Monday, September 30, 2019

Excel Hygiene

Excel Hygiene is a new start-up enterprise, specialized in the management and disposal of bio-medical waste. The company has been established by a team of biotechnologists with core technical competence in the degradation of organic material using microbes especially naturally occurring bacteria. All health care facilities and institutions need to manage their medical wastes, which include body parts, metallic and plastic disposable parts and aids, as well as waste of both organic and inorganic origins.Large hospitals have incineration and compacting facilities of their own, but clinics and small nursing homes lack economies of scale to operate their own waste management facilities. Though bio-medical waste management and disposal is the intended core of the enterprise, medical institutions expect comprehensive hygiene services comprising removal of pathogenic loads, rodent, crawler, and vector control as well. The new company will therefore have to provide these ancillary services a s well.Personnel training and efficient logistics are the keys to success in this business. Hospitals and clinics will have no hesitation in terminating contracts if waste if not removed in time, or if their infections rates soar. Waste must be compacted and incinerated only in designated areas, and must be collated at these sites before degradation is advanced. Therefore the new company has decided to limit its operations to an area of about one thousand square kilometers.The present market for hygiene services in this area has been estimated to be just about $50 million, but a three fold increase is expected in the next 5 years, as environmental consciousness spreads. Biotechnology is a relatively new field and the number of players is limited in this segment. The business offers superior growth and profit potentials for new start up companies . This kind of enterprise has high social values as well.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

In what way is American TV culture satirised in The Simpsons TV Violence?

Satire is an extensive form of mockery. The Simpsons uses exaggeration and comedy to mock the TV culture of America. In America, at the moment most children tend to go home from school and spend the rest of the night watching TV. This episode is trying to show that TV is killing children's imagination and influencing them negatively. When the children stop liking the cartoons they start going out and playing traditional games like hopscotch, marbles and fishing. In this episode Maggie is influenced negatively by the Itchy and Scratchy cartoons, Marge realises and starts protesting to get them banned. The children then find the new style of the cartoons boring and they go out to play rubbing their eyes, as they are not use to playing outside. The producers use parody, as a form of satire by copying the Psycho scene when Janet Leigh is killed. In the episode, Maggie is watching violent cartoons that influence her. The cartoon shows a mouse and a cat that are endlessly beating each other up. The opening song is catchy, â€Å"We fight, we bite, we fight, we bite, we fight†. In the episode of Itchy and Scratchy, the characters are hitting each other over the heads with mallets. Immediately after she goes down to the basement were Homer is doing some DIY, picks up a mallet and hits Homer with it. This proves that the Itchy and Scratchy Show is influencing the children. The producers of The Simpsons use parody as a technique to satirise the TV culture of America by including the Psycho scene. When Maggie attacks Homer for the first time the directors include the same music and camera angles. This is because Psycho is a well-known horror film, which is easily recognised. From then on, every time Maggie goes to attack Homer they include the same music as if to say she's about to do something evil. This is satire as you just laugh at the thought of a little baby beating her over weight father up and trying to kill him. The Simpsons copies many techniques to parody the Psycho scene but the two most noticeable are the music and camera angles. It uses the same kind of camera angles during the attack to try and make it more dramatic. There is a close up of Homer's mouth just as he realises that Maggie is about to hit him, this is the same as when Janet Leigh is just about to be killed. Also the directors copy the overhead shot of the plug which is faded out to become the eye once the victim had been hit. The music is easily recognisable, as most of the audience have seen the film or would recognise that it is out of a horror film. The audience will hear the music and think that something bad is about to happen. This is because the music is quite slow and quiet, and when there is a quick sudden movement it makes you jump. These techniques combine to make the scene recognisable and easy to relate to. Although it does this, it manages to put its point across in a humorous way. This means that if you were just watching you probably wouldn't think about the meaning behind it, as you know what kind of programme The Simpsons is so would just laugh which is the designed effect. In the second episode of Itchy and Scratchy, the cat and mouse are still trying to beat each other up and so are still influencing in a negative way. Itchy is trying to stab Scratchy and kill him. Immediately afterwards Maggie picks up a pencil and walks over to Homer, Marge spots this and stops her. She looks over at the TV and realises that the cartoon is what is influencing her and wants to do something about it. Marge writes a letter to the producers of Itchy and Scratchy telling them she wants the cartoons changed. In return she receives a letter calling her a â€Å"screwball† and that â€Å"one person cannot make a difference†. This is ironic as America is meant to be a democracy where everyone has freedom of speech and expression. She starts protesting and is invited onto a chat show. The title of the show was â€Å"Are cartoons to violent for children?† which the host replied to by saying, â€Å"of course not, what sort of stupid question is that†. Her they are using parody to satirise talk shows. The host is meant to be neutral but this host is obviously more one sided in the argument. She is given nine seconds to put her point across. So she is not aloud substantial time in order to put her point across. She ends up winning though and the cartoons are changed. The cartoon now begins with the song, â€Å"We love, we share, we love, we share, we care†. The Itchy and Scratchy cartoons are now about happy things and in the one Maggie is watching they are sharing the lemonade. Maggie is once again influenced and she goes over to Homer to give him a glass of lemonade. At first he doesn't know what she is doing and backs off and then he realises that her intentions are good and only wants to give her dad a drink. This shows that she is still being influenced but this time for the better. Once the cartoons have changed the kids do not like them and start going out to play. The music slows down and changes into a piece of happy classical music by Beethoven. The children started playing traditional games such as hopscotch, dancing round the maypoles and used their imagination and spirits to make them fun. Homer referred to this time as â€Å"the golden age† and told Marge that she had â€Å"changed the world for the better†. The children ate their dinner with manners and were polite to their parents. This shows that when children don't spend as much time watching TV they spend their time doing positive, worthwhile thing and are more obedient as TV is no longer poisoning their minds. At the end of the episode Marge lost the argument and the TV went back to having lots of violence. This was because the people did not understand how she could be â€Å"for one form of expression, but not for another†. She didn't feel that anything was wrong with Michel Anglos David, where as the other women in the town felt nudity was evil. The cartoons went back to being more violent than ever and all the children went back inside leaving the playground empty and the music becomes slower and less cheerful. Maggie was again influenced by the cartoons and picked up a toy gun and shoot it at a picture of Homer. In conclusion The Simpsons uses many ways to satirise the TV culture. They use music, parody, and exaggeration. They try to do it in a comic way and get their point across well. It could be argued that the September 11th attack could also have been caused by violence on TV. It may be that the attackers would never have got the ideas if it wasn't for films such as Independence Day. Although The Simpsons is only a cartoon it highlights the influence TV has on the actions of people.

Friday, September 27, 2019

Effects of YPF Nationalization Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Effects of YPF Nationalization - Research Paper Example The nationalization has also severed Argentina’s social relations with other countries that threatened to impose stringent political and economic sanctions on Argentina. Nationally, the social effects of the nationalization include an increase in the amount of taxes paid by Argentines (Cassidy, 2012). The government is also restricting currency flight, which is growing at an alarming rate as more and more Argentines lose faith in the country’s economic prospects. As a consequence, Argentines continue to encounter immense restrictions, particularly with regard to making investments. The Argentine President infuriated Argentina’s allies such as Spain but also won the favor of a massive portion of Argentines who consider the expropriation of Repsol as serving Argentina’s interests. The Argentine government’s decision to wrench control from Repsol continues to instigate fear amongst Argentines, as well as other people in the region. This is largely beca use YPF is a prominent company, which contributes substantially to the economy of South America. Therefore, other South American countries are bound to be adversely affected by Argentina’s move to nationalize YPF. As a consequence, these nations are likely to consider the Argentina government as irresponsible with the country’s and region’s wellbeing. ... In essence, the nationalization of YPF will cause detrimental effects to the government’s capacity to provide its citizens with proper social services. On the other hand, Argentina is likely to suffer fuel scarcity as a consequence of the nationalization. This is because the country does not have the capacity to explore its vast oil and gas resources. Oil and gas scarcity will, in turn, result in increased living costs on the people of Argentina. Effects of the Nationalization on society in Argentina The nationalization of YPF serves to move Argentina back to the status of a net energy exporter while at the same time having immense sovereign power over the country’s energy industry, as well as natural resources. This perception towards the effects of YPF’s nationalization on Argentina’s social environment is quite distinct from the former signals, which indicated that the Argentine government was moving towards a wholesome nationalization of the countryâ⠂¬â„¢s oil and gas resources. As a consequent, the nation recognized that it its domestic investor pool was quite inadequate, and the country seriously required foreign expertise, as well as foreign investments to enable it tap its energy resources (Romero, 2012). This was especially the case regarding Vaca Muerta’s immense shale oil and gas reserves. In essence, all these moves signify Argentina’s growing appreciation for its sovereignty both socially and economically as the country is no longer afraid to invite a clash with other nations in its fight for its rights. Reception YPF’s nationalization was warmly welcomed by Argentines who thought that the government could have expropriated 100%, not just a portion of it. Most Argentines believe that the

Analyzing HR Policies of Tesco Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Analyzing HR Policies of Tesco - Essay Example All these policies are closely knitted with one another. Human resource management components cannot be separated from each other and they together denote effectiveness of the approach. Tesco employs approximately 310,000 people in its UK branch. The company witnessed certain challenges in terms of declining sales margin and falling share price value. This aspect greatly affected employee base and it was essential to boost up their morale. In this report, drawbacks in HR policies of the company shall be highlighted along with some recommendations to be implemented in the system. HR practices and policies revolve around various theoretical frameworks. These frameworks basically state the need for human resource management strategies. Employees should be motivated in every sphere of workplace simply because they are the most valuable asset of an organization. Recruitment and selection procedure are basic methods through which a pool of talent is structured within an organization. These initial methods are then followed by the training and development approach. Learning plays an important role in organizational success (Torrington, Hall and Taylor, 2014). A learning organization is always more productive in comparison to other firms. Kolb’s learning cycle includes different components that are generally focused on by HR practitioners. Figure1 further elaborates this cycle. As per figure1, the first phase of this learning cycle is to identify probable learning need. On basis of this need, learning opportunities are appropriately designed. This eventually leads to influencing candidates so that they are able to opt for these opportunities. The last phase of this cycle is critical since it denotes effectiveness of entire learning program (Bonnici, 2011). Evaluation phase helps a team leader to analyze overall impact of learning program on employees.

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Citizen Kane review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Citizen Kane review - Essay Example As he utters his last word, â€Å"Rosebud†, a journalist sets out on a journey of investigation to discover the meaning of Kane’s last word. It is through this exploration, including interviews with family members and associates, that we are told the life story of Kane, from childhood as a member of a poverty stricken family, through to his move into the newspaper industry as he develops a position of huge and influential power within the medium as his personal life disintegrates. One of the most innovative and important aspects of the movie is its narrative techniques, which I greatly admire. The story is told through a series of flashbacks, and not necessarily in chronological order. In addition to this, the story is entirely non-linear in that it is told through the perspective and points of view of multiple characters (Cook, 2004). Such characters include much older individuals who have different interpretations and opposing descriptions of the protagonist. This non-linear storytelling technique which incorporates multiple narrators, including unreliable narrators, was extremely innovative of the time. Though a few previous movies had attempted this to some degree, â€Å"Citizen Kane† exploited this technique and based the structure of the entire movie upon this strategy. This is an extremely effective device and very appropriate for this particular movie. Another aspect of the movie which has garnered much well deserved acclaim is the cinematography. Welles apparently attempted to create a new style of making films, by trying to combine several such techniques into one cohesive method. This resulted in many new and innovative aspects to the movies cinematography. For example, the director employed several low-angle shots and used deep focus extensively (Cook 96). This was extremely modern and new for the time period, as the limitations and typical settings of movies

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Social media in marketing Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Social media in marketing - Research Paper Example With the introduction of the concept of E-commerce, the outlook of business changed entirely. Now a day, maximum extent of the entrepreneurs desire to promote the features and benefits of the product lines of their brands through online sites or social media such as face-book, twitter, LinkedIn and others. By doing so, the entrepreneurs might reach a wide range of customers in a very small time span that improved its position and ranking in the entire globe. Along with this, due to the use of social media sites, the level of awareness of the customers also enhances to a significant extent that may enhance the trust and reliability of the brand in the market among other rival contenders (Macdonald, 2013). Apart from this, due to the introduction of mart phones or electronic devices such as tablets, the intensity of purchase or access of the social media sites increased. As a result, all sorts of updates regarding any product or service or brand are easily viewed by the customers. Due to which, the scope of success is extremely high in this age as compared to previous era that improved the total sale and demand of the products or brands. Thus, E-commerce or social media helped the brands or entrepreneurs to create a market presence or improve the existing position or ranking. This research paper tries to attract the attention of the viewers over the importance and role of social media in marketing. However, in order to describe this topic, the paper is divided into five sections. Social media is the way of communication platform with the help of which, an individual may easily share information or ideas through online sites like face-book, twitter, you-tube etc. It also acts as a source of engaging with a wide range of customers that may enhance the profitability and productivity of the organization. Moreover, it is a medium with the help of which, the rate of reach of the customers might be enhanced that may increase the sustainability and competitive

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Operation management 01 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Operation management 01 - Essay Example The sales department is in charge of the stocking and operations management within the organization. The department’s contribution towards the growth of the company is very important. This is the department in charge of generating revenue. There is a significant amount of planning involved in the retail industry. The department is in charge of the customer as well as the company’s financial returns. The department contributes to the organization’s financial growth through planning and effective implementation of these plans. The methods used to reach the customer and promote sales are developed within this department. This involves a joint effort between the sales and marketing department. There is very close proximity between these two departments. The marketing department is charged with consumer attraction to the store, whereas the sales department is charged with the actual sale of products. The success and growth of an organization from a small scale regiona l retail store to a global corporation is attributed to the efficacy and efficiency of this department. The contribution of the work of this department is crucial for that success (Bradley, 1991). The description of customer is referred to a customer or consumer profile. Before the identification of the customer profile, the organization must differentiate the external and the internal customer. An internal customer is a customer who is involved with the process of making a product available to the end consumer. The internal customer is a member of the organization usually a company employee. An external customer is one who purchases the company products for personal use but is not part of the company. Both of these customers are important to the viability and growth of an organization. The internal customer contributes to the number of sales made by the organization, for example, company sales representatives and the external customer are essential to

Monday, September 23, 2019

International Accounting (Comparison) Research Paper

International Accounting (Comparison) - Research Paper Example The accounting standards form the principles for the preparation and presentation of financial statements created by the International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC). The research paper highlights the major areas of similarities and differences between Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). The objective of this research paper is to find out those particular differences that are believed to be mostly encountered during practice. The name itself suggests that the contents of the theory will describe certain principles that are needed to be followed in accounting but despite this GAAP acts as a very important facilitator for investors and companies. GAAP is basically a set of procedures and standards that companies follow in order to present their financial data. Companies follow those standards as these provide them a precise mode of representation of their financial figures which is good for the analysts as it becomes hard for the company to trick them by manipulating their figures. 1 IFRS has gained popularity in recent times and has been well accepted by a huge number of countries in the world. Previously, the multinational companies had to prepare separate financial statements for each country where they had their areas of operations but IFRS has made the task easier. In IFRS the guidelines and standards are set by International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) that companies and organizations can follow when compiling financial statements. It was previously called the International Accounting Standards (IAS). IFRS provides guidance to prepare financial statements.2 In order to enumerate the advantages of any accounting principle, it is important to analyze the components of it at the outset. The main components of GAAP are: Inventory costs, Debt, Stockholder’s equity, short term

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Assessment and Feedback Essay Example for Free

Assessment and Feedback Essay Assessment drives the choices students make about their learning. It is widely recognised that assessment and feedback contain the strongest potential to change how, and what, students do to succeed in their learning (Ramsden, 2003). This Effective Teaching Guide on Assessment provides practical suggestions on assessment and feedback. Assessment of Learning and Assessment for Learning David Boud, a recognised researcher and scholar of assessment in higher education, suggests that assessment has many purposes, but particularly to help students to improve their learning and certify students’ learning. These two purposes lead to different ways of thinking about what, how, and when to assess students: According to Boud and Associate’s Seven Propositions for Assessment Reform in Higher Education (2010), assessment has most effect when: 1. Assessment is used to engage students in learning that is productive (including the need for assessment to be designed to focus students on learning); 2. Feedback is used to actively improve student learning; 3. Students and teachers become responsible partners in learning and assessment; 4. Students are inducted into the assessment practices and cultures of higher education; 5. Assessment for learning is placed at the centre of subject and project design; 6. Assessment for learning is a focus for staff and institutional development; and, 7. Assessment provides inclusive and trustworthy representation of student achievement. The power of feedback Feedback plays an important role in improving students’ learning. A useful summary is that provided by Gibbs and Simpson’s (2004). In their meta-study of the research about how assessment and feedback support student learning, 7 of their 10 identified conditions relate to feedback, and students’ understanding of feedback. These are: †¢ Sufficient feedback is provided, both often enough and in enough detail; †¢ Feedback focuses on students’ performance, on their learning and on actions under the students’ control, rather than on the students themselves and on their characteristics; †¢ Feedback is timely in that it is received by students while it still matters to them, and in time for them to pay attention to further learning or receive further assistance; †¢ Feedback is appropriate to the purpose of the assignment and to its criteria for success; †¢ Feedback is appropriate, in relation to students’ understanding of what they are supposed to be doing; †¢ Feedback is received and attended to; and, †¢ Feedback is acted on by the student. Hounsell (2004) also makes the following points about feedback: †¢ It can be extrinsic (assessment-focused) or intrinsic (activity and  practice-based); †¢ It can be immediate and verbal (in order to address the potential lack of engagement when it arrives after an assessment); †¢ It can be provided to be a whole class; †¢ It can be many to many where students are involved in identifying the strengths and weaknesses (peer feedback); and, †¢ Feedback can be a loop – it can be offered on unfinished work. Another useful idea is feed-forward. Feed-forward encourages students to use something like a marking rubric (also captured by the idea of criteria and standards) to help plan their approach to an assessment. While a marking rubric is routinely used by university teachers to mark/grade students’ work (as an expression of what a student needs to demonstrate (and the level they need to achieve) to receive a particular grade), the idea of feed-forward is about encouraging students to use that same information in the rubric to plan their work, and perhaps even, to self-assess it before submitting it for formal feedback. In summary: Feedback example: Develop a marking rubric as a cover sheet. The rubric identifies the elements of the assignment, together with a breakdown of marks for each element or a description of the standard for an A, B, C, D, P etc. Feed-forward example: Provide the marking rubric to students before the assignment is due so that they clearly understand what’s expected, the levels of achievement, and can plan their approach accordingly. In marking student work, you’ll need a suite of feedback techniques. Remember, if you’re going to be spending a lot of time providing feedback, you want to make sure that students read, use and engage with your feedback to improve their next assignment. The best way to do that is to have a range of techniques that you can draw on, when you need to. The table below describes some feedback techniques. One observation you might make about each of these techniques is that they are focused on: (i) engaging students with the criteria and standards, and (ii) with what the student does with the feedback they receive. If you’d like to read more about these two ideas (and others like them), two articles may be especially useful to you: Rust, Price O’Donovan (2003) and Price, O’Donovan Rust (2004). Consistency and fairness in marking and feedback Consistency in marking, or moderation, is aimed at ensuring fairness in marking, and requires finding or establishing agreement between markers. Making sure that assignments contain criteria and standards is a good start because the expectations involved are clear to the student and clear to the marker. Although this does not absolve the marker from interpreting students’ work, without criteria or standards, the job of marking ends up being much harder. The procedures for marking are set out in the University’s Assessment Procedures (an excerpt of the principles is below): Where there is more than one marker, selected pieces of work from each assessment task should be reviewed by the subject coordinator to verify the level and consistency of the marks allocated by the marker. This process, called moderation, increases the reliability of the assessment process and application of standards, promotes consistency, supports objectivity and establishes a shared understanding of standards and fairness in assessment. The university also has a grading schema with a range of Pass grades. Graduate capabilities Alongside the conventional grading schema, from 2012, all commencing first year students will receive a result on the achievement of the university’s six graduate capabilities at the end of the year: †¢ Writing †¢ Speaking †¢ Inquiry/Research †¢ Critical thinking †¢ Creative Problem-solving †¢ Teamwork There are some subjects which have been designated cornerstone, mid-point and capstone status. This means that their curriculum has been designed to teach, assess, provide feedback and report specifically on these graduate capabilities. For each graduate capability, students will receive one of three results: exceeded expectations, met expectations or did not meet expectations. Each faculty has carefully crafted a description of what these standards look like. It may be the case that you will be asked to provide feedback to students about their graduate capability achievement as well. Because faculties will have already done substantial work outlining those standards, it is likely you will be asked to offer students that feedback. Summary When considered together, assessment and feedback are incredibly powerful levers for influencing the direction of students’ efforts, and their learning. For many students, the assessment in the subject is the actual curriculum. It is largely students’ reading and perception of what the assessment demands of them which is a key determinant in how they spend their time in a subject. Therefore, the messages that students take away about assessment from the documents; the Subject Guide; from interaction with other students, are important considerations. In the second week, you will discover just how crucial feedback is to this process and how the  adoption of standards and criteria will help you mark and grade more efficiently and effectively. References Gibbs, G. and Simpson, C. (2004). Conditions Under Which Assessment Supports Student Learning. Learning and Teaching, Issue 1, pp: 3-31. Hattie, J. Timperley, H. (2007). The Power of Feedback. Review of Educational Research, 77(1), 81-112. Hounsell, D. (2004). Reinventing Feedback in the Contemporary Scottish University. Scottish Quality Enhancement Workshop on Assessment, University of Glasgow [available online at: www.enhancementthemes.ac.uk/documents/events/20040604/Hounsellpaper.pdf]. O’Donovan, B., Price, M., Rust, C. (2004). Know what I mean? Enhancing student understanding of assessment standards and criteria. Teaching in Higher Education, 9(3), 325-335. Orrell, J. (2006). Assessment beyond intuition. Central Queensland University [available online at: http://www.learning.cq.edu.au/FCWViewer/view.do?page=8896, accessed Feb 2011]. Price, M., O’Donovan, B., Rust, C. (2004).Know what I mean? Enhancing student understanding of assessment standards and criteria. Teaching in Higher Education, 9(3), 325-335. Ramsden, P. (2003). Learning to teach in higher education. (2nd edition). Routledge, NY London. Rust, C., Price, M., O’Donovan, B. (2003). Improving Students’ Learning by Developing their Understanding of Assessment Criteria and Processes. Assessment Evaluation in Higher Education, 28(2), 147-164. Taylor, J. (2008). Assessment in First Year University: A model to manage transition. Journal of University Teaching and Learning Practice, 5(1).

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Developing a Web Site Privacy Policy Essay Example for Free

Developing a Web Site Privacy Policy Essay Software requirements: Web browser software. Word processing software, Electronic presentation software (optional) Dirt Bikes’ management wants to make sure it has policies and procedures in place to protect the privacy of visitors to its Web site. You have been asked to develop Dirt Bikes’ Web site privacy policy. The TRUSTe Web site (www.truste.org) has Model Privacy Policy Disclosures in its Resources for businesses that you can download and review to help you draft Dirt Bikes’ privacy policy. You can also examine specific companies’ privacy policies by searching for Web site privacy policy on Google. ca or using another search engine. Prepare a report for management that addresses the following issues: 1. How much data should Dirt Bikes collect on visitors to its Web site? What information could it discover by tracking visitors’ activities at its Web site? What value would this information provide the company? What are the privacy problems raised by collecting such data? 2. Should Dirt Bikes use cookies? What are the advantages of using cookies for both Dirt Bikes and its Web site visitors? What privacy issues do cookies create for Dirt Bikes? 3. Should Dirt Bikes join an organization such as TRUSTe to certify it has adopted approved privacy practices? Why or why not? 4. Should Dirt Bikes design its site so that it conforms to P3P standards? Why or why not? 5. Should Dirt Bikes adopt an opt-in or opt-out model of informed consent? 6. Include in your report a short (two to three pages) privacy statement for the Dirt Bikes ebsite. You can use the eight categories of the TRUSTe Model Privacy Statement as a guideline if you wish. 7. (Optional) Use electronic presentation software to summarize your recommendations for management.