Graduation Speech An Achiever - 1314 Words

Achiever. My fifth SBL attribute, the only from outside the strategic category, is achiever. An achiever can be defined as, â€Å"[A person who has] a great deal of stamina and work hard† (Rath Conchie, 2008, p. 103). Rath and Conchie (2008) also state that achievers somehow love to work hard; aside from those who are considered ‘workaholics,’ I do not believe that the majority of hard workers want to neglect whole aspects of their lives to succeed at whatever enterprise they are undertaking. My story in education is one of an ‘underdog;’ however, I did not enjoy being this underdog for one moment. How much better would it have been if I could simply work as others did? At one point in my life, I was put into a position in which I knew†¦show more content†¦In these cases, the test would show that I, for instance, did not particularly enjoy historic events or looking to the future’s possibilities (actual question). In truth, I lo ve history and I love looking at the possibilities. More importantly, the other leadership assessments findings were not compatible with the SBL. According to Northouse’s (2016) Skills Inventory, I scored roughly equal for all three measurements (technical skills 21, human skills 2, and conceptual skills 20). Yes, one can say that I would make one great middle manager (Northouse, 2016), but the information here completely contradicts the scores that I received on the SBL, which suggested that my true strengths lie in the conceptual/strategic realm. All of these measures differ widely from the qualitative strengths bombardment. In class, my classmates picked and chose what they thought were adjectives which closely identified my characteristics. One classmate suggested that I was determined, strategic, personable, and experience/intellect. My other classmate suggested that I was adaptable, a go-getter, creative, and likeable. Aside from the one â€Å"strategic† an swer that my classmate gave me, none of the other attributes were present in my paper assessments. Yes, it can be argued that, except for the 360 feedback, the other assessments were self-reported. I would like to counter that paper assessments do not take context,

College Transition Free Essays

In today’s society it is important to receive a college education to join the workforce. However, the transition from high school to college can be a very intimidating experience for many students. To make the college transition less frightening, students can take several precautions while still in high school. We will write a custom essay sample on College Transition or any similar topic only for you Order Now These precautions include participating in extracurricular activities, taking challenging courses, as well as developing good time management skills. Participation in extracurricular activities is important in succeeding in a college environment because it helps students to explore their interests and talents. Challenging courses also benefit students because they help to prepare students academically for the demanding workload found in college. Time management is yet another important skill to have because it will help students to manage their time between academics and socialization Participation in extracurricular activities is a great resource for students to grow as individuals. Students have many opportunities to choose from when participating in extracurricular activities. The most common opportunities for participation in extracurricular activities are found in schools, communities, and religious organizations. The most accessible extracurricular activities to students are those that are school related. School sponsored extracurricular activities include sports, student clubs, and musical organizations. Community organizations are also popular among students, and serve as great extracurricular opportunities. Communal extracurricular activities include awareness groups, focus groups, and reform groups. Although not as popular as school or community organizations, religious organizations also serve as a strong ingredient for extracurricular opportunities. Religious related organizations consist of faith groups, retreat groups, and study groups. Besides participating in extracurricular activities to belong to a specific group, students can also volunteer for community service. Community service teaches students responsibility, helps to build strong friendship bonds, and helps to make important business contacts. Students are taught responsibility when performing community service because they are no longer thinking about themselves. The students’ priorities are however, now to help those whom they are doing this service for. Strong friendship bonds are also established through community service. By performing community service, students continuously associate with one another and often grow to become great friends. Community service is also important in establishing important business contacts. Students can volunteer in an area that interests them, and at the same time make important connections that may help them in the future. Taking challenging courses while still in high school will help students prepare for the demanding workload that they will find in college. Most high school senior students believe that it is their right to take a minimal amount of courses because it is their last year in high school. This kind of thinking can however, frustrate these students in the future because they will be overwhelmed by all the work assigned to them in college. College professors expect entering students to have a solid education especially in English and mathematics, and will expect a great amount of effort from their students. In college, students do not have the option of complaining about having too much work. By being used to a demanding class schedule while still in high school, the transition from high school to college will be much easier. Students who take challenging courses while still in high school will also become more proficient learners. Students will become more proficient learners because these challenging courses will expand their vocabulary, as well as narrow their interests. Students who take challenging courses will build a larger vocabulary because they will be taught in a much more demanding environment. The more challenging courses will also familiarize students with many then unknown terms. High school students who do not want to be challenged are never exposed to new material because these students only take those courses that they are already familiar with. Students who take challenging courses however, will be exposed to new material that may help to shape their future careers. Time management is the most important skill to possess in order to succeed in college. Many students have difficulty succeeding in college because they do not know how to organize their time between academics and socialization. There are numerous distractions found on a college campus that often lead to the hesitation of doing schoolwork. Some students like to put homework off for later because they see schoolwork as a burden. Instead, students do what is pleasurable to them, often ignoring schoolwork altogether. By knowing how to manage their time, students will be able to enrich their lives academically as well as socially. A good time management skill also leads to good study habits. Although some students know how to separate their time between academics and socialization, they often encounter problems in the way that they approach their studying. Many students do not know how to, or for how long to study on certain tests. The best solution for students is to experiment with many different study methods, whether it would be studying with or without music, alone or with a group, or in your dorm or at the library. Although most students will not immediately recognize what study habits work best for them, good time management skills will be of great help. Good time management skills will enable the student to focus on particular topics that he or she may have trouble with. By being able to focus on a particular topic, students will be able to apply different study methods since the subject matter that they are struggling with will have the students’ full cooperation. Although there are many more precautions that students have to take before attending college, being exposed to extracurricular activities, taking challenging courses, and developing good time management skills while still in high school will undoubtedly help students to succeed in college. Being involved in extracurricular activities in high school will help students find their niche in college extracurricular activities. By taking challenging courses in high school, the students’ academic transition to college will be easier. However, the most important skill to possess is in good time management because it will help students to distribute their time between recreation, and academics. Even though it is important to take several precautions before attending college, the student also has to be prepared mentally for this new venture. This assignment was worthwhile for me because after completing this assignment I now realize how I can be successful in college. However, the only problem for me now is to apply these â€Å"precautions† into my daily routine. One problem I had with this assignment was starting it. Whenever I write, I always have problems brainstorming my ideas even though I often use an outline. Another problem that I had in this first assignment was expanding my thoughts about main point into two paragraphs. When I normally write, I am used to summarizing each idea or main point in one paragraph rather than two or three. How to cite College Transition, Essay examples

Critical Evaluation Of The Product Costing And Pricing Practices

Question: Discuss about the Critical Evaluation Of The Product Costing And Pricing Practices Actually In Use In Modern Manufacturing Organizations The Asia Pacific Region. Answer: Introduction Theaccounting practices that are adopted by various business concerns help them to have an effective control over their business transaction. The consistent application of such practices andaccounting policies strengthens the financial information of a business undertaking (Ax Greve, 2017). The focus of this essay is in the product costing systems and pricing practices that are used in the Asian Pacific region such as Australia, Japan, and China. A number of real-life organizational scenarios have been included here so that the readers can get an idea about the actual application of such models by businesses and their impact on the respective concerns (Christ Burritt, 2013). Different journal articles and publications have been referred to understand the costing practices followed by manufacturing concerns in the particular region so that vital aspects relating to thisaccounting practice can be critically evaluated. Product costing systems in Asia Pacific Region The differentaccounting techniques and theories have been present for a long time and the same is used by different business organizations irrespective of the industry in which they function. When business undertakings adopt relevant accounting tools and techniques, they are supposed to do so very carefully since it has a vital bearing on their overall business performance (Cooper, Ezzamel Qu, 2017). Product costing techniques basically refer to the costs involved to develop or create a product. Various kinds of product costing systems exist, but it is vital for any business to adopt the appropriate costing model based on the specific business situation. The firms basically use the costing information to value their inventory for financial reporting objective (Dekker, 2016). The focus has been on nations like Australia, Japan, and China so that the product costing model used in the organizations in the Asia Pacific region can be evaluated. It is vital to observe the real-life impact of these accounting models on businesses and their operations. Product costing model in Australian manufacturing firms Due to a large number of technological changes in the organizational front in the past decade, the manufacturing environment has undergone a drastic change that allows manufacturers to shift from mass production of a few standardized produces to efficient production of small batches of customized commodities on a short notice. The journal article titled Comparative analysis of Management Accounting Practices in Australia and Japan An Empirical Investigation by H. Wijewardena very correctly highlights the fact that the changing manufacturing setting has created the need for more refined models of product costing (Wijewardena De Zoysa, 1999). The new approaches like activity-based costing and target costing have been developed which help business concerns to have better control over their product costs. As per the article, the majority of the Australian companies use process costing followed by job order costing as the main product costing model. The business situation that an undertaking faces plays a vital role while selecting the technique of product costing (Fullerton, Kennedy Widener, 2013). The process costing basically helps the Australian manufacturing concerns to trace and integrate its direct costs and allocate its indirect cost of the manufacturing process. Similarly, the job order costing model allows businesses to assign their manufacturing costs to the individual products or batches of commodities. This model is used by concerns that manufacture different kinds of products. Example - Clothing factories, etc. Product costing model in Japanese manufacturing firms Since the product costs play a significant role in an organizational setting, the Japanese manufacturing players gave high significance to this function. According to the journal paper by H. Wijewardena, the Japanese manufacturers mostly adopt the job order costing model and hybrid costing model to ascertain the costs involved while developing a commodity (Wijewardena De Zoysa, 1999). The hybrid model is basically the combination of job order costing and process costing. The main reason for the increase in the use of hybrid costing model is the availability of new manufacturing technologies in the market and specific demands of the customers. According to the journal article Japanese Target Costing A Historical Perspective by Patrick Feil, the target costing model is still popular in the Japanese manufacturing environment (Feil, Yook Kim, 2004). This environment-friendly costing model allows manufacturing concerns to ascertain a commoditys entire lifecycle cost which would be adequate to strengthen its functional aspects. This model allows the easy split of the production cost into smaller units such as functional unit and components unit which allows the business to allocate the target costs to the different product areas based on customers expectations and needs (Tappura, et al., 2015). The combination of various techniques and models that are governed by the target costing philosophy allow Japanese manufacturing concerns to strengthen their business objective. The apt example is the target costing model adopted by Toyota Motor Corporation. Product costing model in Chinese manufacturing firms The use of appropriate product costing model allows business enterprises to ascertain a reasonably accurate estimate of the consumed resources for product creation. Since in the present business environment, concerns are producing a wide variety of commodities and products, the proper control over the product cost can have a significant impact on the profitability of the business concern. The journal article titled How much does it cost to make it? Product costing in a Chinese small manufacturing company by Nan Tu and Danju Zhang highlights the project costing model used in Chinese manufacturing concerns (Tu Zhang, 2010). It draws a difference between the traditional costing model and the activity-based costing model and ultimately illustrates the rationale behind coat allocation decisions by business undertakings. In the past decades, Chinese manufacturing environment has expanded significantly and it has become one of the worlds major manufacturing bases. In order to seek better growth opportunities, the operating businesses are strengthening their business models by developing their own products (Wagenhofer, 2016). Due to the existing complexities in the product development process, the traditional costing models are being replaced by new product costing models. Nan Tu rightly highlights the significance of new and improved product costing models since they help business concerns to have a firm grip on their costs and finances. The journal article Activity-based costing in China a case study of Xu Ji Electric Co. Ltd by Dr Lana Yan Jun Liu specifically focuses on the ABC model i.e. activity-based costing model since it acts as an effective tool to capture the direct costs as well as the variable overheads that have been lacking in the traditional accounting model (Liu Pan, 2011). This paper particularly focuses on the electronic concern and highlights the fact that the activity-based costing acts as a catalyst to strengthen the manufacturing business operations. The key features of the ABC model include the top-down process to develop new and innovative business ideas. This approach allows the concern to shift quickly from copying western business ideas to developing their own business strategies (Otley, 2016). Impact of the Product costing model The product costing models that have been adopted by the manufacturing concerns in Australia, China and Japan have a significant impact on their overall business strategic model. The journal papers that have been referred in this essay show that different kinds of product costing techniques are adopted by business concerns based on the business environment, market situation, growth opportunity etc. Different manufacturing concerns in the region adopt different management accounting techniques to strengthen their strategic model of the business (Christ Burritt, 2013). Effective and appropriate application of product costing models allows business concerns in a number of ways including it strengthens the decision-making process, helps control the cost model of the business, enhances strategic model, aligns the business process. They help the manufacturing concerns to save millions of dollars through the thorough analysis of the business inventory. The accurate calculation of product costs is significant for all concerns especially the ones that are involved in manufacturing goods or products. The entire budget process of the concern gets affected by the product costing model (Wagenhofer, 2016). The financial statements that highlight the financial position of the business concern undergo changes based on the selected product cost model. Similarly, the standing of the business inventory gets altered based on the adopted product costing model. Conclusion The accounting policies and procedures that are adopted by business concerns have a significant impact on the overall profitability of the business. This essay basically focuses on the manufacturing companies that function in the Asia Pacific region. The nations whose product costing model has been assessed here are from Australia, Japan, and China. The different product costing models that are popular in the organizations are job order costing, hybrid costing, target costing, and activity-based costing. The product costing model that is selected by the business concerns depends on their specific business situation and the industry environment. The product costing model that is ultimately chosen by the manufacturing concerns has a significant impact on the business operations, inventory management, profitability and business performance. The application of accurate and consistent management accounting policies can give concerns a competitive edge in the industry and help them to exploit the growth opportunities. Different journal articles and published papers have been used in this essay so that the product costing concept can be critically evaluated in the real-life scenario and its impact on the business can be observed. These articles support the theoretical knowledge and illustrate its actual performance in the organization scene. References Ax, C., Greve, J. (2017). Adoption of management accounting innovations: Organizational culture compatibility and perceived outcomes.Management Accounting Research,34, 59-74. Christ, K. L., Burritt, R. L. (2013). Environmental management accounting: the significance of contingent variables for adoption.Journal of Cleaner Production,41, 163-173. Cooper, D. J., Ezzamel, M., Qu, S. Q. (2017). Popularizing a management accounting idea: The case of the balanced scorecard.Contemporary Accounting Research. Dekker, H. C. (2016). On the boundaries between intrafirm and interfirm management accounting research.Management Accounting Research,31, 86-99. Fullerton, R. R., Kennedy, F. A., Widener, S. K. (2013). Management accounting and control practices in a lean manufacturing environment.Accounting, Organizations and Society,38(1), 50-71. Feil, P., Yook, K. H., Kim, I. W. (2004). Japanese target costing: a historical perspective. International Journal, 11. Liu, L. Y. J., Pan, F. (2011). Activity based costing in China: a case study of Xu Ji Electric Co. Ltd. Chartered Institute of Management Accounting, 7(13), 1. Otley, D. (2016). The contingency theory of management accounting and control: 19802014.Management accounting research,31, 45-62. Tu, N., Zhang, D. (2010, October). How much does it cost to make it? Product costing in a Chinese small manufacturing company. In Supply Chain Management and Information Systems (SCMIS), 2010 8th International Conference on (pp. 1-9). IEEE. Tappura, S., Sievnen, M., Heikkil, J., Jussila, A., Nenonen, N. (2015). A management accounting perspective on safety.Safety science,71, 151-159. Wijewardena, H., De Zoysa, A. (1999). A comparative analysis of management accounting practices in Australia and Japan: an empirical investigation. The International Journal of Accounting, 34(1), 49-70. Wagenhofer, A. (2016). Exploiting regulatory changes for research in management accounting.Management Accounting Research,31, 112-117.

Research Project on Banana Peel Essay Example

Research Project on Banana Peel Paper The success and completion of this research project would not have been made possible if not for those people who, in many ways, gave their utmost support and earnest inspiration and from whom the researchers owe countless, immense and infinite gratitude. Mrs. Marie Jane F. Angeles, Research Adviser for her ideas and untiring efforts and unspeakable patience for the success of the project.Her increasing guidance and for worthy suggestions that served as their challenge to finish the project to its finest. Mr. Santiago Villafuerte, Head teacher-Science Department for his strict supervision especially in calculating the wise use of time. Mrs. LeonidaCabrido, Critic teacher for editing and putting this into final paper. Engr. Roger Rumpon, Professor CSU Carig Tuguegarao, for having shared his expertise in the statistics of the data. Mrs. Tessie J. Molina, School Principal for her untiring support and for the encouraging words during the hard times in the pursuit of this study. Ms. WendeceBalisi, Physics teacher for her assistance in the reproduction of the final manuscript. Mrs. Ruby Capelo for the display board. To their classmates and friends who undoubtedly shared their ideas and comments to the project. Above all, to the Almighty God who serves as a guiding light in the uncertain journey all throughout their entire life and endeavours, for without HIM this could not be made achievable. The Researchers ABSTRACT This research study aimed to investigate the viability of banana peel paper as a alternative to commercial linen paper.The study used experimental and control unit and which was visually judge and rated according to a three-point scale, 1-Low; 2-Meduim; and 3-High as regards to luster and smoothness. We will write a custom essay sample on Research Project on Banana Peel specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Research Project on Banana Peel specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Research Project on Banana Peel specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer The data gathered were analyzed using the Two-way Analysis of Variance and Comparison Mean Test. Computation results show that lusterity across treatment and not across judges are significantly different from each other with a probability value, pgt;0. 01. Mean comparison test revealed that experimental unit is significantly different from the control unit. This means that the control unit is more luster than the experimental unit.Based on the result of mean smoothness scores of experimental and control unit as rated by 10 judges and subjecting this to an analysis of variance, the studies showed that there was no significant difference between the experimental and control unit in so far as smoothness is concerned Therefore, it was proven that in terms of the viability of banana peelings as an alternative to commercial linen paper, banana peel paper can be as effective as for commercial linen in terms of smoothness. INTRODUCTION: Background of the study Paper is one of the major materials used nowadays in schools, offices, etc. Some papers are made brand-new from trees either small or large trees are harvested just for the purpose. If this is the case paper companies will need to cut down trees to provide paper for the community. Today, with the increasing number of calamities, trees must be preserved to avoid flood, instead of cutting down trees for providing paper, there is a need to search and design a wise and cheap alternativesource of paper.The use of botanical materials is increasingly gaining popularity as strategic approach toward a sustainable environment and production of safe materials. Banana is one of the leading fruit grown in the Philippines and a consistent top dollar earner. It makes bananas abundant in the Philippines because of its tropical climate. More than 50 different kinds of bananas are found in our country. The banana fruit when ripe is eaten, living behind the banana peel. The study was made to make pape r out of banana peel, to reduce waste as well as the cutting down of trees.The researchers aimed to come up with a paper that is ofhigh quality but on the other hand must also be cost efficient, and most importantly environmental- friendly. RESEARCH PARADIGM Figure 1 R esearch Paradigm A diagram framework is shown in the above figure. It presents the paradigm, which guided the researchers in the overall conduct of the study. The input variables were the materials use in making the banana peel paper. Having done the process, the output is the banana peel paper. The arrows communicate the adjustments to be made through a feedback loop depending on the results of the study.Hence, adjustments could be made in the input or process. Statement of the Problem The study was designed for the purpose of making a paper out of banana peel. These reasons brought the researchers to conduct the experiment. Specifically, it aimed to answer the following questions. †¢Will it be viable as an alternative to commercial linen paper? †¢Will it be cheaper to sue than the commercial paper? Hypotheses Null Hypothesis – There is no significant difference in the luster between the experimental and the control unit. -There is no significant difference in the smoothness between the experimental and the control unit. Alternative Hypothesis– There is a significant difference in the luster between the experimental and the control unit. There is a significant difference in the smoothness between the experimental and the control unit. Objective of the study The main objective of this study was to determine if banana peel paper is better than the commercial linen paper in terms of lusterity and smoothness. Significance of the Study The study was conducted to make paper out of banana peel. It is equally significant to the following. Environment Using the product lessen the cutting of trees in the locality, and reduce the waste scattered in the surroundings Community. The insights and valuable information from this study would help people in the locality to make paper out of the littered banana peelin their houses and it will also reduce the waste in the community. Researchers. The gathered data would motivate them and help them to conduct further researches in line with this study. Scopes and Delimitation This study is focused mainly on the use of banana peelings in the production of paper. The researchers did not dwell on the chemical composition of the peelings.Time and place of the study This study was conducted at the Science Laboratory of Baggao National High School from July 20- July 30, 2012 . Definition of terms Banana peel the skin of a banana (especially when it is stripped off and discarded). Paper a thin material consisting of flat sheets made from pulped wood, cloth, or fiber. Use: for writing and printing on, for wrapping things in, for covering walls. Musa acuminata– scientific name of banana. Extract – is an aqueous solution containing the active principal of the plant. Control- Variables that do not receive any treatment.Experimental- The variables that receive treatment. Chapter 2 REVIEW OF THE RELATED LITERATURE Banana (Musa acuminata +Musa balbisiana) Banana is the common name for herbaceous plants of the genus Musa and for the fruit they produce. It is one of the oldest cultivated plants. They are native to tropical South and Southeast Asia, and are likely to have been first domesticated in Papua New Guinea. Today, they are cultivated throughout the tropics. ] They are grown in at least 107 countries, primarily for their fruit, and to a lesser extent to make fiber, banana wine and as ornamental plants.Its fruits, rich in starch, grow in clusters hanging from the top of the plant. They come in a variety of sizes and colors when ripe, including yellow, purple, and red. Almost all modern edible parthenocarpic bananas come from two wild species – Musa acuminata and Musa balbisiana. The scientific names of bananas are Musa acuminata, Musa balbisiana or hybrids Musa acuminata ? balbisiana, depending on their genomic constitution. The old scientific names Musa sapientum and Musa paradisiaca are no longer used Banana is also used to describe Enset and Fei bananas, neither of which belong to the aforementioned species.Enset bananas belong to the genus Ensete while the taxonomy of Fei-type cultivars is uncertain. ( From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia) In popular culture and commerce, banana usually refers to soft, sweet dessert bananas. By contrast, Musa cultivars with firmer, starchier fruit are called plantains or cooking bananas. The distinction is purely arbitrary and the terms plantain and banana are sometimes interchangeable depending on their usage. ( (http://en. wikipedia. org/) Related Research/Studies Musa sapientum peels were analyzed for minerals and anti-nutritional contents.The results of mineral content indicate the concentration (mg/g) of potassium, calcium, sodium, iron, manganese, bromine, rubidium, strontium, zirconium, and niobium to be 78. 10, 19. 20, 24. 30, 0,61, 76. 20, 0,04, 0. 21, 0. 03, 0. 02 and 0. 02 respectively. The percentage concentration of protein, lipid, carbohydrates and crude fibre were 0. 96,1,7059. 06 and 31. 70 respectively. Results indicated that if the peels are properly exploited and process, they could be a high quality and cheap source of CHO and minerals for livestock. (Department of Chemical College of Advance Professional Studies, Makurdi ).In another studies made, Musa sapientum prevent anaemia by stimulating the production of haemoglobin in the blood. Its role to regulate blood pressure has been associated with the high concentration of potassium (Benue State University, Makurdi). What further stated that banana helps in solving problem in solving the problem of constipation without necessary resulting to laxative. It can cure heart burns, stress, strokes, ulcers and many other ailments. The peels have been reported to be useful in making banana charcoal, an alternative source of cooking fuel in Kampala. Along with other fruits and vegetable consumption of bananas may be associated with a reduced risk of colorectal cancer and in women, breast cancer and renal carcinoma. In India ,juice is extracted from the corn and used as a home remedy for jaundices sometimes with the addition of honey and for kidney stones. Kudan reported that the peels in conjunction with other substances create a liniment for reducing the acuteness of the arthritis, aches and pains. The organic matter content was found to be 91. 00%. Organic matter measures the nutritional value (lipids, proteins and CHOI of a plant material).The high value indicates that the banana peels are good source of nutrient . The study of the anti-nutrient content of the peel indicates generally low values except saponins . This means that if the peels are properly processed could be good source of food for livestock(Joshua Waya, April 2007). The banana plant has long been source of fibre for high quality textiles. It is used in the production of banana paper. Banana as fertilizer work out with a number of plants. Bananas have a lot of health benefits. Using banana skin fertilizer is also a great way of recycling kitchen waste (Robert Marcello).Banana peels add several important nutrients to fertilizer including calcium, magnesium, sulphur, potassium phosphate and sodium. Banana peels can be use as compost or fertilizer as- is but the nutrients they contain may be released more slowly and the benefits to your plants greatly reduced. Dried banana peels have 30-40% tannin content. This substance is used to treat and blacken leather, fresh banana peels are an efficient shoe polisher. (Maria Kielmas, August 2011) Banana Fiber Textile Products Banana fibers such as flax, jute, hemp, and pineapple etc plant fibers. re all made up of thick walled cell tissue and they are bonded together by natural gums and support the branches, stems, leaves and fruits. Although banana plants and fibers are available in tropical regions in abundance, their application potential has not been exploited fully. At present, other companIies make the limited application of banana fiber ,for example, in making ropes, mats, and some other fields such as the composite materials. In recent years, more and more plant fibers were considered to be environmentally friendly fiber sources , and many countries are emphasizing the utilizing of these fibers. http://www. li-fei. com) Chapter 3 METHODOLOGY A. MATERIALS Knives, banana peels,Blender, A mesh surface, Hot boiling water PROCEDURE Gathering of Banana Peel The Banana peelings were brought by the second year science class. Some were brought by the reaserchers. Preparation for the Banana Peelings The banana fruit were peeled and the fruits were discarded or eaten. The banana peels where weighed by the researchers to get the right concentration and got exactly 156 grams, usually it takes 4 banana peels to get the exact weight. The imperfections in the banana peels were trimmed until only the banana peel retained.Chopping of the Banana Peelings The banana peelings were cut into small pieces/sections. A knife was used to chop the banana peel easily. Cutting of Paper Two pieces of paper, with an intermediate size were gathered in a waste can. The papers were cut into smaller sections. The blender was used to blend the papers with 250ml water within 30 seconds. Preparation of the Treatment The small pieces of banana peelings and small pieces of paper with 125 ml of water, placed in a blender and was mixed for within 30 seconds until the mixture was uniformed. Molding the TreatmentA mesh surface with a uniform depth of 1mm was moistened using water. Using a ladle, the banana peel mixture was spread over the moistened mesh. Drying of the Treatment The mixture was left under the sun for 24hours or until the extract was entirely dry. The banana peel was removed gently from the mesh. Then the paper was placed on a flat surface under the sun for it to become fully dry. Gathering and Analysis of Data The experimental and control unit passes through ten(10) judges and were rated according to a 3-point scale. 1- low; 2- medium and 3- high as regards to lus ter and smoothness.Data were analyzed using the Two-way Analysis of Variance and Comparison Mean test.

Apposition Definitions and Examples

Apposition Definitions and Examples Apposition is the placement side-by-side of two coordinate elements (usually noun phrases), the second of which serves to identify or rename the first. Adjective: appositional. In his study of Apposition in Contemporary English (1992), Charles F. Meyer observes that the relation of apposition is realized by a variety of syntactic forms, noun phrases predominantly but other syntactic forms as well. Although these forms can have a full range of syntactic functions, they most commonly have two: subject and object (p. 10).   Etymology: From the Latin, to put nearExamples and Observations: Gussie, a glutton for punishment, stared at himself in the mirror.(P.G. Wodehouse, Right Ho, Jeeves, 1934)The sidewalk just outside the Casino was strewn with discarded tickets, the chaff of wasted hope.(Jonathan Lethem, Motherless Brooklyn. Doubleday, 1999)Miniver Cheevy, child of scorn,grew lean while he assailed the seasons.(E.A. Robinson, Miniver Cheevy)The undistinguished example that fronts the Duke of Wellington pub is serviced by the pigeon man, an elderly stooped figure entirely in brown: from his flat cap, through his greasy raincoat, to his worn shoes, he is the color of Daddies Own sauce scraped from a formica table.(Iain Sinclair, Lights Out for the Territory. Granta Books, 1997)This was not Aunt Dahlia, my good and kindly aunt, but my Aunt Agatha, the one who chews broken bottles and kills rats with her teeth.(P.G. Wodehouse)This is a valley of ashesa fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens; where ashes take the forms of ho uses and chimneys and rising smoke and finally, with a transcendent effort, of ash-grey men, who move dimly and already crumbling through the powdery air.(F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby, 1925) It was a bleak period of present privation and threatening disasterthe period of soya beans and Basic Englishand in consequence the book is infused with a kind of gluttony, for food and wine, for the splendors of the recent past, and for rhetorical and ornamental language, which now with a full stomach I find distasteful.(Evelyn Waugh in 1959 on his wartime novel Brideshead Revisited)The sentencethe dread sentence of deathwas the last of distinct accentuation which reached my ears.(Edgar Allan Poe, The Pit and the Pendulum, 1842)Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins.(Vladimir Nabokov, Lolita) Syntactic Characteristics of Apposition Syntactically, apposition is most commonly a relation between two juxtaposed noun phrases having a syntactic function (such as direct object) promoting end-weight.Although units in apposition can have a variety of different syntactic forms, the majority of appositions in the corpora (66 percent) consisted of units that were noun phrases. (1) Desegregation is beginning in two more important Southern citiesDallas and Atlanta. (Brown B09 850-860) Because appositions are syntactically heavy constructions, most (65 percent) had functions that promote end-weight, most commonly direct object (example 2) or object of preposition (example 3). (2) A plug and a tube with holes in its cylindrical walls divided the chamber above the porous plug into two parts. This arrangement had the purpose to prevent heated gas to reach the thermocouple by natural convection. (Brown J02 900-30)(3) The heart is suspended in a special portion of the coelom, the pericardium, whose walls are supported by cartilage. (SEU W.9.7.91-1) . . . [M]ost appositions (89 percent) were juxtaposed. . . . Even though more than two units can be in apposition, most appositions (92 percent) were single appositions consisting of only two units.(Charles F. Meyer, Apposition in Contemporary English. Cambridge Univ. Press, 1992) An Interrupter Although the appositive does not disturb the natural flow of the sentence as violently as parenthetical expressions do (mainly because the appositive is grammatically coordinate with the unit that it follows), it does interrupt the flow of the sentence, interrupts the flow to supply some gratuitous information or explanation.(Edward P.J. Corbett and Robert J. Connors, Classical Rhetoric for the Modern Student, Oxford Univ. Press, 1999) Appositive Exercises: Practice in Identifying AppositivesSentence Building with Appositives

How to Use the PHP Is_Numeric() Function

How to Use the PHP Is_Numeric() Function The is_numeric() function in the  PHP programming language is used to evaluate whether a value is a number or numeric string. Numeric strings contain any number of digits, optional signs such as or -, an optional decimal, and an optional exponential. Therefore, 234.5e6 is a valid numeric string. Binary notation and hexadecimal notation are not allowed.   The  is_numeric()  function can be used within an if() statement to treat numbers in one way and non-numbers in another. It returns true or false. Examples of the Is_Numeric() Function For example: ?php if (is_numeric(887)) { echo Yes; } else { echo No; } ? Because 887 is a number, this echos Yes. However: ?php if (is_numeric(cake)) { echo Yes; } else { echo No; } ? Because cake is not a number, this echos No. Similar Functions A similar function, ctype-digit(), also checks for numeric characters, but only for digits- no optional signs, decimals, or exponents allowed. Every character in the string text must be a decimal digit for the return to be true. Otherwise, the function  returns false. Other similar functions include: is_null() – Finds whether a variable is NULLis_float() – Finds whether the type of a variable is floatis_int() – Find whether the type of a variable is integeris_string() – Find whether the type of a variable is stringis_object() – Finds whether a variable is an objectis_array() – Finds whether a variable is an arrayis_bool()  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ Finds out whether a variable is a boolean About PHP PHP is an abbreviation for Hypertext Preprocessor. It is an open-source HTML-friendly scripting language that is  used by website owners to write dynamically generated pages. The code is executed on the server and generates HTML, which is then sent to the client. PHP is a popular server-side language that can be deployed on almost every operating system and platform.

The Ethics of Democracy by John Dewey Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Ethics of Democracy by John Dewey - Essay Example Understanding also the types of government that emerge throughout history would help in appreciating the importance of the government. A government is made up of people who help the citizens every day. The people are part of teams who work hard in the community for the welfare of many. A government may run a town, a school and a country as it decides for the people it leads (Bedesky 4). Basically a government is not just the group spearheading the direction of a country because it may exist in smaller groups that lead the people like cities or even school organizations and companies. There are several forms of government: republic, democracy, monarchy, aristocracy, dictatorship, and democratic republic. Republic is like democracy but it exists in many people and the political system allows the citizens to elect the representatives for their government. On the other hand, democracy is similar to republic but the focus is on the rule by the people. It means that the power of the govern ment officials is granted by the citizens. Monarchy differs from both republic and democracy since the political power is vested upon the king or queen. In other places as shown by the history, monarchy may have an emperor instead of a queen or king. Normally the royal family has the wealth and total control over the land and people have less say regarding the politics of their place. Today monarchy does not exist as part of politics. Aristocracy is somewhat related to monarchy because the members of the royal family are wealthy and educated. Aristocracy is a more general type since it does not need to have a royal family as long as the land is dominated politically by the wealthy families. Dictatorship is somewhat like aristocracy wherein few people are dominating the government but in dictatorship, harshness is involved and the dominant figure can just be a single person. Some of the prominent dictators in history are Castro of Cuba and Hitler of Germany. Last in the list of the c ommon forms of government is the democratic republic. Typically people may say that it is democracy and republic combined, but in reality it is a form of dictatorship as North Vietnam called itself as The Democratic Republic of Vietnam and China as The People’s Republic of China (The Global Citizen). In the study, the essay of John Dewey regarding ethics and democracy would be tackled thoroughly. Since the concept of government had been laid down, it would be great to also give some introduction and basic information regarding the concept of ethics. Later on democracy would be discussed in detail and a brief biography of John Dewey would also be included to connect his experiences and works to his specific view regarding democracy. The concept of ethics is almost synonymous to morality as some people use them interchangeably. The origin of the word ethics can be traced back from the Greek word ethickos which means habit or ethos which describes a pattern of behavior. On the o ther hand, morality comes from the Latin word morales which mean social norms. The concepts of morality and ethics can be misleading as they are more than just patterns of behaviors and norms. Ethics can be separated into several divisions: meta-ethics, normative ethics and practical ethics. Meta-ethics is about the things associated with the terms right, good and virtue. The major purpose of meta-ethics is to analyze an ethical system. Normative ethics as its name shows it is about

Memorandum. The intentional infliction of emotional distress case Assignment

Memorandum. The intentional infliction of emotional distress case study - Assignment Example The relevant law to be used in this case is the intentional infliction of emotional distress. In this case, it will be determined whether Mr. Crane should be charged for intentional infliction of emotional distress on Ms. Jeffers. The case has not been filed but it is probable that Ms. Jeffers will sue Mr. Crane for intentional infliction of emotional distress, particularly, his conduct was extreme and outrageous. The law states for the conduct to be extreme and outrageous, the distress must be able to affect the functionality of the plaintiff’s professional or personal life. Several cases have used the law and different interpretations have been given on the outcome of the cases. Mr. Crane’s conduct is probably not extreme and outrageous. This is because the law states that for a conduct to be regarded as extreme and outrageous, the distress is supposed to have a significant impact on the plaintiff’s professional and personal life. Mr. Crane acted out of goodwill and Ms. Jeffers interfered with the conversation between him and Christy. According to the cases discussed, it is evident that prove must be given to indicate that the defendant’s conduct was extreme and outrageous. The law states that for the defendant’s conduct to be regarded extreme and outrageous, it must be outrageous in character and extreme such that it is beyond the degree of decency. The extreme and outrageous behavior may arise from abuse of the individual or from the significant authority given to defendant (or the power he or she possesses) over the other such that he can influence his or her interests. ... Application Mr. Crane’s remarks are not enough to prove that he caused emotional distress on Ms. Jeffers. Based on the second case, it can be argued that Mr. Crane was doing his duty as a â€Å"gymnastics coach† and he knew the strengths and weaknesses of each student. Thus, in his opinion based on the performance of the student, he could give a conclusive statement about the student. Just like Mattix-Hill, conflicts of duties and interests emerged. Though Mr. Crane talked in a harsh tone, this cannot be enough to consider his conduct as extreme and outrageous. In the first case, it is clearly stated that indignities, annoyances, mere insults, petty oppressions, or even threats do not amount to be considered as extreme and outrageous conduct. Ms. Jeffers has not yet claimed that she has suffered emotional distress from the remarks made by Mr. Crane. However, if she claims, it will be important that she prove that the coach caused emotional distress as seen in all the four cases. Th e fact that Mr. Crane talked in an inhumane manner, his conduct can still be regarded as extreme and outrageous if Ms. Jeffers gives sufficient evidence. Thus, Ms. Jeffers can win the claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress. However, Mr. Crane’s conduct is probably not extreme and outrageous.

The Hard Times in Life Essay Example for Free

The Hard Times in Life Essay Thinking of truly difficult times is life is far from difficult. Reminiscing on difficult times will always bring back sad memories and feelings. It seems as though the most difficult times are the easiest to remember. Personally, the most difficult time of my life was the first few days after my father’s bicycle accident. For almost three days, I could not see my father who had gotten hit head-on by a red Chevrolet truck. It was truly the most difficult thing I’ve ever experienced not knowing whether or not I would see him alive again. It started out like any other typical Tuesday. I had just gotten home from the state choral competition in Jackson and my father was setting off on his weekly Tuesday night ride. I came home around 6 o’clock, just in time to see my mom coming out the door crying. This was one of the few times I had ever seen my mom cry. Obviously curious as to why she was crying, I asked what was wrong. She blatantly said, â€Å"your dad’s been hit.† It took a while for her words to sink when, but after a few seconds I knew exactly what she meant and it was truly gut-wrenching to hear. She told my brothers and I that we couldn’t go to the hospital with her and that’s when I broke down. It was so nerve-wracking to think of what all was happening at the hospital and whether or not he would be okay. The next few days weren’t any better. My uncle, aunt, cousin, and grandmother, all of whom are on my mom’s side of the family, came and stayed the night with us, while my mom stayed at the hospital. It was nice to have support from my family being there but it was hard because I had to go to school the next day enduring all the horrible feelings and thoughts throughout those day. My other grandmother and grandfather, uncle and aunt, from my father’s side, came that Wednesday. Again, I was thankful to have so much family around, but it was just too much. Going 3 days without seeing my father was awful. Hearing what all had happened to him brought tears to my eyes. The worst feeling was the feeling that I could do nothing but wait. Seconds, minutes, and hours felt like days, months, and years. That Friday was the first day I was able to see him. Seeing my dad lying in a hospital bed, bruised from head to toe, with a broken leg and broken arm, truly broke me down and humbled me. I try to never take anything for granted anymore and I constantly remind myself that I am certainly so blessed by God to still have my father around.

Agamemnon Essay -- essays research papers

Aeschylus was born in 525 B.C. and died in 466 B.C. He was the first of the three Athenian dramatists, the other two being Sophocles and Euripides. The first of Aeschylus’ plays were laid open in 499. He was established as the founder of tragedy, according to Aristotle. He diminished the importance of the chorus and introduced a second actor. Between the years of 484 and 458, he won awards at the festival in the City Dionysia. He wrote more than ninety plays, but only seven survive. The oldest of these is The Suppliant Maidens. The trilogy, Agamemnon, Choephore, and Eumendis, was not long before 458. Aeschylus acted in his own plays. His family belonged to an old Athenian nobility and, as part of his duty, he fought in at least two wars where the Greeks defeated the Persians: Marathon and Salamis. Some scholars say that he participated in one or more of the northern expeditions in the years following the Persian War. Aeschylus died and was buried in Gela in 456 B.C. A fable state that an eagle dropped a tortoise on his bald head mistaking it for a rock that it could crack its rock on. That is ridiculous. Word count: 202 The plot section: A bit of background: The king of Argos, Atreus, had a very large quarrel with Thyestes, his younger brother. Thyestes had seduced Atreus’ wife, Aerope. Thyestes went into exile. Agamemnon, seeking revenge, welcomed him back, promising forgiveness. When Thyestes returned, Agamemnon served Thyestes’ sons to him in a stew and showed their heads on a silver platter to him. Thyestes went into exile again. Aerope had previously been married to Atreus’s son Plisthenes and had two children, Agamemnon and Menalaus. The children were raised by Atreus and married sisters: Clymenstra and Helen. Paris stole Helen and Agamemnon arranged the war to get her back. This war lasted ten years and the plot starts at Agamemnon’s return home. The watchman is sitting on the roof of Agamemnon’s palace awaiting the beacon signaling that the war was over. He is sad that his master is gone and what has been happening in his absence. What has been happening is Clymenstra has been â€Å"getting friendly† with Aegisthus, Thyestes’ son. Aegisthus is seeking revenge on Agamem... ...the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.† This tells us that lust and pride are of the world. Clymenstra was definitely of the world. She lusted after someone and was prideful in her lies. All of these things are wrong and we know that they are not looked upon favorably by our Father in heaven. We learn that from this book. Another theme is do not commit adultery. It is in the Bible! Exodus 20:14 says,† Thou shall not commit adultery."This does not mean just sleeping with someone who is not your husband or wife. It can also mean do not lust with your eyes and mind. When you look at someone with lustful thoughts, it is considered adultery. The last theme I saw was when Agamemnon walked on the tapestries to please his wife although he knew it would displease the gods. This teaches me that we should have an attitude of â€Å"no compromise.† He compromised his values for someone else. This is not the way things should be in Christian lives. Too many people compromise and stretch their values to suit everyone else’s needs. Christ did not comprise on the cross, we should not either. Word count: 297

Energy Drinks Essay

Something I learned in my last Health class is the ever-increasing use of today’s new â€Å"Energy Drinks. † Caffeine is the single most used drug in America. How many of us must have that morning cup of coffee before heading out the door? How many college students are staying up late at night preparing for a mid-term or final exam by drink these new, all natural, safe, energy drinks? You may want to read their labels and adjust your thinking. You may want to include a little research in regards to these drinks. At this time there is no long-term research to report on in regards to energy drinks. What we do know is that these drinks have a variety of ingredients such as ginseng, amino acids, ginkgo, various vitamins, and high amounts of sugar. However, the primary active energy ingredient is caffeine. At this time, the FDA does not regulate the amounts of caffeine that are in these drinks. They suggest that within a 12-ounce beverage serving the amount of caffeine should be 68 milligrams or less. A report published by the Journal of Analytical Toxicology showed that of ten of the most popular energy drinks had as high as 141 milligrams in one 16-ounce serving. The following 12-ounce energy drinks showed, Monster at 120 milligrams, Red Bull at 116 milligrams, and Amp contained 107 milligrams of caffeine. To give a comparison, look at Coke and Pepsi. They only contain between 34 to 38 milligrams of caffeine. Energy drinks have risen significantly in popularity in the last few years with revenues exceeding $3. 5 billion a year and growing. One report states that with the new found popularity there are growing concerns of the possible health effects among children, adolescents, and young adults. It states that 30 to 50 percent of America drinks energy drinks. Of this amount they report that one third are from the ages of 12 to 24 consume these beverages on a daily basis. Due to these beverages being chilled makes them easier to consume quickly. High doses of caffeine have been linked to seizures, cardiac problems, mood or behavioral disorders, and diabetes. Additionally, these problems have been linked specifically to the consumption of energy drinks among children, teens, and young adults. There has been a growing concern amongst the medical community, parents, and school officials in regards to these energy drinks on our youth. Numerous reports are being found to the adverse affects these high caffeine drinks are responsible for. The Illinois Poison Control Center reported in a recent survey of more than 250 cases of caffeine overdose in a three-year period. The average age of these accounts was 21. A doctor from California reports that an eighteen year young man received treatment for an abnormal heart rhythm after consuming eight 16-ounce energy drinks per evening to remain alert during his night job. Another growing concern is the use of these energy drinks as a mixer with alcohol. A study from 2006 showed that the individuals surveyed were just as impaired in motor coordination and reaction time as individuals drinking alcohol alone. As stated earlier, there is not much evidence on the effects of long-term use of caffeine on children or teenagers. It is known that it can create physiological and psychological dependence in adults. This being true, we must do everything possible to protect our children from these non-regulated beverages. We need to insist on more research to be conducted in order to better inform the public of the consequences of the consumption of these highly-caffeinated energy drinks and the adverse effects they have on our youth. (Word Count 606) Flores, D. (2011, 03 16). Health Effect of Energy Drinks on Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults, Retrieved 07 12, 2012, from ArticlesBase. com: http://www. articlesbase. com/wellness-articles/health-effects-of-energy-drinks-on-children-adolescents-and-young-adults-4423299. html.

Sensation and Perception

Sensation and perception are two terms that are related, but that each one has a different meaning. Sensation refers to the feeling we experience in response to information received through our sense organs. Sensation is also the basic immediate experiences generated by single isolated stimuli. On the other hand, perception is the way our body is organized to interpret those feelings; recognition of objects that comes from combining the sensations with the memory of previous sensory experiences.In other words, perception can be understood as the appropriation or capture of the surroundings, and sensations are the tools, by which you may perceive that environment. Summarizing, we can say that while sensation involucres feelings, perception involucres ideas. Let’s look an example to see the difference between them. When a musician plays a note on the piano, its tone and volume characteristics are sensations. If you hear the first four notes and you recognized as part of a sympho ny, one can say that perception is experienced.The differences between sensation and perception are not clear, but it is considered that in some cases one pass just after the other. It is said that the feeling usually comes before the perception and that functional difference is a simple and easy; in the sensitive process a stimulus is perceived as a door alarm, then analyzed and compared (perception), the information this stimulus gives is resolved with an attitude of alert to any danger or simply a matter of turning off the button accidentally activated the alarm.All of this is the accumulation of great information that is interrelated to reach a conclusion. Related to the vision world there are many terms that we should take into account. Some of them are Rods/Cones, Trichromatic and Opponent-Process Theories of Color Vision, Afterimages. Rods and Cones are retinal cells that contain chemicals that respond to light. When light strikes these chemicals, they break apart, creating a signal that can be transferred to the brain.While rods respond in dim light, cones are involved in color vision. There are two main theories that explain how the vision world works. The Trichromatic theory states that by mixing pure versions of blue, red and green light in different ratios, they could produce any other ratios. The Opponent- Process theory suggested that color sensitive visual elements in the eye are arranged into three kinds of pairs and that the members of each pair oppose, or inhibit each other.Each elements signals one color or the other (red or green, blue or yellow, black or white), but never both. The last concept, afterimage is an optical illusion that refers to an image continuing to appear in one's vision after the exposure to the original image has ceased. Together, the Trichromatic and opponent process theories explain most of what we now know about the complex process of color vision. We see colors because our three types of cones have different sensiti vities to different wavelength of light.But it is more complex than all this. The cones are connected to ganglion cells that contain pair of opposing elements that respond to different colors and inhibit each other. This explains the basis for afterimages. Therefore, the Trichromatic theory explains color vision as it relates to rods and cones, whereas the opponent-process theory explains color vision as it relates to the ganglions cells (helps to explain afterimages)..

The Conjugations for Déranger (to Disturb) in French

The Conjugations for Dà ©ranger (to Disturb) in French Dà ©ranger  is the French verb that means to disturb. This ones easy to remember if you think of the English derange, which is a synonym of disturb in some circumstances. In order to change the verb meaning to disturbed or disturbing, a conjugation is required and a quick lesson will walk you through this. Conjugating the French Verb  Dà ©ranger Dà ©ranger  is a  spelling change verb  and it follows a pattern found in similar verbs that end in -ger. This includes  corriger  (to correct) and  bouger  (to move)  and theres a good reason behind the subtle changes. When the letter G is followed by a hard vowel like an A or O, it typically uses a hard G sound. However, in words like  dà ©ranger, we want to retain the soft G and that is why an I sometimes replaces the E in conjugations.   Using the table, study the verb endings attached to the stem  dà ©rang-. Match the subject pronoun to the present, future, or imperfect past tense to find the correct form to use. For instance, I disturb is je dà ©range and we will disturb is  nous avons dà ©rangerons. Subject Present Future Imperfect je drange drangerai drangeais tu dranges drangeras drangeais il drange drangera drangeait nous drangeons drangerons drangions vous drangez drangerez drangiez ils drangent drangeront drangeaient The Present Participle of  Dà ©ranger The  present participle  of  dà ©ranger  is  dà ©rangeant.  This is done by simply adding -ant  to the verb stem. Beyond its usage as a verb, this can also become an adjective, gerund, or noun in some instances. Another Common  Past Tense Form   The  passà © composà ©Ã‚  is a common way to say the past tense disturbed in French. To use it, conjugate the  auxiliary, or helping verb  avoir  to fit the subject pronoun, then attach the  past participle  dà ©rangà ©. As an example, I disturbed is jai dà ©rangà © and we disturbed is nous avons dà ©rangà ©. Notice how the  ai  and  avons  are conjugates of  avoir  and that the past participle does not change. More Simple  Dà ©ranger  Conjugations The subjunctive verb mood is used when the verb has a level of uncertainty. Similarly, the conditional verb mood implies that the action is dependent on something else. These two verb forms are quite useful, especially with a verb like  dà ©ranger  where the disturbance may be questionable. Used with less frequency, you will often only come across the passà © composà © and the imperfect subjunctive in formal writing. Subject Subjunctive Conditional Pass Simple Imperfect Subjunctive je drange drangerais drangeai drangeasse tu dranges drangerais drangeas drangeasses il drange drangerait drangeas dranget nous drangions drangerions drangemes drangeassions vous drangiez drangeriez drangetes drangeassiez ils drangent drangeraient drangrent drangeassent To express  dà ©ranger  in an exclamation, demand, or request, the imperative form is used. For this conjugation, the subject pronoun is not required, so tu dà ©range can be shortened to dà ©range. Imperative (tu) drange (nous) drangeons (vous) drangez

Expository Essay

Expository Essay Expository Essay Expository Essay Expository essay writing should follow this simple structure: introduction, main text and conclusion. Writing expository essay you need to discuss topic and explain your point of view presenting illustrative material. In the introduction give background information on essay topic, to set the foundation for your main text. Expository essay should have a clear essay title and brief introduction.   Do not overload introduction with unnecessary information. You will have an opportunity to write all you want in the main body of your expository essay. Body of expository essay should be as detailed as possible.   However, you should not go beyond the narrowly defined topic as well as you should meet the specific word limit.   Writing an essay, start new paragraph with new idea; however, it should be linked to the previous one. Expository Essay Writing Writing an expository essay avoid using personal pronoun 'I' and passive voice. The final things you need to do before turning in an expository essay are proofreading and revision. Make sure that your expository essay does not fall out of the assigned topic.   If your expository essay is about nature, do not write about humanity.   You may mention the role of humans, but you should not focus is on humanity.   It can be used to support your main points, as an example; however, it should not be the focus of your expository essay. Custom Expository Essay We would like to offer you professional custom expository essay writing service.   Our writers are working hard to ensure high quality of every piece of writing.   Expository essay written by our writer will definitely meet academic requirements of your teacher.  We strive not to be late and assign a writer to help you within a very short period of time (less than 30 minutes).   Why to choose .com? We are honest and reliable, we are responsible and diligent.   Your questions are not left unanswered; your expository essays are not plagiarized.   We are young but educated and devoted writers. You may contact us 24/7 to get an answer on any question you may have.

Preparation for Value Management Study designed for TechWatt Essay

Preparation for Value Management Study designed for TechWatt Corporation - Essay Example In preparation for the Value Management Study, TMK Services has determined the need for this preliminary report that will address the specific issues that should be evaluated during the first meeting of the project briefing stage. This report will include details of what should be contributed to the Value Management Study, and who will be involved in the process. In addition, TechWatt will need to provide certain information for the Study, which will be addressed. Finally, a proposed agenda will be submitted for approval. Top managers of TechWatt must be involved in every aspect of this process and, since the company is not large, they will be directly monitoring each feature of the process without exception. At the early stages of decision making, there is no need for any delegation of responsibility. As the process proceeds to the construction phase, At the outset, TMK Services has been informed that the funds allocated by TechWatt for the proposed HQ total approximately five million pounds. With that in mind, the first logical step in this process must be to determine a suitable location for building and determine what the cost of the land will be. While some locations may seem more desirable from a strictly logistical or geographical standpoint, consideration must be given to the relative cost of land in any given area being considered. We would suggest that TechWatt management not limit themselves to only one possible location at this stage. Going into the Value Management Study meeting, it would be beneficial to have at least two, if not three possible locations on the table. Considering what has been occurring with the price of land in recent years, it becomes imperative to make the proper decision on location. For example: From 1983 to 2002 the cost of one hectare of land in London went from 0.76m to 5.5m. However, in the South West, the price went from 0.18m to 1.7m. Finally, the lowest prices for land are found in Yorkshire with prices raising from 0.1m to only 0.87m per hectare. (UK Land Prices Rocket, 2003) Prices for land vary throughout additional areas of the country, and specific numbers can be provided upon request, however the purpose of providing these statistics is simply to provide the basis for TechWatt management to understand the importance of this part of the decision making process. Obviously, the cost of the land on which the HQ will be constructed will play a major roll in determining the amount of finances remaining for the building process. 3 Although a full hectare of land may not be necessary for this project - that is a determination that will be made at a later date - understanding the cost of land in various locations must be a vital part of the process for TechWatt management. Other factors will need to be considered regarding location, as well. These include: accessibility of location (is it close to majors thoroughfares and easily accessible from airport); quality of surrounding area

What is the state of corporate governance in the UK, USA, EU, Literature review

What is the state of corporate governance in the UK, USA, EU, Australia, Japan and the GCC countries - Literature review Example It a discipline that focuses mainly on existing relationships between a company’s top management, its stockholders, boards, regulators, other stakeholders and auditors, and is a â€Å"system by which companies are directed and controlled† (Corporate Governance, nd., p.11). The system takes into account various market and regulatory structures, while also considering objectives for governing business firms. As OECD framed it, â€Å"Corporate governance involves a set of relationships between a company’s management, its board, its shareholders and other stakeholders. Corporate governance also provides the structure through which the objectives of the company are set, and the means of attaining those objectives and monitoring performance are determined† (OECD, 2004, p. 11). ... pted for preventing or diminishing contentious issues arising mainly from conflicts of interests include institutions, customs, procedures, laws and policies, which affect the manner in which a business firm is regulated (Cadbury, 1992, p. 15). An important theory within corporate governance deals with the extent and nature of  liability  of those concerned in the running of the  business. Another related yet different theory within corporate governance deals with its effects on  economic efficacy that mainly focuses on the welfare of its shareholder (Haidar,  2009). In large corporations that have different management and ownership with no regulating shareholder, the  agent-principal issues  may crop up between top management (an agent) that may have varying interests and may possess more information than the firm’s shareholders which form the principals. The main problem in this field arises when the board of directors instead of managing on behalf of the compa ny shareholders become separated from the latter, while becoming to more loyal to the firm’s management (Bebchuk and  Jesse, 2006). This dimension is often present in many of the current public debates, and is taken into consideration while framing regulatory policies. Currently there has been a great deal of interest in studying theories and practices of corporate governance of contemporary business firms, especially in the context of liability, after the bankruptcy of many of the well-known MNCs during 2002 and again during 2007-09 economic crisis, which concerned primarily accounting fraud (Haidar,  2009). Various corporate scandals  at different times, over the past few years, have led to sustained interests from both political and public world in maintaining a control and regulation over corporate

Feminist and Post-Colonal Theory on a literary text Essay

Feminist and Post-Colonal Theory on a literary text - Essay Example This essay demonstrates that every culture had a way to resist the epic changes that were being imposed by the British Government. And in this story â€Å"Good Advice is Rarer than Rubies† (Rushdie). We see this resistance by the way the way men treat their women in Indian settings. Even though they are modernized they still practice their traditions like arranged marriages and the women also wear the veils except our main character Rehana and some other few women she points out.This essay demonstrates that every culture had a way to resist the epic changes that were being imposed by the British Government. And in this story â€Å"Good Advice is Rarer than Rubies† (Rushdie). We see this resistance by the way the way men treat their women in Indian settings. Even though they are modernized they still practice their traditions like arranged marriages and the women also wear the veils except our main character Rehana and some other few women she points out. In the story al ong a line is described outside the British consulate, this is symbolic of Euro-centrism that those people think that England is better to live in than India (Rushdie). Rehana surprises Muhammad Ali by turning down his offer of a free British visa. She also fails her exams on purpose, and when Ali asks her, she says, â€Å"there are some boys who need me† (Rushdie). Rehana symbolizes resistance to a new culture and thinking.   This paper makes a conclusion that the way the women are interrogated in the British consul symbolizes neo-colonialism (Forster).

How Culture Affects Identity

How Culture Affects Identity Culture can be defined as the increasing deposit of knowledge, material objects, values, religion, notions of time, attitudes, hierarchies, concepts of the universe, spatial relations, roles, and beliefs and possessions gained by a group of people in the path of generations through individual and group striving (Poyatos, 2002). Culture can also be termed as communication and the vise versa. This is because culture is a symbol of communication. Some of these symbols include knowledge, a groups skills, attitudes, motives and values. Culture can also be defined as the sum total of all the learned behaviors of a group that are commonly considered to be the tradition of a particular group of people and are conveyed from generation to generation. Identity can be defined as a set of personal or behavioral characteristics by which an individual can be associated with a certain group. Identity also refers to the state of an individual having some specific qualities which identify him with a p articular group of people or things. The combination of these two nouns (culture and identity) gives rise to cultural identity which refers to the sense of belongingness to a particular group or culture. From a personal view, culture refers to the way (aspects) of a persons life. These aspects of life include language which is one of the oldest medium of expression in the human institution, arts and sciences which are the forms of human expression most refined and advanced and thought which can be defined as the methodologies in which an individual perceives, interprets, and understands the world around him. There is also spirituality which is a value system passed through generations for the purpose of well being in human beings. It is expressed through actions, language and social activities which are perceived to be the shared pursuit within any particular cultural community. All cultures or social organizations have severe dimensions just like physical dimensions of length, height, width, time and height. The cultural dimensions may vary according to size, permeate the whole or by definition one cannot see a dimension of culture or society just the way we see an individual person however each person manifests each of the five dimensions of culture. Hofstede came up with five dimensions which are rated in 53 countries basing on indices of each dimension. These dimensions are namely power distance (hierarchy), femininity versus masculinity, collectivism versus individualism, uncertainty avoidance, and long term versus short term orientation (Hofstede, Pedersen Hofstede, 2002). (PD) Power distance refers to the extent to which less powerful members expects respects and accepts unequal power distribution within a particular culture. According to Hofstede, high PD countries tend to maintain centralized political power and display tall hierarchies in organizat ions with massive differences in salary and social status. Subordinates always perceive the manager as a benevolent dictator and they are therefore expected to follow the rules just as they are stipulated. The low PD countries perceive subordinates and supervisors as closer to being equal and easily interchangeable (Marcus Gould, 2000). They also have more flattened hierarchies in organizations and with less difference in salaries and social status. In these low PD countries, equality is generally desired and expected. As a citizen of United States my country has a current PDI of 40 in comparison to the worlds range of 55 (Marcus Gould, 2000). I support this low PDI because in my American culture there is better equality between the societal levels, government institutions, organizations and within families. My American cultural environment is stable and there is cooperative interaction in all power levels. I practice American culture and identity and its because of this that I can say my culture has sense of equality. For example teachers, students (children) and parents perceive each other as equals but not necessarily identical. The students and teachers relate well. Personally, I relate well with my lecturers and none of us feels like he/she has power over me as his student. In work places, people hold different position but regardless of this many perceive each other as brothers and it is therefore difficult to find some work related humanitarian crises. Individualism in culture refers to loo se ties. This mans that one is expected to look after himself, his immediate family and no one else. Collectivism on the other hand means that people are incorporated together by birth into cohesive, strong groups that act as protection in exchange for unquestionable loyalty. According to Hofspede, individualistic cultures value freedom, personal time and extrinsic motivators like material rewards at work (Marcus Gould, 2000). In these individualistic cultures, individual socio-economic interests are highly valued and strong rights of privacy are maintained. In general it advocates for the ideologies based on self-actualization, self government, self realization and freedom. On the other hand collectivist value skills, training, physical conditions and the intrinsic rewards based on mastery. In relations to family they value harmony, silence, use of shame in the achievement of behavioral goals and the strife to maintain face. The socio- economic interests are highly valued rather than individuals. According to the American culture which is also my cultural identity, we prefer situations whereby there is self sustenance. For example personally I like attending to my issues in my own way since thats what my parents have taught me. If I am in need, I believe I should consult my parents, brothers and sisters before going to the external world. I also try to realize my goals using my own version without interference. This tendency is very common in the American culture. This is well supported by the studies of Hofstede which show that in the year 2009 the United States had an IDV of 91 the highest dimension compared to the other countries (Marcus Gould, 2000). This means that the society has high individualistic attitude and relative loose bond with others. Therefore, the society is more self dependent and is concerned only for themselves and their close family members. Masculinity and femininity refers to the gender roles in a particular culture. Traditionally the masculine roles were based on assertiveness, toughness and competition while the feminine roles were based on tenderness, orientation to people, home and children. These traditional gender distinctions are almost breaking due to the collapse of feminine roles. The traditional masculine work goals included recognition, earnings, challenge and advancement. The traditional feminine work goals included good relations, employment security and good living and working conditions. As an American upholding the American culture, I have realized many women trends are changing since they are pursuing degrees and diplomas to get into white-color jobs unlike in the early days when females used to stay at home taking care of children. Many females have taken jobs such as engineering, medical and teaching jobs which used to belong to men. According to Hofstede, in the year 2009 the MAS for America was 68 meaning the country experiences a higher degree of gender differentiation roles (Marcus Gould, 2000). This means that the female population is more assertive and competitive just like men. Uncertainty avoidance dimension deals with the societys tolerance as it pertains to ambiguity and uncertainty. It depicts how members in a society have attempted to cope with the anxiety through the minimization of uncertainties. In the cultures of high uncertainty avoidance people always prefer formally designed activities and explicit rules. You will also find that most of the em ployees tend to retain their employers (Amanda.com 1). In low uncertainty avoidance cultures, people always prefer implicit rules and more informal activities. Again, employees cannot retain their employers. In my American culture rules are very flexible and it accommodates diverse ideologies. For example there are many religions unlike in other countries like Islamic where only one religion is tolerated. My American culture has few rules and it doesnt do much to control all outcomes and results. It also tolerates a variety of ideas believes and thoughts. The long term versus short term orientation refers to the societys time horizon. It also examines the importance of the future compared to the present and past. In my American culture I believe that I believe that I will meet my obligations and I also believe the American society will always meet its obligation no matter the hardships and inconveniences we will experience. Also, I appreciate my American tradition which is characterized by a lot of hard work in order to achieve something meaningful in life. Culture and identity positively influences the relationship between me and my parents because we rarely have any conflicts. This is because I know what my parents advocated for since my childhood (family traditions) and this makes it easier for us to interact without much issues arising. Culture and identity has had a negative impact between my family members and me because some cultural aspects are continually changing but they are not adapting to these changes. For example the American culture has shunned the traditional segregation that existed between the black and the white Americans but my parents do not always welcome the idea of the association between these too American ethnic groups. This means that I am not always allowed to bring visitors from a different ethnicity. Again my culture doesnt allow people to attend church without formal dressings. This has caused a negative impact on the relationship between me my parents and the church. Due to changing modes of dressing I find the cultural church dressing code not entertaining while at the other hand the church leaders are opposed to the new ways of dressing in the church. Our culture advocates for good mannerisms at school failure to which one is subjected to parental punishment. This has fostered a positi ve interpersonal relationship between my peer group, teachers and me. This is because I am aware of the rights and the wrong and therefore I try to avoid conflicts resulting from disobedience or arrogance towards my peers. My American cultural identity has also helped me in forming positive personal relations with the surrounding people and communities. This is because it advocates for brotherhood and I therefore try to be careful when socializing with people so as to avoid conflicts. Consequently, many people in the community find me as their friend who they can count on and therefore good interpersonal relations. Due to my cultural identity I have individually and collectively experienced many challenges in the American society. One challenge is that of persistent identities in form of biracial perceptions. This is because many people keep on asking me about my race because my bodily appearance doesnt suggest it. Ethnocentrism is the other challenge. This is because some of my college friends like the children from the very rich families in the community feel that they have superior ways of life (culture) than us from middle class families. They tend to perceive us as inferior, wrong in all aspects and strange. Another challenge I have faced due to my cultural identity is prejudice. This has been caused by the attitude of ethnocentrism. My fellow college mates from wealthy backgrounds tend to show intolerant and unfairly biased attitude towards me and other people of my status (middle class). The next challenge is cultural stereotyping. This is because of the exaggerated generalizations about a particular group (females). For example in the American culture the females have been stereotyped in terms of their emotions. It is believed that females experience and also express sadness, fear and sympathy. On the other hand men experience and express anger and pride. Another challenge is cultural proximity whereby many cultures are assumed to be similar. For example due to modernization, the subcultures (white and black) in my country have now been integrated almost into one though people come from different places of origin. The other challenge I have faced due to my cultural identity is that of misinterpretation of codes. For example due to my dress code most of my colleagues mistake me for a Muslim lady because I always have veil on my neck and put on a long skirt. There are several occasions whereby my verbal behaviors or cues have been misunderstood like when I use inflections (variation of speech). When I lower the pitch of voice too or make it deeper on certain words. This low pitch implies confidence, certainty, and authority. However my college mates view this as a sign of ignorance or lack of cooperation in speech. Other times I use upward inflection (raised pitch) in speech to communicate uncertainty, surprise and doubt. This however bring about miscommunication when am talking to my college friends who come from other cultures like Muslims who perceive my tone as a sign of coercion and harassment. Some times I repeat my statements as a sign of emphasis but some of my friends perceive that as a speech problem. Often, I get frustrated or angered when my friends mistake these verbal behaviors to be signs of weakness. There are several occasions when my non-verbal behaviors have been misunderstood. For example when I use a frequency of glances to indicate attention, interest and involvement most people think that am being timid and am using it to protect myself from them or as a sign of fatigue. Some of my friends have also misunderstood me through tactile communication (touch). For example I give a warm hug to all my friends as a sign or greetings when we meet but some friends mistake me for a multiple lover. Others mistrust their companions due to these kinds of greetings. This mistrust is caused by the fact that they interpret it emotionally. Some of my friends misinterpret my use of fig which in my culture means you cant have it. They say that it is immoral or obscene. I feel sad when people misinterpret these non-verbal cues.

Monica Lewinsky: Women in Society, Body Image and Feminism :: Essays Papers

Monica Lewinsky: Women in Society, Body Image and Feminism In the current post-impeachment proceedings the question becomes whom it has affected most and what it will mean to them and their agenda. Obvious groups that will suffer most from the impeachment that are subject to the after effects are the Republican Party and American politics in general. As far as individuals are concerned, Monica Lewinsky has a good deal of post-scandal baggage. But what about those who will experience the effects of Monica and what she represents as a woman in American society? The movement which has suffered the most in the standpoint of social and political agenda are the Feminists. Using Feminist criticism to analyze the discourse surrounding and as well as by the speaker, Monica, I aim to reveal how women's place in society led by the Feminist's has changed due the sex scandal and where it maybe headed next. In looking at this aspect of the scandal it becomes crucial not just to analyze the discourse of Feminists and Monica but to find it in a larger scheme of a society which shapes many of the gender roles and pressures put on individuals to look and act in certain ways. There is an evident change in the role of women in American society that has occurred as a result of the scandal which is important not just to the Feminists and their supporters but to any female who enters the public arena and is faced with pressures and expectations put on them as a result of their gender. As a leading special interest group, Feminists, who are politically active concerning gender roles in society, have been at the forefront of the Paula Jones case and the Lewinksy-Clinton scandal. What comes at odds with the Feminist stance in politics is a womanizing Democratic President that they support and his opportunizing and provocative young mistress. It was something the Feminists were neither prepared for nor easily responded to when given the option of a liberal President with sexual issues or the conservative, Republican moralists taking charge. We deplore his misconduct but we also understand the hypocrisy of his opponents. We Have years of progress at stake if the President is hounded out of office. But worse yet, We wish the ushering into power of a puritanical or fundamentaliststs, sex police which Speaks of freedom but allows government to destroy the right of privacy.

An Introduction to Car-sharing & Zipcar Essay

Back in 2000, in lieu of overcrowding in the US car rental market, Zipcar implemented a blue ocean strategy and established its car-sharing business as the dominant alternative to car ownership. Compared to car rentals firms that charge users on a per day basis, Zipcar offers users the flexibility of deciding the number of hours and distance of car usage. In addition, unlike car rental firms which require customers to pick up the cars from their offices, Zipcar allows members to pick up a car from their nearest parking lots located at strategic points throughout metropolitan areas. The added convenience over the traditional car rental business model, coupled with Zipcar’s first mover’s advantage in the US market, led Zipcar to be the largest car-sharing company in the world, with a total of 570,000 members and 8,000 cars. Zipcar’s Service Proposition – 4 Simple Steps to Driving a Zipcar Firstly, new users are required to apply for a Zipcar membership which costs about USD60 annually. Secondly, users proceed to reserve a specific car model at their preferred nearest location, via phone, online or the Zipcar mobile application. Thirdly, users proceed to their reserved cars and unlock their cars by having an RFID scanner located on the car’s windscreen scan their assigned Zipcards. Lastly, users return their cars to designated parking lots and will be subsequently billed on a per-hour basis, without having to pay for fuel or insurance costs. Zipcar’s Four Market Segments The bulk of Zipcar’s operations is located within the US, although it does operate in selective cities of Canada and the UK. Its revenues come from the following four market segments. Individual Membership| Servicing individuals who prefer car-sharing to urban car ownership due to significant cost savings| Universities| Working with universities to address the lack of parking lots by providing car-sharing to staff and students and reducing the number of cars on campus| Businesses & Government| Working with businesses and local governments to meet environmental goals by providing employees access to Zipcars and encouraging car-pooling| FastFleet System| Selling its proprietary and trademarked car-sharing management systems to organizations interested in implementing an internal car-sharing program| Opportunity for Zipcar to Enter the Growing European Car-Sharing Market In 2006, the European Union (EU) announced plans to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions and the carbon footprint across European nations. Under the new EU energy policy, European nations are required to report their annual carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. As such, given their ability to reduce the cars on the road and consequently the greenhouse gas emissions and carbon footprints, car-sharing services flourished in Europe. According to Frost & Sullivan, the revenue from car-sharing in Europe is likely to hit $2.6 billion EURO ($3.4 billion USD) by the 2016. This figure even exceeds the projected US car-sharing revenue in 2016 of $3.3 billion USD. Given that the European car-sharing market is likely to be more lucrative than the US one, Zipcar should not miss out on the opportunity to expand its operations to Europe. Our Recommended Goal for Zipcar and Reasons for Recommending It Despite lacking a first-mover’s advantage, we recommend that Zipcar sets its sight on penetrating the European car-sharing market, specifically Germany and Switzerland, and seizing market leadership in the long run. Our group proposes the use of creative collaboration strategies as a workaround to Zipcar’s lack of first-mover’s advantage when entering the aforementioned markets. These strategies will be further elaborated upon in Component #2. Our recommendation of seizing market leadership in Switzerland and Germany is based on the following reasons. Firstly, Zipcar’s acquisition of UK car-sharing market leader (Streetcar) in addition to its minority stake in a Spanish car-sharing start-up (Avancar) provides a solid geographical platform for expansion across Europe. By tapping on the knowledge base regarding the European car-sharing scene Streetcar and Avancar built up over the years, Zipcar could better understand the differences in consumer preferences between European car-sharing customers and their US counterparts without any incurring any market research expenses. Zipcar could then tweak their car-sharing offering and achieve higher levels of market-fit. Secondly, Germany and Switzerland make up 35% and 19% of the European car-sharing market respectivelyv. Apart from the UK, which Zipcar is a market leader in due to its recent acquisition of Streetcar, the remaining European nations only make up single-digit market shares amongst the European car-sharing market. Since Germany and Switzerland make up almost half of the European car-sharing market, entering these two markets instead of other geographic markets should give them the greatest Return on Investment (ROI). Thirdly, by targeting high-growth car-sharing markets like that of Switzerland and Germany, Zipcar can reap substantial economies of scale and scope, which will lead to a lower cost structure, as it increases the size of its car fleet to meet the increasing demand for car-sharing in these nations. For example, Zipcar could negotiate bulk insurance deals at cheaper rates with insurance companies. Seeing as how Zipcar’s recent profit margins have been eroded by increasing operating costs like soaring prices of petrol, it is important that Zipcar explore cost savings through economies of scale and scope to ensure long-term sustainability of profits. Competitive Advantages that Helps Zipcar Fulfill Long Term Goal Firstly, as a car-sharing firm that owns the largest car fleet in the world, Zipcar has developed numerous patented technologies and invests heavily in research and development to uncover new innovations that might strengthen its technological leadership. For instance, its patented â€Å"Z3D Knowledge Center† technology is capable of synchronizing and displaying real-time information like reservation cost, vehicle location maps on various consumer touch-points like the online website, Zipcar mobile application and telephone reservation system. Looking forward, Zipcar is planning to use its proprietary wireless data network to be the first car-sharing provider to implement in-car Bluetooth and even Internet Wi-Fi services. Secondly, over the years, Zipcar has been building a significant amount of brand equity. Today, Zipcar is a brand that is synonymous with car sharing and environmental conservation. Its powerful brand and trustworthy brand name is underscored by the numerous awards it has won over the years. For example, Advertising Age Magazine named Zipcar in its 2009 list of â€Å"Top 30 World’s Hottest Brands†. Given its powerful brand, Zipcar will find it easier to gain the trust of potential collaborative partners. However, transferability of these competitive advantages across geographical boundaries might be held back by differences in consumer behaviours and competitive landscape. For instance, Europe and the US have radically different GPS networks and Zipcar might encounter challenges in implementing its patented GPS-reliant â€Å"Z3D Knowledge Center† technology in Europe. The extent to which Zipcar could leverage on its competitive advantages will ultimately depend on the effectiveness of its deployment strategies. Potential Pitfalls that Zipcar Should Look Out for When Pursuing its Goals While penetrating the European market, Zipcar should be wary of the threat it might face in the US market from an emerging form of car-sharing where online communities like Zimride allow individuals to form car pools with others who reside near them. It is important that Zipcar hedge against this increasingly popular form of car-sharing by not overcommitting its financial capital to the European market, and allocating a fixed portion of its annual marketing budget to the US market, in order to differentiate itself from Zimride as the superior car-sharing offering through the use of creative marketing initiatives and even sales promotions.. Challenges Faced as a Second-Mover into the Germany and Switzerland Market We established in Component 1 that Zipcar’s next logical course of action will be to compete for market leadership in Switzerland and Germany. However, this will be an uphill task, as Car2Go and Mobility, the respective market leaders in Germany and Switzerland, have leveraged on their first movers advantage to erect significant barriers to entry. Firstly, as first movers, Car2Go and Mobility have established themselves as technological leaders and have shaped customer expectations regarding car-sharing technological features. For instance, Car2Go has installed patent-pending electronic dashboards in their cars, which allows users to get directional help via GPS technology, as well as keep track of distance travelled and its resultant costs. Zipcar on the other hand, is in the midst of implementing such technologies and might come across as an inferior choice to certain group of customers. Secondly, Car2Go and Mobility have pre-emptively secured scarce assets vital for success of a car-sharing business. Being first on the scene, they have secured strategic and limited parking lots around the cities as their designated car-sharing parking lots. Facing the above second mover’s disadvantages, it will be challenge for Zipcar to enter the new markets in the conventional manner. As such, our team recommends using creative collaborations strategies, tailored specifically for Germany and Switzerland separately. Entry into Germany as a Second-Mover via Collaboration with a Railway Operator * Reasons Why Zipcar Should Collaborate with Deutsche Bahn AG By collaborating with Deutsche Bahn AG (DBAG), the government-owned railway operator, Zipcar will gain swift access to scarce resources in form of car-sharing parking lots. In the urban areas, most of the limited viable parking lots have already been converted into Car2Go’s designated lot due to their first mover’s position, leaving close to none for new entrants. Being a state-owned public transport operator, DBAG holds strategic state-owned land areas in urban districts, which could be converted into designated Zipcar parking lots. This is made possible by a German legislation allowing government authorities to authorize the conversion of state-owned land into car-sharing stations and lots. As such, Zipcar avoids the lengthy process of acquiring parking lots on their own prior to beginning operations, during which Car2Go would have continued to strengthen its market leadership in the absence of Zipcar. * Reasons Why Deutsche Bahn AG Would Want to Collaborate with Zipcar The DB brand is synonymous with being the â€Å"frontrunner on climate protection†. By collaborating with Zipcar, which â€Å"takes 100,000 cars off the road and reduces carbon dioxide emissions by 150 million pounds annually†, DB could tap on Zipcar’s credibility and proven track record of being environmentally friendly to enhance its brand equity as consumers start to closely associate the two brands over time. Besides, prior in-depth studies in European nations have shown that collaboration between car-sharing and public transport firms have resulted in higher profit margins for both party. * Executing the Collaboration and Achieving Long Term Market Leadership This collaboration will seek to integrate different transport options, giving citizens in Germany the option of catching a train for the main part of a trip, before picking up a Zipcar at a specific station and drive for the last part of the journey. The customers of DBAG are an ideal target segment for Zipcar to extend its service offering to, as these frequent railway commuters are unlikely to own a car. Hence, Zipcar should launch initiatives that convert railway commuters into Zipcar members. For instance, Zipcar could execute joint marketing campaigns with DBAG promoting joint-package pricing programs where consumers enjoy discounted rates for railway train rides and Zipcar’s car sharing services. Zipcar can also leverage on the unique marketing channels DBAG offers by posting marketing collaterals in railway stations and within trains themselves to educate commuters about its car-sharing offer. Given that countless Germans take the railway every day, this serves an effective platform for Zipcar to reach out to an enormous target group. These marketing collaterals should also make the partnership between DBAG and Zipcar obvious, through slogans like â€Å"Zipcar – the public car from DBAG†. Knowing that the service is jointly-offered by their established and trusted public operator, consumers will be more receptive to Zipcar’s offer. In the interest of user convenience and expediting the adoption rate, Zipcar should clearly indicate on the DB railway transport route map which stations offer car-sharing services. Zipcar should also station staff at railway stations providing reliable information regarding car-sharing. Entry into Switzerland as a Second-Mover via Collaboration with Universities Mobility, the Switzerland car-sharing market leader, is involved in a collaboration with the Swiss Federal Railways. Hence, Zipcar cannot use the same collaboration strategy as what we proposed for Germany and we suggest Zipcar collaborate with local universities instead. * Reasons Why Zipcar Should Collaborate with Switzerland Universities Zipcar lacks a knowledge-base about the Switzerland car-sharing market, particularly consumer preferences and strategic locations where car-sharing is in high demand. By collaborating with local universities that serve an importance source of learning, Zipcar could rapidly build up its knowledge-base through interactions with tertiary students, as compared to venturing into the market alone without any form of market intelligence or research. Universities are also ideal collaboration partners as college students are generally open-minded youths who form the majority of the â€Å"early adopters† who are eager to try new innovative ideas like car-sharing. * Reasons Why the Switzerland Universities Would Want to Collaborate with Zipcar The collaboration with Zipcar achieves a strategic fit – reduction of carbon footprint. Switzerland is one of the leading environmentally friendly countries due to continuous governmental efforts to promote a green lifestyle. Zipcar’s mission statement of reducing global carbon footprint will resonate well with these government-linked universities. In addition, most Switzerland universities, especially those located in the city, face parking management issues due to the lack of land and face an institutional need to reduce cars parked on campus. Collaboration with Zipcar provides a cost-effective manner of solving the above issues, given Zipcar eight-years’ worth of partnership experience with US colleges, during which they achieved a proven track record of cutting down the number of cars and traffic congestions in various campuses. * Executing the Collaboration and Achieving Long Term Market Leadership Initially, Zipcar should focus on promoting mass adoption among university students. As it is a rite of passage for most European graduates to purchase a car when they leave school, it is crucial for Zipcar to get students to experience the benefits of car-sharing first-hand and warm them up to the idea of a car-free lifestyle post college years. Since most university students have limited spending power, Zipcar should tailor its marketing initiatives to convey the cost savings students will enjoy as a Zipcar member, due to their lack of a need to pay for car insurance, parking and rising fuel prices. Zipcar might also want to emphasize a story of convenience, where students’ matriculation cards could double as Zipcards that unlock Zipcars. Taking into consideration that university students are mostly Millennial (adults belonging to Generation Y), who are progressively getting more environmentally conscious, Zipcar could also highlight the fact it offers a selection of hybrid cars, like the Totyota Prius and Citroà «n C1. Upon achieving mass adoption status, Zipcar should convert graduating college students into life-long Zipcar members, by offering incentives of lower annual membership fees and loyalty points. By targeting a specific target segment (i.e. college students) instead of competing head-on with Mobility for the same group of customers, Zipcar can steadily grow its market share and eventually emerge in a good position to challenge for market leadership. Bibliography i Baan, J., Mack, D., Murphy, T., Sharma, S., & Watson, L. (2011, 08 22). Zipcar to set the Pace in Race for â€Å"Young Urbanite† Market. Glendale, Arizona, USA. ii Edgar Online. (2011, 04 14). Edgar Online – ZIPCAR INC. Retrieved 10 22, 2011, from Edgar Online: http://www.edgar-online.com iii Garthwaite, J. (2011, 4 14). Car Sharing Startups Bask in Zipcar’s I.P.O Glow. New York, USA: New York Times. Retrieved 10 22, 2011, from NY Times.com: http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/04/14/car-sharing-start-ups-bask-in-zipcars-i-p-o-glow/ iv Zipcar Inc. (2011, 01 01). How It Works. 4 simple steps to freedom from car rental and ownership – Zipcar. Retrieved 10 22, 2011, from Zipcar: http://www.zipcar.com/how/ v Zipcar Inc. (2011, 01 01). Rate & Plans, car sharing instead of car rental and owning a car – Zipcar. Retrieved 10 22, 2011, from Zipcar Inc: http://www.zipcar.com/dc/check-rates