vestas as well.Notable is nevertheless also the risk for a first-mover disadvantage in terms of costs and risks when preparing the market for the ‘new’ product. I – Internationalization advantage If Vestas expanded into Russia it would strengthen its position of being â€Å"No. 1 in Modern Energy†, which was Vestas’ slogan before the recent switch to: †Wind. It means the world to us†. Furthermore if Vestas gained the first mover advantage it would give the company control over one of the worlds biggest markets. The internationalization advantage is gained in form of a proper entry mode.The chosen entry mode is of great advantage if it is selected in accord ance to Vestas’ now described ownership advantage and Russia’s location advantages. Vestas’ main ownership advantage is their know-how and technology while the location advantage of Russia primarily are the huge market possibilities and the government’s positive attitude towards renewable energy sources. What remains is, which type of entry mode that exploits both Vestas’ ownership advantage and Russia’s location advantage?Would licensing or exporting be the best-suited entry mode or should Vestas take greater risks and do more advanced FDI? Vestas wants to keep their know-how, but by pursuing a licensing entry mode, spillovers will occur. Vestas would have little control over production, giving possibilities for competitors to emerge and quickly become as efficient as Vestas. Exporting is neither a favorable entry for Vestas. The transportation costs are extremely high, when it comes to the final products. Each piece of the windmill weights approximately 250 tons and thus not suited for export.Other obstacles for the export as an entry mode are the protectionist policies and Russian trade barriers as for instance high tariffs. Vestas would have to pay up to 20% tariff + an additional charge (Value Added Tax) of another 18%, making a total of 38% for exporting its products into Russia. Russia ranks 162 out of 183 countries on the list of ease to do cross border trading with. To compare, Denmark ranks 6 which means that the products produced expensively in Denmark becomes more expensive by being exported to Russia.This situation will of course change if Russia gets its membership in the WTO, but this is not yet achieved. To sum up Vestas needs to move in with plants in Russia and with more advanced FDI to protect its know-how asset and to stay competitive. There are two options for this being either a joint venture or a wholly owned subsidiary. The most obvious solution would be the wholly owned subsidiary, where Vestas could protect its know-how by owning 100 % of the stocks. On the other hand there is a time perspective to consider as well.Siemens, one of Vestas German competitors, have recently announced plans on moving into the Russian market on a large scale . Setting up a wholly owned subsidiary as a green field venture takes a lot of time and the alternative of an acquisition is not an option since Vestas has core values and does not want to take over existing operating routines and enterprise culture. Another aspect, which is important to these considerations, is the fact that corruption and bureaucracy, which makes connections and personal relations very important for success, mark Russian business.Setting up a joint venture with a local firm solves this problem for Vestas, since Vestas would benefit from the partner’s country specific knowledge of culture, language, political systems, business systems and local connections. A joint venture is at the same time a less risky (capital vise) and less time-demanding entry mode, than a wholly owned entry mode, which Vestas needs to take into considerations in order to prevent falling behind Siemens. The major disadvantage of choosing a joint venture is of course the risk of spillover, eading to future competitors. On the other hand it is possible to construct the joint venture to minimize this risk. Vestas needs to engage in a joint venture where it owns the majority of the cooperation and thus is able to remain control. One might argue that it would be difficult to find a company, which would accept to own minority of the joint venture, but taken the undeveloped market into consideration, it should not be a huge problem. There are only a few local firms in the windmill industry in Russia.All of these would most likely be interested in boosting their profit (value creation) and it is not an unattractive offer to join the world leading windmill cooperate in a first mover attempt with prospect of a significant future market share in the Russian market. The joint venture and expansion of Vestas would also have to be on a large scale to be able to capture demand, establish a strong brand name and realize economies of scale. This would no matter what be an ideal opportunity for any local producer in Russia, although they would have to accept Vestas owning the majority of the joint venture.Differences and adjustments There are several aspects where the Russian market conditions differ from the Danish market conditions. These are necessary to look at in order to outline the needed adjustments for Vestas’ marketing mix. Differences in market conditions When comparing Russia and Denmark regarding the ease to do business in, it is very clear that there is a vast gap between the two. According to a survey by The World Bank, Denmark ranks 6 whereas Russia ranks 120 out of 183 countries (1 being the easiest country to do business in).I could therefore point at several diverging market conditions, b ut because of limitations of this paper I have chosen to focus on the following four: Infrastructure, climate, GDP per capita and the level of corruption. One might argue that ‘climate’ is not of great importance when speaking of market conditions, but in my opinion it is a very significance factor in this case concerning the marketing mix, which I will elaborate on in the following section. Infrastructure is important for Vestas when it comes to distribution of the company’s products.When looking at infrastructure in Russia and Denmark the most noteworthy factor is distances and terrain. Russia is the largest country in the world covering 11 time zones and it does not entail deep analysis to conclude that it requires great coordinated logistic to create a well functional infrastructure. This has for several of reasons not yet succeeded for Russia and the country’s infrastructure is hence very fragmented. An uneven terrain with low population density and n ature impediments as rivers and mountains has hindered buildings of proper roads and connections, which have a great influence on Vestas’ ease of doing business.Because of the enormous extent of Russia, the climate varies a lot from the coasts to the mid-country and from the west (Europe side) to the east (Asian side). The temperature fluctuates between the extremes of -65  °C in the winters and +40 °C in the summers. The wind is an important factor to look at in this case as well, because Russia possesses areas with all degrees (categorized as: Low, medium and high) of wind power. The climate differences is thus of great importance regarding Vestas’ product differentiation. Moving focus to the more economic orientated difference in market conditions is the GDP per capita (PPP).Russia’s GDP per capita is low compared to Denmark’s. According to the ranking done by International Monetary Fond, Russia ranks 51 in contrast to Denmark’s ranking as 1 7th . This means that Russian consumers, including the government and large enterprises, have less purchasing power compared to the Danish consumers. Little purchasing power could be an obstacle for Vestas. If consumers don’t have much money to spend, they would most likely not have the mental surplus to think of the environmental dimension by burning fossil fuels.If generating electricity the cheapest and easiest means exploiting fossil fuels, this is what they will do. However higher purchasing power (higher GDP per capita) results in the means to be able to prioritize such things as future global environment. Looking at the energy produced in Russia, over 60% of the electricity generated is based on gas- and coal power whereas less than 1% of the electricity generated is based on renewable energy production . In contrast stands Denmark, where wind power alone in 2008 generated 18,9% of the Danish electricity demand .The growth in GDP per capita in Russia was before the eco nomic crisis, around 7-8% . This is promising for Vestas as a continuous high growth in GDP per capita means a more developed economy, higher purchasing power and therefore increased interest in products like the ones Vestas offers. The fourth difference I have chosen to outline is the high level of corruption in Russia. Russia ranks number 146, whereas Denmark ranks number 2 (1 being the less corrupt) in the Corruption Perceptions Index (2009) made by Transparency International.Vestas has no power to end corruption by itself, so instead it should focus on how to deal with it in business situations. Adjustments in marketing mix: The four P’s I will use E. Jerome McCarthy’s principle of the four P’s: Place, Product, Price and Promotion to analyze the needed adjustments for Vestas’ marketing mix. The four differences (infrastructure, climate, energy production and level of corruption) described in the previous section are all differences that affect these a djustments. The †p† concerning the place (distribution) deals with how to get the product to the consumer.It would be obvious to discuss adjustments to retail concentration, channel length, channel exclusivity and channel quality, but selling Vestas’ products is not like selling jeans or other regular consumer goods. There is no distribution channel, or at least it is very short, because Vestas sells directly to the customer, being government or large enterprises. However the undeveloped infrastructure, as outlined as a big difference between the Danish market conditions and the Russian market conditions, is of great importance for Vestas’ delivery to its customers.Vestas’ products require stable roads (due to heavy weight and size) and connections to the best set-up areas. The infrastructure is best around Moscow and St. Petersburg, due to big business, but this is not necessarily the best location for Vestas’ production. As mentioned before the best set-up areas are the vast steppes along the Volga River, the Caucasus Mountains and locations in Siberia. In Denmark Vestas can easily get around to all parts of the country, but Russia’s huge distances and the uneven terrain in many areas do acquire adjustments.Vestas carefully have to reconsider where to place the facilities of production to minimize transportation costs, and not to forget, maximize availability. This might require compromises in form of set-ups in optimal and less optimal wind areas. To do this Vestas has to deliver wind turbines that also are able to exploit the low winds and Vestas thus has to adjust its products to the Russian climate conditions. Other adjustments are necessary for the turbines to manage the before mentioned freezing winters with temperatures down to -65  °C and the hot summers with temperatures up to +40 °C.The turbines should be able to function all year round to be attractive to customers. Vestas has to differentiate the turbines to match these standards compared to the standards in Denmark, where weather conditions don’t differ as much. In other words, Vestas’ product differentiation is necessary to encounter pressure for local responsiveness and thus reach its customers. The customer segment that Vestas tries to reach is a narrow segment consisting of the government and maybe a few other large enterprises, which would be interested in promoting a green profile.The government and the large businesses would, as most customers, be concerned about price. To match Russia’s rank regarding the low GDP per capita, Vestas would have to make an adjustment in form of lower prices. Price is however not the main focus for Vestas . Quality and safety is their top priority, but of course they would be able to take advantage of the lower labor costs in Russia and thus lower the overall production costs. Vestas could however use strategic pricing in form of experience curve pricing to gain ma rket share and relations to the large customers before competitors emerge.This could be rewarding because of the promising growth in Russia’s GDP per capita, which presents better future market conditions for Vestas’ products. Vestas should at the same time stress that setting up windmills is an investment that might require lots of capital as a starting point, but in the long-term perspective it would be worth it. Today Russia is self-sufficient in terms of energy . However the supply of fossil fuels is diminishing and the demand for it is increasing. Investing in wind power would be a possible way for Russia to stay self-sufficient in the future.Left remains the question of how to communicate all this to Vestas’ customers? When choosing a promotion strategy Vestas has to adjust its approach to the above described high level of corruption. One way of doing this is by having the right connections; knowing the right people. As previous mentioned I would suggest V estas to pursue an entry mode of a joint venture and thereby gain the advantage of local relationships, which could help Vestas to get around the bureaucracy. On the other hand it is of paramount importance that Vestas ‘stay clean’.If Vestas in any way gets associated with any form for corruption, it will have tremendous consequences not only for the domestic market, but also for the global market that Vestas operates in. In accordance to the entry mode I would suggest Vestas to practice a push strategy. It would be a waste of resources to communicate through mass media to vast private consumer segments, to which Vestas’ products have no interest. Vestas’ communication should be directly orientated at the small customer segment, previous outlined.Personal selling, exploiting the local partner’s ability to speak the local language, perhaps supported by additional informative products to be handed out and an enlightening webpage is the best way for Ve stas to reach its potential customers. Vestas’ internationalization strategy In the last part of this paper I will sum up and describe the best internationalization strategy for Vestas when entering the Russian market. Throughout the paper I have concluded that now is a good time for Vestas to enter the Russian market, because of prospects for government interest and support and no real competitors settled in the market yet.Hence Vestas has an opportunity for a first-mover advantage, but only if they enter the market on a large scale. Entering on a large scale is associated with greater risks and costs, but taken the growth in GDP per capita and the decreasing amount of fossil fuels into considerations, it is most likely that Vestas in the long-term perspective will secure massive gains from having established the contacts and its own brand in an early phase.I have already argued that I find a joint venture the most appropriate form of entry mode for Vestas. Forming a joint v enture with the right partner, a partner that has agreed to Vestas’ way of doing business e. g. no corruption, is the best way to remain in control, but still benefit from local knowledge, which is of great value because of the different market conditions compared to Denmark. Due to these different market conditions, Vestas also has to adjust its marketing mix.The most important adjustments would be: Reconsideration of production locations concerning infrastructure impediments, product differentiation and the use of a push communication strategy with help from the chosen partner’s local advantages. There is no doubt about the difficulties a global actor faces. A company like Vestas carefully needs to consider every aspect of a business opportunity to prepare for an expansion into a new market.Vestas operates all over the world where it has to respond to pressures for local responsiveness and pressures for cost reductions. There is a pressure for local responsiveness in Russia due to the geography and the political system. The question is, if this pressure is low or high? I would categorize it as being in between. The pressure is not low since the expansion requires considerable adjustments in the marketing mix, but the pressure is on the other hand neither as high as pressure for local responsiveness for e. g. lothes or cars. Concerning the pressure for cost reduction it is necessary to take a look at Vestas competitors in the Russian market. At the time being, there are not many, but as mentioned before Siemens is planning on moving in. In addition to this, many Asian competitors have emerged in China as well and might constitute future competition. I would therefore say that pressure for cost reduction in Russia at the time being is low, but in the near future this pressure will definitely increase due to the above explained.Vestas could enter with a location strategy or an international strategy, in accordance to the low pressure for local res ponsiveness, but if the company wants to prepare itself to face upcoming aggressive competitors it might be strategic wise to enter with a transnational strategy already at this point. Pursuing such strategy will as well benefit the information flow between Vestas subsidiaries and between the subsidiaries and the home country, which is necessary for sharing one of Vestas’ core competences: know-how.If Vestas not only is able to take advantage of the outlined possibilities but at the same time adjust and respond to the described impediments, it has great opportunities to grasp large profits and at the same time remain competitive in perspective of the Russian market as well as the global market. References The paper is based on classes in International Business Environment plus the beneath listed Book: Hill Charles WL, International Business: Competing in the Global Marketplace, 8th edition

Thursday, November 7, 2019

Free Essays on Gatsby And The American Dream

A dream is defined in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary as: a strongly desired goal or purpose, something that fully satisfies a wish. In the beginning pages of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby, Nick Carraway, the narrator of the story gives us a glimpse into Gatsby’s idealistic dream of winning back Daisy Buchanan. That was his main goal in life for five years. It was the only reason he existed. This is comparable to The American Dream, which was the goal of many people back in the 1920’s. Throughout the novel, The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald tried to disparage the American Dream by using the three places of residence, West Egg, East Egg, and the Valley of Ashes, and the circumstances by which Jay Gatsby earned his fortune. The American Dream is a concept that plays a significant role in the novel, The Great Gatsby, which was written by Fitzgerald in the 1920’s. The 1920’s were a time period when many Americans were living the dream. The American Dream embodies the best of America. It is the chance to gain material wealth and spiritual happiness for people who start out with nothing. This is a great example of how Fitzgerald used the The American Dream. Jay Gatsby started from nothing and gained material wealth. But he never got the spiritual happiness because only half of his dream was fulfilled. People from all different countries used to come to America for the chance to turn their hard work into success. The American Dream is the equal opportunity for achievement and happiness. However, instead of showing us how great the dream is, The Great Gatsby shows how society has corrupted it. Fitzgerald used Jay Gatsby’s dream of wanting Daisy Buchanan as a symbol of the The Ameri can Dream. Gatsby’s understanding of the The American Dream was quite different than most people. Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that's no matte... Free Essays on Gatsby And The American Dream Free Essays on Gatsby And The American Dream A dream is defined in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary as: a strongly desired goal or purpose, something that fully satisfies a wish. In the beginning pages of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby, Nick Carraway, the narrator of the story gives us a glimpse into Gatsby’s idealistic dream of winning back Daisy Buchanan. That was his main goal in life for five years. It was the only reason he existed. This is comparable to The American Dream, which was the goal of many people back in the 1920’s. Throughout the novel, The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald tried to disparage the American Dream by using the three places of residence, West Egg, East Egg, and the Valley of Ashes, and the circumstances by which Jay Gatsby earned his fortune. The American Dream is a concept that plays a significant role in the novel, The Great Gatsby, which was written by Fitzgerald in the 1920’s. The 1920’s were a time period when many Americans were living the dream. The American Dream embodies the best of America. It is the chance to gain material wealth and spiritual happiness for people who start out with nothing. This is a great example of how Fitzgerald used the The American Dream. Jay Gatsby started from nothing and gained material wealth. But he never got the spiritual happiness because only half of his dream was fulfilled. People from all different countries used to come to America for the chance to turn their hard work into success. The American Dream is the equal opportunity for achievement and happiness. However, instead of showing us how great the dream is, The Great Gatsby shows how society has corrupted it. Fitzgerald used Jay Gatsby’s dream of wanting Daisy Buchanan as a symbol of the The Ameri can Dream. Gatsby’s understanding of the The American Dream was quite different than most people. Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that's no matte... Free Essays on Gatsby And The American Dream The American Dream is an idea that has existed throughout the United States’ history. Before the United States of America was established, immigrants from all over Western Europe stormed to America. Some immigrants came to help expand their country’s empire, some were explorers searching for new adventures, but most came for the American Dream. The American Dream for these immigrants consisted of a few basic ideas such as religious freedom, equality, and a chance to succeed in the world. These people sacrificed everything for the possibility of escaping the oppression of their native lands. The Revolutionary War was fought to uphold the American Dream. During the war, the American Dream manifested into the Declaration of Independence and later, the Bill of Rights. After the Bill of Rights was passed, freedom of religion was not the problem it had once been. Different religions could not be persecuted by the government, and everyone had the legal right to practice their own religion, whatever it might be. With the rise of industrialization, one more aspect became part of the American Dream, prosperity. As the years went on, prosperity and equality became the largest parts of the American Dream. Caucasian men were the only members of the population with equal rights. African American men now had the right to vote, but it was discouraged by such cults as the Ku Klux Klan. They were not considered equal simply on the basis of their skin color. In 1919, women were granted the right to vote as well, but they were continually looked down upon. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s masterpiece, The Great Gatsby, sums up the American Dream of the 1920's. The novel relates the story of a man searching for his American Dream. Jay Gatsby is the main character of the novel. Gatsby’s legal name was James Gatz. Gatz grew up in North Dakota where his parents were unsuccessful farmers. Gatz was not satisfied with his parents fate and dec...

Tuesday, November 5, 2019

GED Study Guide for Chemistry

GED Study Guide for Chemistry The GED, or General Education Development Test, is taken in the U.S. or Canada to demonstrate proficiency in high school-level academic skills. The exam most commonly is taken by people who did not complete high school or receive a high school diploma. Passing the GED grants a General Equivalency Diploma (also called a GED). One section of the GED covers science, including chemistry. The test is multiple choice, drawing on concepts from the following areas: The Structure of MatterThe Chemistry of LifeProperties of MatterChemical Reactions The Structure of Matter All substances consist of  matter.  Matter  is anything which has mass and takes up space. Some important concepts to remember about  matter  are: Matter  is made up of one or more of over 92 naturally-occurring  elements.Each  element  is a pure substance, made up of only one type of  atom.An  atom  consists of three types of particles:  protons,  neutrons, and  electrons. An atom does not need to have all three particles, but will always contain at least protons.Electrons  are  negatively charged  particles,  protons  have a positive charge, and  neutrons  do not have an electrical charge.An atom has an inner core called a  nucleus, which is where the protons and neutrons are located. The electrons orbit around the outside of the nucleus.Two main forces hold atoms together. The  electric force  holds the electrons in orbit around the nucleus. Opposite charges attract, so the electrons are drawn to the protons in the nucleus. The  nuclear force  holds the protons and neutrons together within the nucleus. The Periodic Table The  periodic table  is a chart which organizes the chemical elements. The elements are categorized according to the following attributes: Atomic Number  - number of protons in the nucleusAtomic Mass  - sum of the number of protons plus neutrons in the nucleusGroup  - columns or multiple columns in the periodic table. Elements in a group share similar chemical and physical properties.Period  - rows from left to right in the period table. Elements in a period have the same number of energy shells. Matter can exist in the form of a pure element, but combinations of elements are more common. Molecule  - a molecule is a combination of two or more atoms (could be  from  the same or different elements, such as H2  or H2O)Compound  - a compound is a combination of two or more  chemically-bonded  elements. Generally, compounds are considered to be a subclass of molecules (some people will argue they are determined by the types of chemical bonds). A  chemical formula  is a shorthand way of showing the elements contained in a molecule/compound and their ratio. For example, H2O, the chemical formula for water, shows that two atoms of hydrogen combine with one atom of oxygen to form a molecule of water. Chemical bonds hold atoms together. Ionic Bond  - formed when  an electron transfers  from one atom to anotherCovalent Bond  - formed when two atoms share one or more electrons The Chemistry of Life Life on earth depends on the chemical element  carbon, which is present in every living thing. Carbon is so important, it forms the basis for two branches of chemistry, organic  chemistry  and biochemistry. The GED will expect you to be familiar with the following terms: Hydrocarbons  - molecules that only contain the elements carbon and hydrogen (e.g., CH4  is a hydrocarbon while CO2  is not)Organic  - refers to the chemistry of living things, all of which contain the element carbonOrganic Chemistry  - study of the chemistry of carbon compounds involved in life (so, studying diamond, which is a crystalline form of carbon, isnt included in organic chemistry, but studying how methane is produced is covered by organic chemistry)Organic Molecules  - molecules that have carbon atoms linked together in a straight line (carbon chain) or in a circular ring (carbon ring)Polymer  - hydrocarbons which have chained together Properties of Matter Phases of Matter Each phase of matter has its own chemical and physical properties. The phases of matter you need to know are: Solid  - a solid has a definite shape and volumeLiquid  - a liquid has a definite  volume  but can change shapeGas  - the shape and volume of a gas can change Phase Changes These phases of matter can change from one to another. Remember the definitions of the following phase changes: Melting  - melting occurs when a substance changes from a solid to a liquidBoiling  - boiling is when a substance changes from a liquid to a gasCondensing  - condensation is when  a gas changes  to a liquidFreezing  - freezing is when  a liquid changes  to a solid Physical Chemical Changes The changes that take place in substances may be categorized  in  two classes: Physical Change  - does not produce a new substance (e.g., phase changes, crushing a can)Chemical Change  - produces a new substance (e.g., burning, rusting, photosynthesis) Solutions A solution results from combining two or more substances. Making a solution can produce either a physical or chemical change. You can tell them apart this way: The original substances can be separated from one another if the solution produces only a physical change.The original substances cannot be separated from one another if a chemical change took place. Chemical Reactions A  chemical reaction  is  the process  that occurs when two or more substances combine to produce a chemical change. The important terms to remember are: chemical equation  -  name  was given  to the shorthand used to describe the steps of a chemical reactionreactants  - the starting materials for a chemical reaction; the substances that combine in the reactionproducts  - the substances that are formed as a result of a chemical reactionchemical reaction rate  - the speed at which a chemical reaction occursactivation energy  - the external energy that has to be added in order for a chemical reaction to  occurcatalyst  - a substance that helps a chemical reaction to occur (lowers the activation energy), but does not participate in the reaction itselfLaw of Conservation of Mass  - this Law states that matter is neither created nor destroyed in a chemical reaction. The number of reactant atoms of a chemical reaction will be the same as the number of product atoms.

Sunday, November 3, 2019

Business Of The Resale Stores Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 12000 words

Business Of The Resale Stores - Dissertation Example Once this has been done, we will be doing a market segmentation to target our potential customers. Once this has been done, we will design the various strategies required to influence the customers. A detailed plan of how the organization work towards the achievement of its strategic goals and objectives is the operational plan for the business. It provides a clear picture of how the people, teams and the departments of the organizations are collectively working together or the purpose of the business. Finance or the starting capital is the most important thing without which no business can start. Finance is the combination of the acquiring, allocation and the proper management of funds that will actually combine to help in the fulfillment of any business. The financial plan helps the managers to go about with the entire project. It shows the managers and helps them in identifying the different sources of capital and how it can be collected and allocated so that the business may be conducted in a proper fashion. It helps the company to identify the different sources of the capital and how these sources can be properly utilized to actually formulate the business. It also helps in designing and defining the exact way in which the money should be allotted so that the business will be able to breakeven faster and would be successful. In recent times due to the impact of the recession and the inflation on a worldwide basis the consignment shop or resale store is a one-stop solution to all the buyer-seller problems. This is because initially a consignment store or a resale shop is actually a resale business which involves three parties. They are the goods owner or the consignor, the consignee or the seller and the buyer of the resold goods the customer. Goods that are resold or consigned generally are clothes, luxury items, and antiques.

Friday, November 1, 2019

Transition Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Transition - Case Study Example It is often observed that disable students are more likely to drop out of their high schools than normal people among the general masses. Almost 36% of disable students usually leave their high schools before graduation and fail to experience the core values and principles of learning hence failing to obtain the knowledge normal people pertain to. This figure slightly varies in urban, suburban and rural areas and it is due to this that they fail to acquire the required coursework hence making them lag behind in the employment areas. 79% of normal students, i.e. students without disabilities are employed in reputable organizations soon after their graduation whereas a general trend that is observed in disable students is that they do not opt for employment after graduating and rather choose to stay home for at least four five years. The fact that they are not exposed to the work environment at the right time makes them less competent at the corporate level. Owing to the factors explai ned above, disable students and particularly those with multiple impairments and health issues feel themselves isolated from their social network and claim to suffer to a great deal due to this.