Monday, September 30, 2019

Pest Analysis of Coca Cola

PEST Analysis The PEST Analysis identifies changes in the market caused by: Political , Economical, Social and Technological factors. Political Analysis and Factors: Those Non- Alcoholic Beverages like; Coca-Cola, are within the food category, under the FDA (Food and Drug Administration). The government has control over the manufacturing procedure of these products in terms of regulations. Companies who fail to meet the standards of law, are fined by the government. Following are provided some of the factors that are influencing Coca-Cola's Operations. 1.Changes in Laws and Regulations like; changes in Accounting Standards, taxation requirements (tax rate changes, modified tax law interpretations, entrance of new tax laws), and environmental laws either in domestic or foreign authorities. 2. Changes in Non-Alcoholic business era. These are; competitive product and pricing policy pressures, ability to maintain or earn share of sales in worldwide market compared to rivals. 3. Political Conditions, specifically in international markets, like; civil conflict, governmental changes and restrictions concerning the ability to relocate capital across borders. 4.Ability to penetrate emerging and developing markets, that also relies on economic and political conditions, and also their ability to form effectively strategic business alliances with local bottlers, and to enhance their production amenities, distribution networks, sales equipment, and technology. Economic: In 2001, the recession influenced the companies operations, but because of aggressive actions the US Economy estimated to have returned in positive growth in 2002. Currently, because of global recession, Coca-Cola can borrow capital and invest in other products, because the interest rates are lowered.Also, it can borrow to advance its research of new products and technology. By researching for new products is cost effective, the company could sell its products at a lower price, so its cutomers would purchase more Coca-Cola products at a lower price. Social: The majority of US citizens are excersizing healthier lifestyles. That has strongly influenced the sales of non-alcoholic beverage sector, because many customers are switching to bottled water and diet colas like; Coca-Cola Light or Zero, instead of drinking beer or other beverages.Additionally, time management is quite 43 % of all households, and it has increased. Customers aged from 37 to 55, are concerned with their nutrition. Also, large portion of the population is within the range of baby boomers age. While many cutomers are getting at older ages in life, they are more concerned in long term increasing their permanence. That will continue to affect the non-alcoholic beverage sector, by increasing the demand, in healthier and other beverages. Technological: Some factors that affect the company's actual results to vary essentially from the expected results, are the following: 1.The efficiency of company's advertising, marketing and promotional programs, The new technology advances of television and internet that use incomparable effects for advertising through the use of media. Those advances make the products seem attractive. This supports the selling promotion of the products. Coca-Cola in media tends to use this technology so, to sell effectively its products. 2. Entrance of cans and plastic bottles in the past, have increased sales volume for the company because they are easier to carry and customers can bin them once they have been used. . Since the technology is advancing continuously there has been entrance of new machineries' equipment all the time. Because of that, Coca-Cola's production volume has increased sharply compared to few years ago. 4. CCE-Coca-Cola Enterprises have six factories in Britain by using modern technology equipment so to ensure top product quality and quick delivery. In Wakefield,Yorkshire in 1990, CCE opened one of the Europe's largest soft drinks factory. That factory has t he ability to produce faster the cans of Coca-Cola even faster than bullets of a machine gun.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Importance of Vocational Education Essay

Vocational education (education based on occupation or employment) (also known as vocational education and training or VET) is education that prepares people for specific trades, crafts and careers at various levels from a trade, a craft, technician, or a professional position in engineering, accountancy, nursing, medicine, architecture, pharmacy, law etc. Craft vocations are usually based on manual or practical activities, traditionally non-academic, related to a specific trade, occupation, or vocation. It is sometimes referred to as technical education as the trainee directly develops expertise in a particular group of techniques. In the UK some higher technician engineering positions that require 4-5 year apprenticeship require academic study to HNC / HND or higher City & Guilds level. Vocational education may be classified as teaching procedural knowledge. This can be contrasted with declarative knowledge, as used in education in a usually broader scientific field, which might concentrate on theory and abstract conceptual knowledge, characteristic of tertiary education. Vocational education can be at the secondary, post-secondary level, further education level and can interact with the apprenticeship system. Increasingly, vocational education can be recognised in terms of recognition of prior learning and partial academic credit towards tertiary education (e. g. , at a university) as credit; however, it is rarely considered in its own form to fall under the traditional definition of higher education. Vocational education is related to the age-old apprenticeship system of learning. Apprenticeships are designed for many levels of work from manual trades to high knowledge work. However, as the labor market becomes more specialized and economies demand higher levels of skill, governments and businesses are increasingly investing in the future of vocational education through publicly funded training organizations and subsidized apprenticeship or traineeship initiatives for businesses. At the post-secondary level vocational education is typically provided by an institute of technology, university, or by a local community college. Vocational education has diversified over the 20th century and now exists in industries such as retail, tourism, information technology, funeral services and cosmetics, as well as in the traditional crafts and cottage industries.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Skills for effective management education essay

Undertaking 1What Skills are required for effectual direction? Analysze with back uping grounds from ain experience, two personal accomplishment and two professional accomplishments a director demand to be effectual in their function, explicate how these contribute to run intoing both organizational and personal ends.Skills for effectual direction:The importance of managerial public presentation and effectivity has long been recognised by major authors such as Drucker who originally in 1955, propounded that: The director is a dynamic, life giving component in every concern. Without their leading ‘the resources of production remain resources and ne'er become production. In a competitory company, overall the quality and public presentation of the directors is the lone effectual advantage and endeavor in a compitive company can hold. ( Drucker, 1955 ) Managerial efficiency can be distinguished from managerial effectivity.Efficiency is concerned with making things right and relates to inputs and what the director does. Effectiveness is concerned with making the right things and associate to end product of the occupation and what the director really achieves. To be efficient the director must go to to therefore to the input demand of the job-to elucidation of the aims, be aftering organisation way and control. But in order to be effectual, the director must give attending to end product of the job-to public presentation in term of such factors as obtaining best possible consequences in the of import countries of the organisation, optimizing usage of resources, increasing profitableness and attainment of the purposes and aims of the administration. Effectiveness must be related to the accomplishment of some intent, nonsubjective or undertaking to the public presentation of the procedure of direction and the executing of the work. Lut hens effort to separate between effectual and successful directors.Effective Directors:They are defined in term of the measure and quality of criterions of public presentation and satisfaction and committedness of subsidiaries.Successful Directors:They are defined operationally in term of the velocity of their publicity within an organisation. ( Mullings L,2007 ) .Based on the research in the universe and in Vietnam and from the success of old workshops the Centre for Excellence in Management Development ( CEMD ) continuously offers the workshop on Effective Management Skills to assist people and organisation bettering their ain effectivity and efficiency. Through this workshop participants are non merely developed specific competences in the agenda but besides improved learning accomplishments easing accomplishments and teamwork skills.A Skills which are required for effectual direction are described blew under chief accomplishments and bomber accomplishments.Creative Problem Solvi ng Skills:Describing and analysing a job Identifying causes of a job Developing originative options and taking the best class of action Implementing and measuring effectual and efficiency of the determination.Communication Skills:Listening accomplishments Presentation accomplishments Feedback Skills Report witting accomplishments.Conflict Management Skills:Identifying beginnings of struggle functional and dysfunctional struggles Understanding personal manner of struggle declaration Choosing the best scheme for covering with a struggle Developing accomplishments in advancing constructive struggles in organisation and squads.Negotiation Skills:Distinguishing distributive and integrative dialogues place Identifying common errors in dialogue and ways to avoid them Developing rational thought in dialogue Developing effectual accomplishments in dialogue that benefits all parties involved.Two personal accomplishmentsTime direction Problem work outingTwo professional accomplishmentsPresentation accomplishment Report composing accomplishmentEvaluation of my professional and personal accomplishmentThese accomplishments will helpful for me in future to run into personal and professional ends. My clip direction is really good I am punctual and regular and ever reached on clip whenever I have to travel. I ne'er tardily from category or even where of all time I go ne'er tardily. This proves really helpful for me because I ne'er missed the things like talks etc. I besides have ability of job work outing. I can work out job easy and instantly and take best result of jobs. I ever try my degree best to work out the jobs every bit shortly as possible with best result so that I can get away from emphasis or tenseness. These both personal accomplishments will helpful for me in hereafter. Through practise I besides have command on study authorship, ab initio I was non able how to compose a study but go toing talks and pattern now I am able to compose good professional study. I besides gave presentation. Now it is easy for me to give good nowadays. Now I can compose down different professional study and I am able to give good presentation. These besides will helpful for me in future to accomplish organizational and personal ends.Mentions:Mullings, L. ( 2007 ) Management and Organizational Behaviour, 8th Edition: Edexcel hypertext transfer protocol: //www.cemd.ueh.edu.vn/Effective -managment-skill-e.htm ( Access day of the month 24/04/2010 )Undertaking 2Behavior a personal and professional accomplishments audit utilizing SWOT analysis. Employ cause and consequence diagram to farther analysis one professional and one personal accomplishment. Generate a elaborate action program which demonstrates how you intend to turn to countries for farther direction and leading development. Explain the impact of larning manners on personal accomplishments.SWOT stands for S=Strengths=Weaknesses=Opportunities T=ThreatsPersonal SWOT analysisStrengthsFailingsTime Management Decision Making Problem Solving Computer Skills Poor Stress Management Trouble in puting aims Poor background of concern. Not CreativeOpportunitiesMenacesSelf Improvement Feedback from coach Interaction different part ‘s people Home office, if I get failed If non acquire occupation fee entry job May be non able to go through DMSTable: 1.0: Personal SWOT analysisProfessional SWOT AnalysisStrengthsFailingsReport Writing Skill Presentation Skill Poor Leadership Poor Coaching Poor Communication SkillsOpportunitiesMenacesAfter complete DMS, I can make MBA. Deliver good Presentation Occupation in Banks Because of hapless communicating I may non able to present presentation good and lose the occupationTable 2.0: Professional SWOT AnalysisCause and consequence diagram is frequently known as Ishikawa or fishbone diagram.Professional Failing:Less opportunity to take people Poor communicating accomplishment Poor Leadership Poor coaching accomplishmentFigure: 2.1: Fishbone diagram of Poor LeadershipPersonal FailingShort Temper Poor Stress Management Poor CommunicationFigure: 2.2: Fishbone Diagram of Poor Stress ManagementBrooding AnalysisMy professional failing is hapless leading. Because I have less opportunities to take a group or people. Another cause may be hapless communicating and some clip I am non plenty able to present my message to the people. But after cognizing about my failing now I am seeking my degree best to get the better of this failing. I am seeking the abilities of how become good leader. On personal side my emphasis direction is really hapless so far. The causes of hapless emphasis directions are I am short tempered and I get angry may be there is no valid ground to acquire angry. Another cause may be hapless communicating, when I get angry I ne'er express my feelings and I feel there is deficit of words and I became soundless. But after measuring my failing I am seeking to seek the accomplishments how to pull off with emphasis. Now I am able to pull off the emphasis to some extent but it needs more attending and more clip.Learning StyleEducationist have long realised that we learn in different ways. One widely used classification of different acquisition manners that provided by Honey and Mumford. They identified four different characters with rather different preferable larning styles-the militant, the pragmatist, the reflector, the theoretician. diagnostic trials exist to set up which larning manner is more appropriate for you and assist you develop an action program to develop your larning accomplishments You should give yourself a mark between one and ten ( 1-10 ) for how good each of the description describe you. If you give it to 1 it is really hapless description of you. if u give it 10 it is really good description of you. My learning manner is Pragmatists which I describe blow.DefinitionDescriptionTonssPragmatistYou are a practical individual You like to work out jobs You enjoy experimenting to better techniques You often come up with reply to the jobs You merely interested theories is to see if they work in pattern You dislike state of affairs where there is no clear, practicle result You work good to deadlines.You learn good when:You are expected to do practical determinations Using simulations and instance surveies Learning from proven good pattern, utilizing the illustrations and the expertness of others. 8 8 8 8 7 8 8 8 8 7Pragmatist Total =78Table 3.0: Pragmatist Learning StyleInterptation of Learning StyleA pragmatist is a practical individual who likes to work out jobs. They enjoy experimenting to better techniques. They often come up with the reply to a job. Their lone involvement in theories is to see if they work in pattern. They dislike the state of affairs where there is no clear practical result.Pragmatist learns good when:They are expected to do practical determinations Timescales are tight They must break happen better ways to make things Learning from proven good pattern Learning from illustrations and the expertness of others They are expected to be after the following measure Pragmatists will peculiarly profit from developing which involves simulations and instance surveiesPragmatists learn less good when:They are expected to come up with new thoughts themselves The practical relevancy of what they are making is ill-defined They are expected to work out why a technique work As a pragmatist scholar I like to work out jobs. Harmonizing to this timescale is tight. I ever complete my work on clip. I used to larn from practical illustrations and I ever learn from good pattern. When I start pattern instantly I can understand. There are some jobs of larning when any one expects to come up with my thoughts because I am less originative. Sometime it is ill-defined for me what I am making. This exercising is really helpful for me because after to cognizing my learning manner I am seeking my degree best to get the better of my failings and seeking to larn more and heighten my strengths.Undertaking 3You need to find your ends utilizing SMART, and clearly place mark day of the months for monitoring and reappraisal. Produce an on-going development program and brooding record of direction experience.On achieving one professional and personal goal-produce a brooding analysis for each end.Personal GoalImprove Communication accomplishmentExamples:My personal end is to be tter my communicating accomplishments by larning more English. When I came in UK for survey it was really hard for me to pass on in English so I made this end that I have to larn English for good communicating and for personal development. Now I am seeking hard to larn English to pass on people and seek occupation every bit good. Regardless of the size of concern we are in whether a big corporation a little company or even a place based concern effectual communicating accomplishments are indispensable for success. Communication is really of import tool for personal development. In fact communicating is merely successful when both the transmitter and the receiving system understand the same information as a consequence of the communicating. So I started working on it and by the terminal of this month I will be able to pass on good and for this I am besides larning English. When my communicating will be effectual I became successful miss.Professional GoalImprove Leadership AbilityExam ples:Improve leading abilities is my professional end. It is the activity of taking a group or squad. I find myself that there is deficiency in my leading abilities. For this I need good communicating, being articulated, flexible, creativeness and empathetic every bit good. So to seek the leading abilities I have to larn these things every bit good. The factors that lead to this failing are weak communicating accomplishment, non plenty originative and less opportunities to lead people. So now I am seeking my degree best to larn leading abilities for professional development. Whenever I go for occupation so this will be helpful for me in hereafter.Personal Development Plan ( PDP )Learning and development demandHow does this back up your professional and personal endsLearning actions to be taken including resources needed to accomplish themDate of accomplishmentAttempt to compose professional study Improve communicating accomplishments When I will make occupation in Bankss etc. This pattern will helpful for me in future It will assist in my personal and professional development Submit my study to Dr.Gary Bell in order to derive feedback It will assist in my professional and personal development. 14th May 2010 10th May 2010.Table 4.0: Table of PDP ( Personal and Professional )Undertaking 4Writing accomplishment in being an effectual director. Include study composing as a professional failing in the SWOT analysis, and should be included in the development program. Undertake study composing exercising. On completion of the study undertake a brooding analysis of this professional accomplishment.Report on â€Å" Project Management: Is there A Crisis? †AbstractionThis study discusses about the package undertaking failure and aims to foreground the causes of package crises. Many research workers done different researches to look into out the causes of package undertaking failure. Furthermore, the article suggested that the money was wasted on ailment planned, misdirection and delayed Information Technology undertakings. The determination shows that the jobs associated with package crises still persist and believed that there is need to re-examine the package development phenomenon.Table o f ContentIntroduction†¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ .16 Symptoms of Software Crisis†¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ ..17 Primary Causes of Software Crisis†¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ .. †¦ †¦ ..18 Decision†¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ 19 Mentions†¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ .20IntroductionThe package industry has grown and evoveled over decennaries. This is calculating and Information Technology age and these became demand of the hr because they made our life easier as earlier earlier. Calculating and package engineering has become more sophisticated and powerful every twelvemonth which can trip new package markets. Furthermore clients are going more ambitious and are bring forthing more demanding demands. Sadly, the package industry is still tarnished by jobs, such as cost overproductions, scheduladge slippage and hapless merchandise quality. These jobs known as the ‘software crisis ( Conte et al 1986 ) .Anecdotal grounds that in the UK the crisis is non slaking is provided. Therefore, we argue that one primary cause is package undertaking direction and associatory orthodox attacks. Charette ( 2005 ) has complied some dumbfounding failure statistics. He mentioned that package undertaking failure accurse in about every state, like UK, USA, Australia, and Canada on big or little degree. He discusses that package crises cost was $ 17.33 billion merely in America. Later on a comprehensive study was conducted by KPMG ( 1995 ) , utilizing sample of 250 UK organisation. They find out approximately 62 % organisation had at least one major package failure.Symptoms of Software Crisis:The research worker finds out many symptoms of package crises. Some ( Conte et al,1986 ) have highlighted a crisis within the package industry. Glass ( 1998 ) points out that there is no comprehensive study analyzing what per centum of package undertaking fail. Cost, bringing clip and quality are identified as the three symptoms to measure the success or failure of a undertaking of a undertaking. Anecdotal grounds is used to foreground the symptoms and primary causes of undertaking failure which engenders serious concerns. Researcher happen out the symptoms which lead to package undertaking failure are rather common like cost over from appraisal, money wasted on ill-planned, mismanagement and delayed InformationTechonology undertakings which leads to project failure.Primary Causes of Software Crisis:Charette ( 2005 ) and Glass ( 1998 ) , discovered many primary causes of package undertaking failure. These are under below.Unspecified aims and bad planning:Glass ( 1998 ) happen out the chief ground of package undertaking failure are the aims were non specified and they did n't made proper planning and appraisal need resources before they start any undertaking and which cause the package undertaking failure.Inadequate Methodology:They used unequal methods for undertaking direction and did non cognize the proper methodological analysis of different undertakings.Insufficient senior staff and undertaking complexness:There were less experient staff and largely the undertakings were really complicated.Therefor e, it was hard for new and junior staff to manage the undertaking complication.Hardware/Software job:Poor public presentation of the providers. Those who supply the hardware and package some clip they create job which leads to package crisis. There are many more causes which create job and do the package undertaking like stakeholder political relations, commercial force per unit area and unmanaged hazard etc.Decision:It is concluded that the symptoms and causes of the package undertaking failure, many factors involved in the crisis but the chief thing it had to be done before start any of the undertaking is that analysts should implement it or use it in a limited country, after the test if it is win so they should use as a whole. It is need to re analyze the package development phenomenon so that it can bring forth better consequences in future.

Friday, September 27, 2019

Microbiology lab report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Microbiology - Lab Report Example Thus, bacterial identification is the foremost step to accomplish further investigation procedures. The three preliminary steps for the analysis procedure comprise principal isolation, staining and biochemical reactions as the sample may contain diverse microorganism belonging to different species. Identification is based on the kind of Gram reaction shown by the organism. This is the most significant staining, also called differential staining performed to categorize microbial population into two groups the Gram positive and Gram negative organisms. The reaction displays the characteristic of the cell wall of the bacterial species. If the bacterial species possess thick peptidoglycan layer, it displays Gm +ve differential staining and if the microorganism possesses thin or single layer of peptidoglycan, it takes up the counter stain Safranin of the Gram reaction. Counter stain Safranin is added to the reaction after washing the Gram stain with alcohol. Since, Gram positive organisms possessing thick peptidoglycan retains the stain while Gram negative organisms possess thin peptidoglycan cell wall becomes colorless and therefore takes up the counter stain when stained with Safranin. The given sample displayed Gm-ve character of the organism. The cellular morphology is rod shaped (â€Å"Analytical solution for laboratories†; â€Å"Antimicrobial Therapy†; William, 2000). Part 2 MAC plate- Pink Color is observed on the culture plate, indicating that the unknown organism is lactose fermenting. Triple sugar iron agar test (TSI)- TSI contains glucose, sucrose and lactose together with iron and phenyl red as a pH indicator. On fermentation of sugar, the pH of the medium changes indicated by the color change from red to yellow. Sodium thiosulfate present in the medium is reduced to H2S which in turn reacts with the ferric ions to give sulfide of iron which turns the medium black. In the present condition the isolate is capable of fermenting Lactose and al so produces H2S (William, 2000). Imvic test TSI test is followed by Imvic test, to test the ability of the strain to produce enzyme tryptophanase. Unknown culture is unable to produce the enzyme typtophanase (William, 2000). Hydrogen sulfide test The unknown sample is able to produce H2S. Urease test Urease enzyme is responsible for the hydrolysis of urea to generate CO2 and ammonia. The unknown culture shows the presence of urease enzyme as indicated by the pink color (William, 2000). Motility indole ornithine (MIO) test MIO is a semisolid medium which is used to test the motility of the given organism. The medium contains indole and ornithine. No change in color was observed as the medium remained yellow indicating negative indole test. On the other hand, deep purple color was obtained indicating positive test for ornithine. Further, diffused growth was observed, which extended from the stab line forming cloudiness displaying the motile behavior of the organism (William, 2000). Ci trate test The unknown culture was grown on sodium citrate medium containing ammonium salts as the nitrogen source and bromothymol blue as the pH indicator. The test displays the ability to generate citritase enzyme, responsible for the breakdown of citrate into oxaloacetate and acetate. Sodium bicarbonate and ammonia are produced during the process which changes the pH of the medium, indicated through the change in color from green (neutral) color to blue (alkaline) (â€Å"

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Journal 8 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Journal 8 - Essay Example At the ball, she encounters the prince, and this really lifts her mood. However, her joy is short-lived as she leaves the ball bearing in mind she may never see the prince again, but he searches for her using her glass slipper and finally finds her. They live happily ever after. The protagonist in the story is Cinderella who is saddened by the fact that she cannot go to the ball; this is her preliminary state. The Fairy Godmother avails all that Cinderella needs to go, but she also brings in disequilibrium by requiring that she returns before midnight. At the ball, Cinderella’s state of mind is varied and she grows happy when she meets the prince (286). Once again, she is crestfallen because she does not expect to see him again. Disequilibrium occurs when the prince uses her slipper to find her, and it appears that Cinderella might be happy once more. When he does find her, they live together in happiness, which is the ultimate state of mind. The story goes a long way in revealing the culture of those from who it comes. In this case, the story shows that women who are industrious and altruistic are compensated with riches and great joy. In addition, love is the foundation of any relationship and that getting married because of love leads to eternal

Case Study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 21

Case Study - Essay Example This incentive makes workers perform better. By making their own steel, Nucor cut down costs. This made the company more profitable. When making a product, it is normally cheaper to make your own supply. The making of steel made Nucor more profitable. Waits on shipment were eliminated, a cheaper process was used, and more effective steel joists could be made. The supply of steel allowed Nucor to bid on contracts for steel joists all across the United States. Finally the reason Nucor has performed better in the past is the cut of losses. If a division, acquisition, or venture did not perform as expected, Nucor would close the division or sell the losing acquisition or venture. This helped the remaining successful divisions make a profitable corporation. The company’s strategic positioning has been a factor in the success. The company has always changed with the times. From the beginning as a car maker to merge with a Nuclear Company, and finally as a steel manufacturer, Nucor has changed with the times in order to make a profit. Since making steel and steel joists was profitable, Nucor focused on making cheap steel products. The restructuring of the corporate level also was strategic positioning. When Iverson took over his method of vice presidents, division heads, and so forth worked in the beginning. However, after Iverson retired, a change needed to be made in order to keep up with other corporations. The strategic options for the future need to include more change. With the bad economy, development using steel joists will slow down. Cut backs will be necessary. Production cuts will have to be faced. However, the recession will not last forever. Nucor needs to look into other options for their steel. Oil rigs need steel pipes, decks, and platforms. Focusing on this industry until the economy picks up could be the answer. Development might slow down, but it will not stop. Nucor can focus on other industries, but

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Pre-Hospital Fluid Replacement Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Pre-Hospital Fluid Replacement - Essay Example Although road accidents form a major part of the accident pie chart, there are still other zones apart from roads where people are accident prone. Workers in factories, fire fighters, miners and virtually all blue collared working force in UK are under constant threat of accidents. Most of the deaths that result due to accidents have been identified to be due to excessive blood loss, a term, in medical terminology known as hemorrhage. Mainly two types of injuries are identified. In 'Penetrating Injuries', the skin is breached by sharp objects such as a knife and leads to potential internal bleeding. In 'Blunt Injuries', the skin is not deeply penetrated and generally remains unbroken. However the magnitude of the injury damages the internal organs. The bleeding that is caused by these injuries must be controlled. If the bleeding exceeds the normal bounds, it leads to the reduction in blood volume, technically known as 'hypovolaemia'. This may even lead to 'shock' which is a state of circulatory failure. In such a state the perfusion of necessary fluids and blood to vital internal organs is hampered. This consequently leads to multiple organ failure. Generally the first crew to reach the scene of accident is the ambulance crew. Apart from the driver and attendant in most ambulances also have a paramedic. According to the JRCALC guidelines for pre hospital fluid replacement, only a paramedic can administer fluids on the site to the injured. In an email communication with the authors of 'Clinical Effectiveness and Cost Effectiveness of pre hospital intravenous fluids in trauma patients', trauma.org told that, "All patients would be considered for fluids. (Perhaps not all should receive but currently in the UK almost all will) [The] approximate percentage of trauma patients who receive fluids [is] currently 100%" (Dretzke et al, 2003). Administration of intravenous fluids on - site is a traditional approach to handle injuries. This method was supported by early animal studies. The theory behind fluid replacement methodology is that, fluid replacement therapy attempts to reverse the effects of excessive blood loss by increasing circulatory blood volume and blood pressure back to the normal levels and maintains the perfusion of vital organs thereby reducing the risk of death from multiple organ failure (NICE, 01/04). Methodology and Technology The physiological state of the victim of injury is analyzed by the paramedic to identify which pre - hospital fluids are needed. Certain factors are analyzed such as degree of blood loss and whether the hemorrhage is controlled or uncontrolled. The Technology Appraisal of NHS identifies the other indicators of hemorrhage in adults as tachycardia, peripheral vasoconstriction and reduced blood pressure (NHS, 01/04). The shock levels are categorized according to the severity. Intravenous fluids are considered on similar lines as medicines, and are broadly classified as crystalloids, colloids, or combination fluids. Combination fluids consist of hypertonic saline with starch or dextran. According to the JRCALC regulations only paramedics may administer crystalloid and colloid solutions. Crystalloids pass through cell membranes into different body fluid compartments, thereby making up for the fluids lost due to

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Starbucks Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

Starbucks - Essay Example Each company faces problems and obstacles, even successful ones like Starbucks. One of the main challenges that Starbucks is facing is dealing with competitors. Coffee retailers are scattered all over the world in huge numbers. By involving thousands of shops operating in the coffee field, and as the competition increases, it makes the task more difficult for Starbucks to maintain its place. Also, the most obvious challenge that Starbucks is dealing with is the current financial crisis in America. Compared to other cafes prices, Starbucks is one of the most expensive cafà © shops in the world, and a number of consumers find the prices are exaggerated (Fellner 2010). A recent research made by a team of mystery coffee researchers shows that, the rates in Starbucks compared to Costa Cafà © and Cafà © Nero is the highest (Burks 2009). As seen on the graph above, Starbucks has experienced fluctuations in profit, starting from 2005 with a steady increase in the net income, and then it dropped down in 2008, decreasing the net profit from more than $600 million to less than $400 million. On the other hand, sales grew in 2010 getting the highest net income over the earlier 5 years. In 2010, Starbucks turned about 11% of its revenue into free cash flow (FCF). The company earned more than  £600 million cash on net income (Nadine 2008). Also, there has been a surprising increase in the company’s net income in the last year. In the third quarter of 2011, the income rose up to 33%, earning more than $880 million net income. Howard Shultz stated on July 11, 2006, "First and foremost I want to thank you for making Starbucks the $6.4 billion global company it is today, with more than 90,000 employees, 9,700 stores, and 33 million weekly customers." Taking the 33,000,000 weekly customers and dividing it by 7 you will get 4.7 million customers per day. Since that time Starbucks has added many, many new stores so

Monday, September 23, 2019

Physiology of Organ Systems Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Physiology of Organ Systems - Essay Example The blood pressure of the arteries increases and decreases with each cycle or stage where the blood passes through the chambers of the heart. Blood enters the heart with a specific sequence or order (National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 2007). The heart also has four valves which control and manage the entry and exit of the blood into and out of the heart. The blood would enter the right atrium through the superior and inferior vena cavae and the right atrium would contract and the tricuspid valve would open and allow blood to enter the right ventricle (NASA, 2007). As the right ventricle contracts, the tricuspid valve closes and simultaneously, the pulmonary valve opens and blood enters the pulmonary artery which brings the blood to the lungs where it is infused with oxygen and eliminates carbon dioxide (Shibao, et.al., 2007). The blood then exits the lungs and enters the left atrium where it is pumped out into the different parts of the body. The blood vessel walls have l ayers of smooth muscle and such muscles as well as the heart muscles are regulated by the autonomic nervous system (Shibao, et.al., 2007). Where there is a decrease in the diameter of the blood vessel, the flow of the blood would be more difficult. The persistent decrease in diameter would increase the pressure needed to push the blood into the different cells of the body. The greater pressure is imposed on the heart which is forcing the blood into the different parts of the body (Lohmeier, et.al., 2004).... The blood would enter the right atrium through the superior and inferior vena cavae and the right atrium would contract and the tricuspid valve would open and allow blood to enter the right ventricle (NASA, 2007). As the right ventricle contracts, the tricuspid valve closes and simultaneously, the pulmonary valve opens and blood enters the pulmonary artery which brings the blood to the lungs where it is infused with oxygen and eliminates carbon dioxide (Shibao, et.al., 2007). The blood then exits the lungs and enters the left atrium where it is pumped out into the different parts of the body. The blood vessel walls have layers of smooth muscle and such muscles as well as the heart muscles are regulated by the autonomic nervous system (Shibao, et.al., 2007). Where there is a decrease in the diameter of the blood vessel, the flow of the blood would be more difficult. The persistent decrease in diameter would increase the pressure needed to push the blood into the different cells of the body. The greater pressure is imposed on the heart which is forcing the blood into the different parts of the body (Lohmeier, et.al., 2004). As the smooth muscles would relax, there is lesser resistance and therefore less pressure needed to maintain the blood flow rates. The autonomic nervous system regulates the diameter of the blood vessels (Lohmeier, et.al., 2004). It also regulates the heart rate, increasing or decreasing it where necessary. With these processes, the autonomic nervous system is able to manage blood pressure. Maintenance of continuous blood flow to the brain and the cells of the body are carried out by the â€Å"regulation of blood pressure by the autonomic nervous system† (NASA, 2007, p. 104). The brain is the receptor of data related to pressure exerted by the

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Aristotle concept of virtue Essay Example for Free

Aristotle concept of virtue Essay The concept of virtue by Aristotle can be attributed to the state of character which he believed lies between two broad extremes which are the excess and deficiency. He believed that virtues falls into two major categories which are the moral virtue and the intellectual virtue. He considered moral values to be associated with feelings, choosing and acting well while intellectual is being acquired. He believed that not all the state of character is virtues and that virtue can be considered the doctrine of mean. This doctrine helps us to determine the actual state of character that is virtuous. He considered character such as lustfulness as not virtue because lustfulness represent an increase feeling of sexual desires or seek for too much sexual pleasure and it lies towards the extreme of excess and not being in the mean which Aristotle considered to be a point that represent virtue. Comparing and contrasting the Aristotle definition of virtue and Socrates definition of impiety and piety. There is no much similarity between the definitions except in that they try to explain the concept of justification in whatever we do. Both definitions relates to what can be considered to be morally good. There are several differences between the two forms of definition. 1. Socrates believe that there are certain fundamental characteristic that makes pious things pious which is different from the Aristotle concepts of virtue which strongly believe in character that lies between the two extremes. 2. Aristotle consider the relationship of friendship to virtues while Socrates believes piety is what god loves and impiety what god hates The better definition might be determined by its application to moral values. Since the Aristotle’s definition explains certain aspects of ethics, I will consider it, the better of the two definitions. Aristotle’s definition relates directly to human life and character and it application can guide the way we act and helps us live better life. Aristotle also consider friendship as being indispensible to virtuous life believing without friendship towards our fellows it is impossible to live a complete and virtuous life. He believes we must be good friends to ourselves before we can show which a concept of â€Å"self love† is. We can only understand friendship when will understand the virtue of oneself. The issue with the relationship of friendship with ourselves and others can be narrowed down to the fact Aristotle believed that virtue brings happiness. Aristotle in summary established a relationship between character, reasons and emotion. He explains the relationship virtues and vices, relationship of virtue to pleasure and to happiness and the notion of moral education. Socrates believes that piety is intimately bound to gods and it is what the gods loves. References Aristotle, (350 B. C. E). â€Å"Book I. In Nicomachean Ethics (W. D. Ross, Trans. ). Retrieved 2 June 2009, from http://classics. mit. edu/Aristotle/nicomachaen. 1. i. html Aristotle, (350 B. C. E). â€Å"Book II. In Nicomachean Ethics (W. D. Ross, Trans. ). Retrieved 2 June 2009 from http://classics. mit. edu/Aristotle/nicomachaen. 2. ii. html Aristotle, (350 B. C. E). â€Å"Book VII. In Nicomachean Ethics (W. D. Ross, Trans. ). Retrieved 2 June 2009 from http://classics. mit. edu/Aristotle/nicomachaen. 7. vii. html

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Travel Time Reliability Analysis

Travel Time Reliability Analysis CHAPTER TWO Literature Review 2.1 Introduction Lyman (2007) states that travel time reliability is vital measure of congestion and can serve as benchmark for prioritizing improvements into a city transportation system. This research start with a literature review of travel time reliability and its worth as a congestion measure. Travel time reliability can be denoted as the probability of successfully completing a trip within specified time interval (Iida, 1999). Therefore, the increase of travel time will lead to the unreliability and variability of travel time (Recker et al., 2005). The better understanding of travel time reliability and variability might assist transport planner to select proper transport policy in conjunction with reduction congestion problems as well as lessening the impact of different type of incidents (Recker et al., 2005). It can be said that, the more reliable the transportation system, the more stable is the performance. In addition, lower travel time fluctuation also contributes to less fuel consumption as well as less emissions due to a reduced amount of acceleration and deceleration by vehicles (Vlieger et al., 2000). Moreover, from a transport users point of view, more reliable travel times mean more predictable journey times and improved activity schedules. In accordance with just in time services, reliable travel time will significantly increase the freight industrys performances to deliver goods (Recker et al., 2005). As travel time reliability considers the distribution of travel time probability and its variation at road network, the higher travel time variance the lower travel time reliability (Nicholson et al., 2003). It can be also said that under ideal conditions travel time reliability would have a variance equal to zero. Indeed, the increase of its variance will therefore significantly reduce its reliability. However, the relationship between travel time variance and its reliability is not linear, so that, it cannot be generally accepted that a double of travel time variance will lead to a half of its reliability. To conclude, the greater travel time fluctuations will have significant impacts on transport network reliability. According to different purposes of travel time reliability study, there are several travel time reliability surveys. By comparing different aspect of the travel time study and by considering the complexity of data collection as well the data analysis, Lomax et al. (2003) has reviewed the suitable assessment of travel time reliability. Based on the scope and the limitation of each method this work suggested the different study in terms of measurement travel time variability and travel time reliability. The analysis of the archive traffic data is not proper in measuring the travel time reliability due to the lack of data constant and the lack of other attribute related with the traffic condition. However, the data is easy to obtain. In addition, the micro simulation techniques have been used extensively, however according to Lin et al (2005) there are some deficiencies in travel time micro simulation modeling in terms of the high need for data calibration. In order to gain real life traffic conditions, some travel time reliability research used the probe vehicle methods. Since this method requires ext ensive labour and only covers some of the study area or some of the road segments, it cannot be applied in terms of assessing the travel time reliability on large road networks. Indeed, Lomax et al also recommended some reliability measurements by examining the reliability and variability percentage (e.g., 5%, 10% and 15%). Those approaches take into account the effect of irregular conditions in the forms of the amount of extra time that must be allowed for travelers. The first measurement is the percent variation which expresses the relationship between the amount of variation and the average travel time in a percentage measure. The second is the misery index that calculates the amount of time exceeded the average slowest time by subtracting the average travel time with the upper 10%, 15% and 20% of average travel rates and the last is travel time buffer which add the extra travel time of 95% trips in order to arrive on time. In addition, since reliable travel time is the key indicator of users route choice there are many recent research works which investigated the travelers behaviour under unreliable travel time. According to travelers behavior in route choice survey, the greater the variance of travel time of selected links the less attractive it is (Tannabe et al., 2007). Additionally, Bogers and Lint (2007) investigated traveler behavior on three different road types in The Netherlands under uncertainty conditions, as well as the impact of providing traveller information on route choice. They conclude that providing traveler information has significant impact on effecting travelers decision, in addition, based on travelers experience they will choose the route with minimal travel time variance. It means that the routes that have high travel time reliability are not attractive for users. Indeed, according to Lomax et als review that the best alternative to measure the travel time variability and route choicer behaviour under uncertainty condition is by using probe vehicles. Though this method was highly labourious and expensive, it is more realistic (Lomax et al., 2003). Then Tannabe et al (2007) undertook an integrated GPS and web diary in Nara, Japan. This study found that travelers might change their route to reduce the uncertainty in travel time. In addition, there was a positive correlation between coefficients of variation (CV) of the commuting routes. It is found that the appropriate functional hierarchy of road may be disturbed by the uncertainty of travel time. These findings suggest that a reliability index of travel time is very useful and important for evaluating both actual level of service (LOS) and functional hierarchy of road network. Recent travel time reliability research investigated the relationship between the traveler behavior and their response to the provision of travel information system while they experience high travel time variability. Asakura (1999) concluded that the Stochastic User Equilibrium model can generate the user route choice behavior based on the different levels of information provision. This study analyzed two different groups, the first group being the well informed users and the second the uninformed users. He concluded that providing better information can improve the transportation network reliability. In order to find out the different perspectives of travel time reliability for different persons with different purposes, Lo et al (2006) studied the notion of the travel time budget, in which each traveler seeks to minimize their own individual travel time budget (the amount of time that the individual is prepared to devote to travelling), which means the total travel time of the individual should not exceed their allocation of time to travel. To evaluate the link between the presence of ramps on motorways and travel time reliability, recent reliability network research has been undertaken in The Netherlands. Th is study analyzed whether the geometry of road network also affected the travel time reliability (Tu et al., 2007) by investigating the presence of ramps on six major. This study concluded that the presence of ramps in the road network has reduced the travel time reliability. Since road network reliability considers the probability of transportation system failures in how to meet performance parameters such as reasonable travel time and travel cost, level of service and the probability of connectivity of the transport network and lack of measuring the consequences of link failure to the community, the concept of road network vulnerability might be an alternative way to fill some of road network reliability deficiency, particularly in assessing the adverse socio-economic impact to community (Taylor et al. 2006). ROAD NETWORK VULNERABILITY Due to the potential socio-economic cost of degraded transport network to community, the concept of road vulnerability has been developed by researchers under transport network reliability umbrella. The definition of vulnerability has not yet been generally agreed. Several authors notion of the vulnerability focused on the negative events that significantly reduced the road network performance. Berdica (2002) defined the vulnerability as a susceptibility to incident that can result in a considerable in road network serviceability. The link /route/road serviceability described the possibility to use that link/route/road during a given period of time. Furthermore, since accessibility depend on the quality of the function of the transportation system, this concept relate to the adverse of the vulnerability in terms of reducing accessibility that occurs because of the different reasons. As the idea of network vulnerability relates to the consequences of link failure and the potential for adverse socio- economic impacts on the community (Taylor et al., 2006, Jenelius, 2007a), thus vulnerability can be defined in the following terms: 1. A node is vulnerable if loss (or substantial degradation) of a small number of links significantly diminishes the accessibility of the node, as measured by standard index of accessibility. 2. A network link is critical if loss (or substantial degradation) of the links significantly diminishes the accessibility of the network or of particular nodes, as measured by standard index of accessibility. Therefore, it can be concluded that road vulnerability assesses the weakness of road network to incidents as well as adverse impacts of the degraded road network serviceability on the community. In relation with the road network vulnerability definition which focuses on two different aspects; selecting critical road network elements and consequences of measurements, Jenelius (2007a) has identified that road network vulnerability assessment can be distinguished into two stages. The first stage is to select a critical link by identifying the road network likelihood and by quick scanning of wide road transport and the second one is measuring the consequences of link disruption to community. Based on previous works, different approach has been applied in order to scan wide road network. Jenelius et al ( et al., 2006) selected particular major arterial road which connect the district at the Northern Sweden to be the worst case scenario and selected road links randomly as the average case scenarios. Scott et al (2006) has also introduced topology index and the relation between capacity and volume then select the critical link. Indeed, Jenelius (2007a) has suggested that conducting comprehensive assessment of road network will be helpful for identifying roads that are probably affected by the traffic accident, flood and landslides. Berdica et al (2003) undertake a comprehensive study in order to test 3 types of software to mode l road network interruptions. This study simulated the short duration of incidents on University of Canterbury networks by using SATURN, TRACKS and Paramics. They modelled a total block of one link on the small network then run the model at the macroscopic level by using TRACKS, at mesoscopic level by using SATURN and at the microscopic level by using Paramics. Based on the simulation, the different packages gave different result in terms of their responsiveness to model the short incidents, for instance, Paramics might be considered as a suitable software package for short duration incidents because it is more responsive than other softwares. SATURN which is more detail in its formulation than TRACKS has less responsiveness than TRACKS. Given the lack of generally recognized measurement of road vulnerability, it has been common practice to consider measures such as the increase of the generalized travel cost, the changes of the accessibility index or the link volume/capacity ratio when one or more links were closed or degraded as road vulnerability measurement. Taylor et al (2006) studied the network vulnerability at the level of Australian national road network and the socio economic impact of degradable links in order to identify critical links within the road network, by using three different accessibility approaches. The study introduced the three indices for vulnerability. The first method was the measurement of the change of the generalized travel cost between the full network and the degraded one. This method has concluded that by degrading one particular link the generalized travel cost will increase, and then the links which gave the highest travel cost was determined as the most important link. The second method used the changes of the Hansen integral accessibility index (Hansen, 1959) in order to seek the critical links. It was assumed that the larger the changes were after cutting one link, the more critical that link was on the basis of the adver se socio-economic impacts on the community. The last approach considered the changes of the Accessibility/Remoteness index of Australia (DHAC, 2001). This method was similar to the second method which sought the critical link depending on the difference between the ARIA indices in the full network and the ARIA indices in degraded network. Moreover, Taylor et al (2006) also studied the application of the third approach at the regional level in the state of Western Australia. This study concluded that removing a link gave different impacts for the cities, for example, by cutting one link, the impacts on the several cities were only local, in contrast, other cities where they were available similarly alternative road performance did not give significant changes of the ARIA indices. Due to the importance of a particular link within the wide road network, Jenelius et al (2006) introduced a similar approach to Taylor et al (2006). They studied the link importance and the site exposure by measuring the increase in generalized travel cost in the road network of the Northern Sweden where the road networks were sparse and the traffic volumes were low. By assuming the incident was a single link being completely disrupted or closed so the generalized cost increases, then the most critical link of the operation of the whole system and the most vulnerable cities because of the link disruptions were determined. The study concluded that the effect of closing a link was quite local and the worst effect was in the region where the road network was sparser with fewer good alternative roads. This research suggests that the road network vulnerability assessment can be applied in road network planning and maintenance, to provide guidance to the road administration for road prioritization and maintenance. In addition, Taylor (2007) studied the road network vulnerability in South Australia road network which included all the freeways, highways and major main roads. This research used a large complex road network and evaluated the ARIA indices changes for about 161 locality centers with populations exceeding 200 people. This study found the top ten critical links in the South Australia regional road network. Moreover, in relation with vulnerability approach in D Este and Taylor (2003), Chen et al (2007) tries to assess the vulnerability of degradable networks by using the network based accessibility and by combining with a travel demand model. Their study concluded that themodel can consider both demand and supply changes under abnormal conditions. Thus the vulnerability network assessment can be measured by considering the duration of the disruption (increase the travel time) and modeling the user equilibrium both the cases when there are alternative roads or the case when there are not alternative roads (Jenelius, 2007b). Indeed, Scott (2005) introduced the measurement of the Network Robustness Index by considering the ratio between the link capacity and link volume and assigning topology index for each link then test whether the particular links can cope with the changes of the traffic demand when one or more links were closed or degraded (Scott et al., 2005). Jenelius (2007b) introduced the new method in order to incorporate dynamic road condition and information by assessing the increase travel time using the extended of the user equilibrium model. This study assumed that there was no congestion and there was at least one alternative route between the origin and destination. Further, this study also assumed that the road users have perfect road information about the length of road closure so that they can decide whether they need either to take a detour or to go back to their origin and wait until the road reopened. This method calculated the additional travel time which is calculated since the road users were informed about the road closure, the waiting time until the road reopened. The difference between the normal travel time and t he additional travel time due to road closure was assigned as the increase travel time. However, this study did not take into consideration the change of the travel flow at the alternative routes. This assumed that the mix of the current and diverted traffic can flow at the free flow. In order to assess the increase of the flow when the diverted traffic mix at the current traffic which already meet the capacity or are already congested, the study which conducted by Lam et al (2007) can be considered. This method introduced the path preference index which is the sum of the path travel time reliability index and the path travel time index. To examine road network vulnerability in an urban area, Berdica et al. (2007) studied the vulnerability of the Stockholm road network by examining 12 scenarios involving partial and total closure of selected links, including bridge failure. Also, it assessed the road network degradation in three different times of day, morning peak hour, middle of d ay and afternoon peak hour. This study concluded that by closing one link or all links as well as bridge failure would increase the total travel time and total trip length (on the assumption that travelers chose their minimum time route based on user equilibrium method). The model of different scenarios at different times gave different results but the most vulnerable links were the Essinge route and the failure of Western bridge scenario. To conclude this study calculated the increase of total travel time a day and then multiply that by 250 days to obtain the total increase travel time for yearly basis. Though the highest total travel time increase in only 8% per day, however if it is calculated by 35 SEK (travel cost per hour) it gave significant impact of total travel cost increase. However, it did not take into account the duration of the closure and left some discussion of link disruption impacted such as the effect of noise and pollution during the road closure. Moreover, Knoo p and Hoogendoon (2007) assess the spillback simulation in dynamic route choice in order to examine the spillback effects then evaluated the road network robustness and the vulnerability of links. This study concluded that it is necessary to assess the spillback effect in order to identify the most vulnerable link within the wide road network. Tampere (2007) investigated the vulnerability of highway sections in Brussels and Ghent. This work was quite challenging, it tried to consider the different aspect of the road network vulnerability criteria related to the amount of vehicle hours lost due to major incidents. This work compromised of two steps; the first one is the quick scanning of the most vulnerable link from the long list into short list by considering the several aspects and then by obtaining the short list links then the vulnerability measure was conducted. Since this method used the dynamic traffic assignment, there are some drawbacks during the model run such as the lack of traffic distribution after the occurrence of the incident which resulted an illogical of travelers route choice. In general this method has successfully measured the vulnerability by not only considering the traffic condition but also taking into account the different road networks. Though this method has not considered traffic assignment criteria, it is still considered as a refinement over similar studies Measures of Congestion used in Transportation Planning Measures of congestion are intended to evaluate the performance of the transportation network and to diagnose problem areas. They provide information on how well the system has met certain stated goals and targets, and can also help to explain variations in user experiences of the system. There are four general categories of congestion measures. The first category contains measures that explain the duration of congestion experienced by users in some way; these include delay, risk of delay, average speed, and travel time. The next category includes measures that analyze how well the system is functioning at a given location. This category primarily consists of the volume to capacity (V/C) ratio, which is usually expressed as a level-of-service (LOS) category. LOS is a performance rating that is often used as a technical way to express how well a facility is functioning. For example, a facility functioning poorly is likely to be rated as LOS F, but could just as easily be described as poor. The third category is that of spatial measures, including queue length, queue density, and vehicle miles traveled. It is important to note that some of the duration and spatial measures are actually measured as point measures. The final category of measures is the other category, consisting primarily of travel time reliability and the number of times a vehicle stops because of congested conditions. Easily the most common measure of traffic congestion is the volume-to-capacity ratio. The V/C ratio measures the number of vehicles using a facility against the number of vehicles that the facility was designed to accommodate. This ratio is an important measure for planners to use, and represents an easily understandable measure of whether or not a roadway is congested. However, it can lead to some philosophical problems, such as whether transportation systems should be built to handle the highest demand or the average demand, and what level of service is acceptable. In addition, it is difficult to accurately measure the capacity of a roadway. The volume-to-capacity ratio is an important tool for comparing a roadways performance to other roadways and over time, but does not necessarily reflect the overall user experience and values in the system. Despite the prevailing usage of the volume-to-capacity ratio, and perhaps because of its inherent philosophical difficulties, the (FHWA) ha s strongly encouraged agencies to consider travel time experienced by users as the primary source for congestion measurement. They also state that currently used measures of congestion are inadequate for determining the true impact of the congestion that clogs up the transportation system from a users perspective, and that they are not able to adequately measure the impacts of congestion mitigation strategies. What is travel time reliability? As mentioned in section 1.1.1, the OECD (2010) provides a general definition for Travel Time Reliability: The ability of the transport system to provide the expected level of service quality, upon which users have organized their activities. The key of this definition is that a route is reliable if the expectations of the user are in accordance with the experienced travel time. But this does not directly lead to a TTR measure. Nonetheless, this definition shows that user expectations should be taken into account when selecting a proper TTR measure. Congestion is common in many cities and few people will dispute this fact. Drivers become used to this congestion, always expecting and plan for some delay, especially in peak driving times. Most drivers budget for extra time to accommodate traffic delays or adjust their schedules. Traffic delays are mostly much worse than expected when it happens. All travelers are less tolerant of unpredicted delays, the effect is that it makes then to be late for work or vital meetings, miss appointment, or suffer additional childcare fees. Shippers and freight forwarders who experience unpredicted delay may lose money and interrupt just-in-time delivery and manufacturing processes. Traffic congestion used to be communicated only in terms of simple average in time past. Nevertheless most travelers experience and remember a different thing than the simple average as they commute within a year. Travelers travel time differ from day to day, and remember the few bad days they suffered through unexpect ed delays. Commuter build time cushion or buffer in planning their trip to account for the variability. The buffer helps them to arrive early on some days, though not a bad thing, but the additional time is carved out of their day time which could have been used to pursuit other activities than to commute. Travel time reliability time frames Travel Time Reliability can be categorized by its time frame. Bates et al. (2001) discusses three levels of variability: inter-day, inter-period and inter-vehicle. Martchouk et al. (2009) explains these as follows: Inter-day: Variations in the travel time pattern between days. Some days of the week might have substantially different traffic volumes than others. For example, a Sunday will generally have less traffic than a Monday. Same weekdays should have about the same travel time pattern, but there can still be variations. Also, events such as road works or inclement weather cause inter-day variations. Inter-period: Variations in travel times during a day. Many road sections have a morning and evening peak, during which travel times are larger. These variations are caused by variations in traffic volume. Inter-vehicle: Relatively small differences in travel times between vehicles in a traffic stream. These are caused by interactions between vehicles and variations in driver behavior, including lane changes and speed differences. Although Martchouk et al. (2009) shows that individual travel times on a motorway section can vary strongly in similar conditions, due to driver behavior, this study focuses on inter-day variations. It is assumed that inter-vehicle variations have no significant influence on Travel Time Reliability. In urban areas, the speed difference between vehicles will generally be smaller than on highways. The reasons for this are: the average speed on highways is higher, there is more overtaking, trucks cannot drive at the maximum allowed speed, and routes are longer. Inter-period variations are also not considered, because it is presumed that road users know that travel times within a day vary according to a more or less fixed pattern. It is the deviations from this daily pattern which are interesting in the light of TTR, since these cannot be predicted by road users. Therefore, the focus of this investigation is on inter-day variation. Why travel time reliability is important? Travel time reliability is vital to every user within the transportation system, whether they are freight shippers, transit riders, vehicle drivers and even air travelers. Reliability allows business travelers and personal to make better use of the own time. Because reliability is so significant for transportation planners, transportation system users, and decision makers should consider travel time reliability as a key measure of performance Traffic management and operation activities is better quantified and beneficial to traffic professionals by the use of travel time reliability than simple average. For instants take into consideration a typical before and after study that attempts to quantify the benefits of an accident management or ramp material program. The development in average time may seem to be modest. However reliability measure will show a much greater development because they show the effect of improving the worst few days of unexpected delay. The Beginning of Travel Time Reliability as a Performance Measure Hellinga (2011) states that in the past, analysis of transportation networks focused primarily on the estimation and evaluation of average conditions for a given time period. These average conditions might be expressed in terms of average traffic stream speed; average travel time between a given origin and destination pair; or some average generalized cost to travel from an origin to a destination. This generalized cost typically includes terms reflecting time as well as monetary costs. These terms are summed by multiplying the time based measures by a value of time coefficient. A common characteristic of all of these approaches is that they reflect average or expected conditions and do not reflect the impact of the variability of these conditions. One reason for this is that models become much more complicated when this variability would be included. Also, a vast amount of data from a long period of time is needed. Unfortunately, collecting data is often costly and time-consuming. H ellinga (2011) also observes that more recently, there has been an increasing interest in the reliability of transportation networks. It is hypothesized that reliability has value to transportation network users and may also impact user behavior. Influence on traveler behavior may include: destination choice, route choice, time of departure choice, and mode choice. It is useful for road managers and planners to have knowledge about the relations between TTR and road user behavior, because this can be used to predict or even deliberately influence this behavior by applying traffic management measures. Consequently, there has been an effort to better understand the issues surrounding reliability, and to answer a number of important questions such as: 1. How is transportation network reliability defined? 2. How can/should network reliability be measured in the field? 3. What factors influence reliability and how? 4. What instruments are available to network managers, policy makers, and network users that impact reliability and what are the characteristics of these causal relationships? 5. What is the value of reliability to various transportation network users (e.g. travelers, freight carriers, etc.) and how is this value affected by trip purpose? 6. How do transportation network users respond to reliability in terms of their travel behavior? (E.g. departure time choice, mode choice, route choice etc.) 7. How can reliability (and its effects) be represented within micro and macro level models? (Microscopic models focus on individual vehicles, while macroscopic models pertain to the properties of the traffic flow as a whole.) 8. How important is it to consider the impact of reliability in transportation project benefit/cost evaluations? 9. Does the consideration of the impact of reliability within the project evaluation process alter the order of preference of projects within the list of candidate projects? Hellinga (2011) states that the above list of questions, which is likely not exhaustive, indicates that there currently exists a very large knowledge gap with respect to reliability. Various research efforts around the world are beginning to fill in these gaps, but the body of knowledge is still relatively sparse and there is not yet even general agreement on terminology. Note that the first, second, and (partially) fifth question are part of this investigation What measures are used to quantify travel time reliability? The four recommended measures includes 90th or 95th percentile travel time, buffer index, planning time index, and frequency that congestion exceeds some expected threshold. These measurements are emerging practices, some of

Friday, September 20, 2019

Slave to Man Essays -- Literary Analysis, Shakespeare

Sonnet 143 by William Shakespeare creates a patriarchal ideology constructing gender and women’s role in society supported by feminist criticism, which implements patriarchal woman, traditional gender roles, biological essentialism, othering, and sexage. By forcing women to be seen as biological creatures and/or insignificant objects with specific characteristics, a social construction is made. Instantly the typical patriarchal woman in traditional gender roles of â€Å"housewife† and â€Å"mother† is cast upon the main character in Sonnet 143. She has â€Å"internalized the norms and values of patriarchy, which can be defined, in short, as any culture that privileges men† (Tyson 85). The dark lady/mother is given the task to stay home and care for her child. She is shown as a nice wife who â€Å"runs to catch / One of her feathered creatures broke away,† taking care to watch the family bird or chicken while she â€Å"Sets down her babe, and makes all swift dispatch† (Shakespeare 143.1-3). She is given the task to chase after a bird, which seems to be in their house, showcasing she must be poor and in a lower class, making the impression that while the man is away, she is less privileged and must stay home with the child in untidy conditions. Furthering this scene is the fact that she is described as the sole caregiver to the child. â€Å"Traditional gender roles cast men as rational, strong, protective, and decisive; they cast women as emotional (irrational), weak, nurturing and submissive† which are seen in the relationships and characters of Sonnet 143 (Tyson 85). The speaker or child tries to gain attention from his mother or the dark lady. He wishes she would â€Å"play the mother’s part, kiss me, be kind† (Shakespeare 143.12). The child is acting as a d... ...ats women, whatever their role, like objects† (Tyson 91). She is nothing of value, besides pleasuring the young man; she is not even fit to be a successful mother. So the mother, who is seen as biologically the better nurturer, is therefore a bad caregiver since she has other duties that come before that of her child. Overall, the woman is showcased as obviously living a less-fulfilling life as the man, she is forced to take care of the child, abide to the speaker’s cries, and chase after the â€Å"feathered creature,† all in poor conditions, whiles the man has patriarchal control (Shakespeare 143.2). When seen as the dark lady she is nothing be a sex object, fulfilling his desires and pleasures. The speaker already has the education to write the poetry. Using his schooling, he illustrates that even though the woman holds his desire, he has power over her actions.

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Philosophy of Time and Media with Jacques Derrida and Richard Rorty :: Philosophy Philosophical Papers

Philosophy of Time and Media with Jacques Derrida and Richard Rorty ABSTRACT: This paper is divided into four sections. The first provides a survey of some significant developments which today determine philosophical dealings with the subject of 'time.' In the second part it is shown how the question of time and the question of media are linked with one another in the views of two contemporary philosophers: Jacques Derrida and Richard Rorty. In section three, the temporal implications of cultural practices which are developing in the new medium of the Internet are analyzed, and finally, related to my main theses. In his book The Transparent Society Gianni Vattimo, the Italian media philosopher, advocates the "hypothesis" that "the intensification of communicative phenomena and the increasingly prominent circulation of information, with news flashed around the world (or McLuhan's 'global village') as it happens, are not merely aspects of modernization amongst others, but in some way the centre and the very sense of this process" (Vattimo, 1992, 14f). Vattimo's hypothesis is shared by Jacques Derrida, the founder of postmodern deconstructionism. In the essay The Other Heading - Reflections on Today's Europe Derrida formulated his basic media-philosophical diagnosis with a view to Europe as follows: "European cultural identity cannot (...) renounce (...) the great avenues or thoroughfares of translation and communication, and thus, of mediatization. But, on the other hand, it cannot and must not accept the capital of a centralizing authority (...). For by constituting places of an easy concensus , places of a demagogical and 'salable' consensus, through mobile, omnipresent, and extremely rapid media networks, by thus immediately crossing every border, such normalization would establish a cultural capacity at any place and at all times. It would establish a hegemonic center, the power center or power station [la centrale], the media center or central switchboard [le central] of the new imperium: remote control as one says in English for the TV, a ubiquitous tele-command, quasi-immediate and absolute" (Derrida, 1992, 39f). What's expressed in this diagnosis is the inner ambivalence with regard to the basic structures of our understanding of the world and ourselves which is emerging in the wake of the comprehensive mediatization of human experience of time. On the one hand lies an indispensable chance in this for the constitution of "European cultural identity"; on the other hand it harbours the danger of "a hegemonic center's" establishing itself, one which might soar to beco me the media centre of a new imperium.

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

A Comparison of Butlers Life and Kindred Essay -- comparison compare

A Comparison of Butler's Life and Kindred    What lies in the mind of an author as he or she begins the long task of writing a fiction novel? This question can be answered if the author's life is studied and then compared to the work itself. Octavia E. Butler's life and her novel Kindred have remarkable comparisons. This essay will point out important events of Butler's life and how they link to the mentioned novel. Octavia Estelle Butler was born on June 22, 1947 in Pasadena, California (Voices From 1). She began her life with many hardships as an only child and having her father die when she was very young (Voices From 1). She grew up in a location that had a wide variety of racial backgrounds, however Butler never felt like she lived in a world of segregation (Notable Black 144). She describes the situation best when she states, "I never...lived in a segregated neighborhood nor went to segregated school; the whole community was an economic ghetto" (Notable Black 144). The lack of money sometimes creates a humble atmosphere and that must have been the case with Pasadena throughout her childhood. Until this point it seems as if Butler had a very unhappy childhood, but the life that she was living was shaping her to become the great author that she is today. Trials can become positive experiences for one to grow and mature and this was definitely her case. Having been an only child, Butler spent most of her time surrounded by an adult crowd, presumably the acquaintances of her mother (Notable Black 144). Thus, she grew up as a "very solitary individual" (Notable Black 144). She was also inflicted with dyslexia, which made it very difficult for her to keep up with the rest of the children her age (Notable Black 144).... ...utler, Octavia E. Kindred. Boston: Beacon Press, 1979. Doerksen, Teri Ann. Into Darkness Peering : Race and Color in the Fantastic. Ed. Elisabeth Anne Leonard. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press, 1997. Gates, Jr., Henry Louis, and Dorothy Allison. Reading Black, Reading Feminist: A Critical Anthology. Ed. Henry Louis Gates. New York: Meridian Book, 1990. Jackson, Jerome H. "Sci-fi Tales from Octavia E. Butler." The Crisis 101.3(1994): 4-5,10. Smith, Jessie Carney, Ed. Notable Black American Women. Detroit: Gale Research, 1992. Stevenson, Rosemary. Black Women in America: an Historical Encyclopedia. Ed. Darlene Clark Hine, Elsa Barkley Brown, Rosalyn Terborg-Penn. Brooklyn, N.Y.: Carlson Pub., 1993. "Voices From the Gaps -- Women Writers of Color." July 31, 1998. October 14, 1998. http://english.cla.umn.edu/Ilkd/vfg/Authors/OctaviaButler.

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Montessori Method

What does this term â€Å"Normalization† mean? Normalization is a term that causes a great deal of confusion and some concern among many new Montessori Parents. Normalization is indeed not the best choice of words! It suggests that we are going to help children who are not normal to become â€Å"normal. † This is definitely not what Maria Montessori meant. Normalization is Montessori’s name for the process that takes place in Montessori classrooms around the world, through which young children learn to focus their intelligence, concentrate their energies for long periods, and take tremendous satisfaction from their work. In his book, Maria Montessori: Her Life and Work, E. M. Standing described the following characteristics of normalization in the child between the age of three and six: †¢ A love of order †¢ A love of work †¢ Profound spontaneous concentration †¢ Attachment to reality †¢ Love of silence and of working alone †¢ Sublimation of the possessive instinct †¢ Obedience †¢ Independence and initiative †¢ Spontaneous self-discipline †¢ Joy †¢ The power to act from real choice and not just from idle curiosity Kay Futrell in her classic little book, The Normalized Child, describes Dr. Montessori’s amazement when the 60 frightened and ill-disciplined inner-city children of her first Children’s House began to respond to the new environment. â€Å"What followed seemed incredible even to Dr. Montessori, for the deprived children blossomed under this freedom, and the possibility of doing work suited to their needs. They revealed to her not only their enormous capacity for intellectual accomplishment, but a strange character of sweetness and serenity. They displayed a truly uncorrupted spirit, scorning rewards and punishment, and finding their joy in the prodigious work which involved them. They came from these labours refreshed, as from a creative experience, and as they worked, they grew in inner discipline and peace. The sight of these children, who displayed the truly â€Å"normal† characteristics of childhood, was the force which motivated Maria Montessori for the remainder of her life. This secret of childhood she pursued with great vitality, and from her tireless observations and efforts, evolved her perception of the child’s psychic personality. As she travelled from country to country, lecturing, training teachers, helping to establish school after school, this same phenomenon was observed wherever conditions promoting its growth were perfectly realized. This normalized child is the image which Montessori teachers keep uppermost in their minds. This is what we are striving for, what we hope to achieve. However, this child will only appear if we conscientiously prepare ourselves and our classrooms and if we can build on the proper preparation in the child’s home. Normalization is another word for what we call Montessori’s JOYFUL Scholars! What Outcomes Can We Look for If We Give Our Child a Montessori Education? Here are eight primary aspects we normally find in children who have grown up with a Montessori education: †¢ Academic Preparation: Montessori prepares students both for higher education and for life. On an academic level, Montessori helps students attain skills that allow them to become independently functioning adults and life-long learners. †¢ Intrinsic Motivation: Innate desire drives Montessori children to engage in activities for enjoyment and satisfaction. †¢ Internalized Ground Rules and the Ability to Work with External Authority: Montessori students are normally comfortable with ground rules that set the boundaries for their interactions within the school community. Because these ground rules become internalized, Montessori students normally learn to behave appropriately whether or not teachers are present. †¢ Social Responsibility: Montessori children tend to be quite sensitive to the rights and needs of others. They tend to make a positive contribution to their community. †¢ Autonomy: Montessori students tend to become self-directed, composed and morally independent. †¢ Confidence and Competence: Montessori students tend to become confident, competent, self-reflective, and, thereby, successful. They are generally not afraid of failure and learn from mistakes. †¢ Creativity and Originality of Thought: Montessori students normally become confident in expressing their own ideas and creativity. They recognize the value of their own work, respect the creative process of others and are willing to share their ideas regardless of the risk of rejection. Montessori students tend to take great satisfaction in self-expression. †¢ Spiritual Awareness: Montessori students are often exceptionally compassionate, empathetic, and sensitive to the natural world and the human condition. Montessori Method Discipline Traditionally it is felt that if we want to have disciplined children then we must exert some kind of control over them so that in the end they bow to our superior strength and adopt our way of acting. We do not expect self – discipline to arise spontaneously in children – we tend to think it is something that we need to impose on a child. Of course if we set limits for desired behaviour and we make sure the child stays rigidly within these limits then what we will see superficially is a child that ‘does as he is told. But this is not self – discipline – this is the kind of discipline that disappears as soon as the adult exerting their will disappears. Maria Montessori hoped for so much more than this. . Montessori said that if we want to help children develop into self disciplined adults then we need to provide the kind of environment that will help the child to create a strong will – when self control is born within the child and is not imposed externally it is a lasting discipline that will stay with him through his life. ook at the traditional view of discipline and contrast it with the way in which self – discipline is developed according to the principles of Maria Montessori. It will be of interest to all who would like to understand more about the apparent Montessori contradiction that self – discipline can be nurtured by granting the child freedom. As Maria Montessori says: One of the greatest difficulties in securing discipline lies in the fact that it cannot be obtained simply with words†¦ Discipline is therefore attained indirectly, that is, by developing activity in spontaneous work. Everyone must learn how to control himself and how to engage in calm and silent activity, for no other purpose than that of keeping alive that inner flame on which life depends. † Montessori Method Discipline Traditionally it is felt that if we want to have disciplined children then we must exert some kind of control over them so that in the end they bow to our superior strength and adopt our way of acting. We do not expect self – discipline to arise spontaneously in children – we tend to think it is something that we need to impose on a child. Of course if we set limits for desired behaviour and we make sure the child stays rigidly within these limits then what we will see superficially is a child that ‘does as he is told. But this is not self – discipline – this is the kind of discipline that disappears as soon as the adult exerting their will disappears. Maria Montessori hoped for so much more than this. . Montessori said that if we want to help children develop into self disciplined adults then we need to provide the kind of environment that will help the child to create a strong will – when self control is born within the child and is not imposed externally it is a lasting discipline that will stay with him through his life. ook at the traditional view of discipline and contrast it with the way in which self – discipline is developed according to the principles of Maria Montessori. It will be of interest to all who would like to understand more about the apparent Montessori contradiction that self – discipline can be nurtured by granting the child freedom. As Maria Montessori says: One of the greatest difficulties in securing discipline lies in the fact that it cannot be obtained simply with words†¦ Discipline is therefore attained indirectly, that is, by developing activity in spontaneous work. Everyone must learn how to control himself and how to engage in calm and silent activity, for no other purpose than that of keeping alive that inner flame on which life depends. †

Monday, September 16, 2019

Politics and Development in Asia

1. In what political respects is the developing world truly developing, and in what significant parts of it are not? Discuss and substantiate by giving examples (Focus: Asia)In understanding political developments in Asia, being the bulk of the world’s developing nations, I begin this paper by looking at the historical developments that have largely shaped and defined the Asian nations. More importantly I focus on the Southeast Asian region of the continent due to its diversity as well as the pervading regional cooperation that has directly affected, if not impacted other Asian countries during the years after World War II. Secondly I would draw three distinctions of how developing nations are truly developing with respects to three vital political areas, mainly: the functions of the government, the electoral process and the participation of civil society. These three aspects would focus on how developing nations in Asia have managed to progress politically after its democracy was established.Historical OverviewGeographically speaking the Asian continent spans 17 million square kilometers and is home to a population of over 4 billion people. In the past 60 or so years it has largely been host to over a dozen developing nations such as: the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Myanmar, Cambodia, Vietnam and also to progressive developing or developed nations as well. This balance between developing and developed nations is attributed to the influences and a country’s experience under colonial rule. During this era, Europeans believed that Asians were largely backward both socially and economically and only served for the economic enhancement of its parent nation (Charskykh, 2005), more importantly the locals in these countries served the purpose of being the labor force of their colonial masters. It was through this labor and various instances of social, physical and mental discrimination that many of the Asian countries that had been colonized were f orced to revolt.This sense of nationalism, even at its most infantile  stages (as seen in Philippine society) had helped to consolidate and unify the different levels of society to enact political change that would help in the betterment of the country. Revolution being the catalyst for political change in Asia has helped foster the spread of independent governments, however it can also be said that revolution wasn’t the only catalyst for the development of early political change in the region.It was during the events that occurred after World War II—the Cold War—that further changed the political landscape of the Asian region, the age of multi-polarity in Richard Haas’ article on The Age of Non-polarity (2008) draws a distinction that countries were further developed wherein power of two sovereign nations (the United States and the USSR) helped numerous Asian countries as a means of spreading ideological and political attitudes among different countrie s. The age of non-polarity as well as the effects of the Cold War helped to consolidate and change the different Asian countries political institutions, structures and the very mechanisms, which are evident in today’s countries.Political DevelopmentIt can be said that countries in Asia, seeing from the events or circumstances that had shaped it historically, is seen as a progressive continent host to many of the world’s developing nations. In recent years, Asia has played a large role in defining East-West relations both politically and economically. With the growing influence and presence of China, the world has turned its eye on the eastern portion of the map and thus, this has helped to bring in numerous investments and interests to the region. However, despite this surge of regional interest, Asia still has many issues to tackle, such as the role of democracy and the democratization process that some countries are sorely lacking, this is part and parcel to the form ation of their government, its role and function that should help and aid the people. Secondly, the electoral process, which has served to gauge how democratized a country is to the point that it is willing to progress.More importantly, the electoral processes in a developing country is often observed and watched because of how it affects the people—being the  most basic right to political participation and representation—and by large its effects on a country’s relations with its Asian and global neighbors. Lastly the participation of civil society, in any democratized nation, civil society plays a key role in strengthening and forwarding the issues that are important to the people to the government. More than that, civil society has also played a role in disciplining the government through its â€Å"expose and oppose† tactics, tactics that have helped initiate change in the government through the passing of laws and reforms that would protect the basic rights of the citizens.Functions of the GovernmentAs mentioned earlier, Asian governments being a direct product of independence from the de-colonization process or a product of a bi-polar world order are currently experience what political scientists call the â€Å"third wave† of democracy. This third wave according to Samuel Huntington (1990) is essentially characterized by the loss of legitimacy of authoritarian regimes, a growth in economic output, changes in the Catholic Church; regional contingency factors; and external factors (notably the influence of the European Union and the US). Huntington’s Third Wave of democracy enabled many newly independent countries to establish themselves in their region, much in the same way the Philippines, India, Indonesia and Malaysia did after the Second World War and the subsequent years after. Moreover, because of the waves of democratization, these fledgling governments sought to establish their own national identity as well as strengthen its patrimony. Hence we see governments working to abolish and reform parts of their system from colonial influences or vestiges of it.Hence, governments in Asia are functioning however to use the standards of many Western nations, there are countries that are still in need of further development. Governments in this continent are developing in the sense that immediately after their independence they had begun instituting change, the passage of laws that would be favorable to its people and not to its foreign neighbors or former colonial masters. More importantly, it was the passing of their own constitution, which embodied their own ideals and aspirations.Besides that being a democratic country, governments have taken into effect the very thing that they weren’t able to have under colonial rule, their rights and privileges. Like any other democratic country, the government as well as its branches is tasked with the preservation of their constituent’s ba sic human, political and social rights. Moreover the governments of Asia during this third wave of democratization have largely distanced itself from the use of its military to coerce the people into action, as seen in the case of the political upheavals in Indonesia, Malaysia and even the Philippines that help restore civilian rule and enact legislation that places all decision-making processes of the military under civilian authority.Hence, the role of the government and its development in the political landscape of Asia is essentially characterized by the waves of democracy that had followed after numerous political and social upheavals that had happened in the region that had allowed for democracy to proper. Moreover, the political development of Asia is largely attributed to the national identity that had been formed prior to their independence as well as the belief that civilian authority should pervade in all aspects of the government structure.Electoral ProcessesThe electora l process of Asia and by large any democratic country for that matter has been part and parcel of strengthening the democratization of any country. More importantly the electoral processes is seen as the establishment and legitimizing of a government that would adhere to the standards of different political watchdogs, media and Western governments that have investments in a particular Asian country.Electoral process as a measure of political development in developing nations usually stems from the desire to fulfill some of the promises of democracy or change the democratic landscape to as fulfill the problem of diminished and failed expectations of democracy as embodied in Mark Warren’s article on democratic participation (p. 679, 2002), drawing from the  experiences from the Asian countries such as Thailand; democracy through its elections has failed to address the needs of its people. This has led to the disillusionment or disenfranchisement of voters that have led citize ns to become critical of their government.Elections in Southeast Asian countries strengthen the political participation of different levels of society by allowing greater sectoral participation as well as the existence of party-list systems that aim to bridge the gap between the government and civil society itself. More importantly elections are a way for allowing a wide-range of issues and platforms of dialogues to be tackled and addressed so as to initiate reform and change within a system that a citizen may no longer believe in. It is because of this most basic political aspect that citizens are duly empowered to create an environment that would allow them greater representation and for their issues to be heard because the electoral processes in any democratic country is an avenue for change.Civil SocietyThrough the efforts of electoral processes in developing nations, civil society also plays a larger role in the development of democracies in the continent. Civil society is the representation of the people to the government; they serve as the platforms of dialogues as well as the source of political lobbying and confrontation. Such as the case in Myanmar where various civil groups protested against government action levied by the military junta against Aung San Suu Kyi, in China the protestation of their freedom to express themselves freely has been an issue that had led to the pullout of some international companies that had censured their content.Besides these all too familiar modes of political confrontation, civil society also lobbies for issues that marginalize a certain group of people. They represent and voice out the concerns of societies that the government may have neglected to address. Secondly civil society also exposes and opposes those people in the establishment of their crimes. Governmental crimes that range from graft and corruption to other irregularities in the system that seek to create inequality or those that would benefit only a cert ain individual or group of people that would directly benefit from such  a malfeasance.Another aspect of civil society in Asia is that it is vibrant, in the sense that these groups are constantly vigilant of the government’s movements, procedures and every minute detail that would affect the people. One could say that the government cannot move without some group or party noticing it. Because of this vibrancy there is a wider range of perspectives and opinions that the government has to address to allow equality and participation of the people and the groups that represent their interests.ConclusionPolitically speaking, the developing nations in Asia are truly developing albeit at a slow pace, however these countries face numerous problems such as the prevalence of cacique democracy, patron-client relationships, the growing incidence of graft and corruption as well as the lack of accountability and transparency. Besides these institutional problems, Asian countries are quic k to act using means that would question the legitimacy of a government (i.e. People Power revolutions both in the Philippines and Indonesia).Thirdly, political developments in an Asian country has only helped to serve the elites of society by creating laws that would greatly benefit them or help them stay in power. And lastly there is the proliferation of political dynasties and the existence of bureaucratic powers that have limited the progression of democracy and equality in the government. 2. Are the main political trends experienced by the developing world in recent decades summed up best by increasing diversity or alternatively growing convergence? Discuss extensively (Focus: Asia).In today’s globalized world, political trends have been largely varied in different parts of the world, yet each of these trends have helped in the establishment of strong governments and a vibrant civil society. The growing political trend of today’s developing world is the use of med ia as a platform of dialogue and garnering a wider influence that spans not just local but international borders as well.Secondly, the sudden rise of terrorism and the increase of regional and global security at the onset of the 21st century, has made steady grounds in the discussion of what could  and should be done to address political upheaval brought about by the events of September 11, 2001 in the United States. Thirdly, the further strengthening of regional and international economic and political cooperation, with respects to China, Singapore and Japan as emerging economies of the 21st century and how this has affected Western influences in the continent.MediaAs mentioned earlier in my introduction, one of the prevailing political trends of the developing world is the use of media—in all its forms—to further the cause of both civilian and the government. In this highly globalized world, the media is at the forefront of providing information that would either h elp or discredit a politician or the government. In recent years, the prevalence of media in all aspects of society was seen through the formation of websites designed for greater interaction (Web 2.0) that allows ordinary people to post, comment or critique on issues that are miles apart.During the 2008 US elections, media helped to bolster the presence of candidates running for the presidency, using new technologies that allowed ordinary people’s opinions and questions to be heard and also to evaluate these candidates based on their answers. Hence, in Zaller’s paper titled â€Å"A Theory of Media Politics† (1999)â€Å"For politicians, the goal of media politics is to use mass communication to mobilize the public support they need to win elections and to get their programs enacted while in office. For journalists, the goal of media politics is to produce stories that attract big audiences and that emphasize the â€Å"Independent and Significant Voice of Journ alists.† For citizens, the goal is to monitor politics and hold politicians accountable on the basis of minimal effort†.Another instance of the use of media to change or forward opinion and movement was during the elections in Iran that were heavily critical of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s re-election to the presidency of Iran. His re-election served as a catalyst for media and the Internet to react and criticize what  the public perceived as the massive fraud and failure of elections that was happening. On Myanmar, during the events that led to the arrest of an American that had â€Å"trespassed† opposition leader’s Aung San Suu Kyi’s home led to a media storm that called for the violation of human rights of both the leader and the American.Thus, media as a political trend is vastly critical in denouncing governmental actions that it perceives as the limitation of political movement (freedom of speech and expression) as well the protection and adv ancement of issues that span borders. It is evident that through the Internet and other forms of media that political issues are now known globally, that one portion of the world can already actively participate in issues that are important to them.Security and TerrorismEven before the events of September 11, 2001 terrorism and security in the developing world, specifically the Southeast Asian region of the world, had been experiencing increasingly high levels of terrorist activities due in part to the movement of terrorist cells that had existed during the height of the Cold War and after the fall of Communism in 1991 led to the establishment of different Islamic terrorist groups in Central Asia then would later branch out to the different regions of Southeast Asia. According to Ambassador Alfonso T. Yuchengco in his speech titled â€Å"Islamist Terrorism in Southeast Asia† (2003) he mentions that the movement of these splinter groups led to the formation of the Jemaah Islam iyah terrorist cell which has been operating in different parts of Southeast Asia such as Indonesia, Pakistan and the Philippines.The terrorist group has played a large part in redefining internal security in the region due to its attacks following the events of 9-11 such as the 2002 Bali Bombings and other campaigns of terror done by the JI in Indonesia,. More importantly, Yuchengco stressed on the growing problem that this groups are privately trained and funded by Middle-Eastern groups such as the Al Qaida network. This has led to a crackdown of terrorist and militant groups as well as the pressuring of the United States of respective SEA governments to crackdown on suspected militant groups, individuals and organizations (Vaughn, B., et al, 2009).Regional and International CooperationWith the bulk of developing nations concentrated in the Asian regions as well the various emerging economies in Asia, it is evident and imperative that one of the political trends in developing nati ons is the bolstering of regional and international cooperation both economically and politically.The bolstering of these two types of cooperation is vastly seen in the scope of Foreign Policy goals as both milieu and direct national goals. Milieu in the sense that these Asian nations are doing not for the self-interest of their country but rather â€Å"nations pursuing them are out not to defend or increase possessions they hold to the exclusion of others, but aim instead at shaping conditions beyond their national boundaries†. And secondly, direct national goals those that focus on national dependence, or national/collective security or the enhancement of trade relations and negations between two different nation-states (Wolfers, A., 1962).Regional and International cooperation has since become a trend due to the growing number of emerging and so-called â€Å"Tiger Economies† that have helped attract the interests of Western nations in the continent, this has helped to bring in foreign direct investments. More importantly the cooperation isn’t just focused primarily on nation-states economic agreements with one another but also the existence of international NGO’s aimed at developing different parts of developing countries. These NGO’s sole purpose is to help achieve sustainable development and provide livelihood and to help alleviate poverty and bridge the gap between the rich and the poor (Todaro, M., 2008).Increasing Divergence or Alternatively Growing ConvergenceFrom the effects of globalization it is evident that the through the political trends of the media, security and terrorism, and regional and international cooperation among developing and developed nation-states there is an alternatively growing convergence. Through the events following the end of the Cold War as well as numerous political upheavals in Asian and European countries that have led to countries being democratized, there is a convergence of political trends.Convergences in the sense that the factors  mentioned earlier have been able to establish significant changes in the internal political structures of a country, which have ultimately affected its relations with its neighboring countries. This convergence of political trends enables countries to share the same ideas and perspectives regarding key issues that would help or empower their country and other countries as well. Because of the strengthening of key issues, there are greater levels of cooperation and dialogue that helps in the advancement of relationships between nation-states.3. Identify and discuss the internal (domestic) and external factors that contributed to the democratization of a developing world. After identifying, discuss the comparative importance of both factors in the process of democratization. (Focus: 1 Asian country).PhilippinesThe Philippines has long been considered to be the bastion of democracy in the Asian continent, moreover it is also its old est democratic country. In nearly a century, the Philippines has progressed democratically internally through the following aspects: democratic transitions after Marcos’ regime, the existence of constitutional reforms. On the other hand the external factors that contributed to the democratization of the developing world are: the Philippines’ relations with former communist countries and its relationship with the Islamic countriesInternal FactorsInternally, the Philippines contributed to the democratization of the world by showing exactly how it transitioned democratically from an authoritarian regime to that of a democratic one. It was the events of People Power I and thereafter that showed how much progress the Philippines had made during its darkest days. The People Power revolution showed that when the government becomes a problem, as specified in some of the categories when a democratic government is no longer a democratic one when its people has lost its trust on the government, it destroys the community order and many more.These  distinctions helped to unify the people to action because of the belief that democracy should fulfill and meet the expectations of its people. In the context of Philippine society, Marcosian rule helped to create a vibrant civil society hence Clifton Sherrill (2006 p. 224) states, â€Å"the need for such groups is critical given the existing social order.Because the traditional elites dominate society, only through mass organization can the lower class establish an audible political view†, in this statement it was evident that political participation by the people were severely limited. In any democratic country, civil society allows for the people to voice out their concerns, that Mark Warren (2002 p. 681) states that when the government has failed to realize the promises it had set out to fill, the citizens become critical of their government, thus the establishment is seen as â€Å"incompetent, untrust worthy, and even corrupt†.More importantly civil society drawing their experiences from the Martial Law period has opted to stay on the streets, since civil society is composed of different groups each with varying opinions â€Å"these groups have consistently played a crucial role in mobilizing civil society to defend the democratic transition and to check authoritarian tendencies on the part of political elites† (Eaton, K., 2003, p. 487). Hence it can be concluded that from our experiences under Marcos’ rule we have managed to create a democracy that is more critical and observant of the movement of the government. It is able to discernAnother aspect of democratic transitions after Marcos’ rule are the constitutional reforms enacted, mainly the creation of a multi-party/party-list system and the safeguards embodied in the constitution against authoritarian tendencies. Firstly the 1987 Philippine constitution allowed and introduced provisions that were â €Å"designed to widen democratic space and allow for greater participation of other sectors in Philippine society† and more importantly the inception of the party-list law was to serve as the mechanism for proportional representation in the different marginalized sectors of society (Teehankee, n.d. p. 180; p. 182).Through the introduction of such a provision, this allowed for greater civic participation of the people, the allowing of different marginalized groups help to put key issues of concerns such as: development, rights and those that have minimal representation or who have no voice in society (i.e. the  unborn). On the other hand, the framers of the constitution also included specific portions in the constitution that would limit the powers of the president and the military. Some of the basic safeguards is the often cited principle of â€Å"checks and balances† but more than that, the constitution also implemented provisions such as the declaration of martial law with the concurrence of the congress, the creation of the Sandiganbayan to curtail graft and corruption within the government (De Leon, H., 2001).External FactorsExternally the Philippines has contributed to the democratization of developing countries by pursuing a foreign policy that is mutually beneficial to both parties. In this portion of the paper I will be discussing how the Philippines in a span of 50 years or so years has maintained diplomatic and democratic relations between Islamic countries and former Communist countries. These external relations done by the Philippines shows how democracy has helped the country establish important economic and political linkages with many of the world’s fledgling democracies and maintain cordial relations with international organizations with regards to its own internal conflicts. I begin by looking at the Philippines and its relation with the Islamic countries, then by looking at the Philippines and its relations with a commu nist country, particularly that of China.The Philippines and the Islamic countries relationship has long been a colorful one, it stems from the Philippines’ relations with other Islamic nations. A relationship that had relied heavily on global interdependency in the Middle East, due to the large supply of oil in the region, the need to expand the markets of the Philippines, and the growing number of OFW’s in the region (Wadi, J., 1998). It was because of these key factors that the Philippines has remained strong diplomatic relations with the other Islamic countries, this type of relationship was geared towards a mutual interdependence both financially and economically. However, the Philippines had also play a significant role with regards to its special relationship with the United States.This relationship with the US as well as their influence over the Philippines’ foreign policy had alienated other countries, particularly Pakistan after the creation of the Isr aeli state in  1948. It was only in 1973 during the Arab oil boycott that the Philippines â€Å"embarked on an unprecedented diplomatic offensive to recognize almost twenty countries in the Islamic world in the 70s†. This form of action helped to bolster the presence of the Middle East not just in the Asian continent but also help in the growth of their presence in the Southeast Asian region. The pursuit of mutual interdependence is largely seen as an effort to democratize relations between former colonial countries as well as to establish strong cultural and economical linkages that would help the Philippines in tackling many of its internal problems, notably the conflicts in Mindanao.The second aspect is the relationship of the Philippines with other communist countries notably the People’s Republic of China (PRC) during the 1970s when it was advocating for the implementation of the â€Å"One China Policy† in the UN. The relationship of the two countries are strongly linked with our earlier formal diplomatic relations with the Republic of China (ROC) or Taiwan, during the height of the Cold War, the Philippines had maintained a decisively strong anti-communist stance and thus resolved to deal mostly with Taiwan, which at the time was the duly-recognized Chinese country.Our foreign relations with the ROC (due in part to the influence of Americans) were primarily focused on maintaining a strategic military advancement within the region as well as the curtailing of the spread of communism within the region. However, much in the same way that the 1973 Arab oil boycott affected the country, under the presidency of Marcos, the country began establishing more formal diplomatic relations with the PRC. A relationship that was to help the Philippines sustain growth by accepting oil shipments from them in exchange for the PRC to import Philippine products such as coconut oil, lumber sugar, copper ore, and other metals. Hence in the years that fol lowed, even after the fall of communism, the country’s relationship with China has been economically and culturally focused (Lim, B., 1998).Comparative ImportanceThe comparative importance of the two factors is seen in their reciprocation  towards one another. In the context of Philippine politics and society, internally we face numerous problems that hinder our growth and development, especially after numerous political and social upheavals that have constantly marred our progress and image towards other Asian nations. However, through the enactment of certain reforms internally, we are thereby creating a political landscape bereft of anomalies and other discrepancies that would otherwise hinder the maturation of the country’s political system.It was because of the events of Martial Law and the People Power Revolution during the early 70’s and the late 80’s that we have managed to transform the country into one that is highly critical of the actions of the government and yet allow it to function within the rule of the civilians as opposed to the rule of the military. More importantly, through the advancement of civic participation within the country, the Philippines is able to garner a wider perspective and opinion on the issues that it needs to tackle. By creating a strong society, the country is able to externally project itself as able to handle different and vital political relations that would be beneficial to the establishment of a stronger society both politically and economically.