Thursday, October 31, 2019

Different Kinds of Scientific Fraud Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Different Kinds of Scientific Fraud - Assignment Example One of the serious cases of scientific fraud involves carrying out a research process that does not conform to the expected rigour. For example, if a scientist adopts a quantitative paradigm, he or she faces the compulsion of formulating both a null and alternative hypotheses. The data collected in such a research should help the researcher test the two hypotheses and adopt one of them depending on the statistical correlation identified. However, many researchers adopting the quantitative approach claim to have indulged in a rigorous data collection, analysis and hypothesis testing while in a real sense, they have not. Some of them face the temptation of manipulating data to soot the hypothesis that they think is right. The use of unreliable statistical tools also compromises the quality of data analysis.Scientific fraud may involve the production of a scientific paper aimed at presenting the different steps adopted in the research process. In a real sense, a scientific paper is a th eoretical reconstruction of all the activities undertaken by the researcher. However, many researchers only report aspects of their research that proved successful. They prefer to omit cases of failed experiments because of poor design, erroneous data analysis. This is the reason why many of the research papers published seem to insinuate that the researcher had a carefully arranged proposal and outline and that implementation of the research paradigm adopted was of a very high standard.

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Professional development plan for a teacher Assignment

Professional development plan for a teacher - Assignment Example This research will begin with the statement that teaching is a complex profession that needs teachers to incorporate both the technological innovation and the art of their art in order to impact studies. However, the people involved in the profession like teachers at times fail to see the complexity hence implemented; the arts have little or no effect. Therefore, technological innovation of teaching demands to know studying theory and how the brain functions. The art of teaching needs teachers to synthesize content, procedure, products, and environmental resources to create engaging studying actions that enhance the success of diverse students. Moreover, teachers must perfect the art and technological innovation of teaching in a world that is recognized by rapid change increased social variety and significant progression and application of information. Such a world needs educational institutions to enhance what is certified, how it is certified, the stage to which students know what is certified, and the components required to coming back up studying among employees and students. According to Sousa & Tomlinson, the Professional Growth and Performance Plan explain a procedure that awards differences among teachers, encourages beneficial change, and provides concrete support for enhancing studying and teaching. Teachers and administrators perform together to evaluation performance on requirements, talk about ways to enhance studying and teaching, and identify professional growth goals... Purpose five and the actions particular that support this goal has been designed for those educators who’s Expert Growth Activities/Plans involves helping other teachers develop professionally (Sousa & Tomlinson, 2011). Some of the places my goals will concentrate on include: 1. Mindset, learning environment and differentiation 2. Curriculum and differentiation 3. Assessment and differentiation 4. Student readiness and differentiation 5. Student interest and differentiation 6. Student learning profile and differentiation 7. Managing a differentiated classroom The general activities I will engage in to realize my goals and develop professionally include: 1. I will enhance my teaching abilities to be able to better support special needs students by staying current with new educational methods through professional development in-services, classes and alternatives. 2. I will support and help teacher entry season teachers to help them become effective unique information teachers by guidance and referring to my information, teaching methods and components used dealing with special needs students. 3. I will obtain the information required to gather information, create components and put into place personalized studying /behavior programs that are appropriate for personal autistic children by dealing with the school system autism specialist and by getting element autism classes. 4. I will enhance my abilities in teaching students so they can enhance higher student studying by getting my Experts Degree in Curriculum Development. 5. I will obtain several methods to enhance and indicate upon my group place teaching to be able to become a

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Roles of Windows Server 2012

Roles of Windows Server 2012 Margaret Webb Edition Idea for High level feature-comparison Licensing Model Memory Limits Foundation Costs-efficient all around server Essential server functionality without virtualization rights Server (Limited to 15 users) 32 GB Ram Essentials Environments in small companies Essential server functionality without virtualization rights Server (Limited to 25 users) 64 GB ram Standard Non-virtualized or lightly virtualized environments All features, with two virtual instances Processor + CAL* 4 TB Ram Datacenter Highly-virtualized private cloud management All features are unlimited virtual instances Processor + CAL* 4 TB Ram #2 A private cloud facilitating arrangement, otherwise called an interior or undertaking cloud, lives on organizations intranet or facilitated server farm where the greater part of your information is secured behind a firewall. Public cloud facilitating arrangement. Your information is put away in the suppliers server farm and the supplier is in charge of the administration and upkeep of the server farm. This kind of cloud condition is speaking to many organizations since it decreases lead times in testing and sending new items. Nonetheless, the downside is that many organizations feel security could need with an open cloud. Despite the fact that you dont control the security of an open cloud, the greater part of your information stays isolate from others and security breaks of open mists are uncommon. VDI stands for Virtual desktop infrastructure which has a desktop working framework on a concentrated server in a server farm. VDI is a minor departure from the customer server registering model, some of the time alluded to as server-based processing. 1) Pooled assets: This implies we manage assets at a total level as opposed to at the level of individual servers. The cloud uncovered a pool of limit with regards to use by administrations that require the limit, and this deliberation decouples the virtualized workloads from the physical framework, permitting dynamic workload arrangement and autonomous foundation administration. 2) Self-Service: In the cloud demonstrate, benefit purchasers can utilize a self-benefit involvement, regularly an electronic entrance, to get to the limit they have been assigned, self-arrangement workloads from standing up a solitary VM to sending a perplexing administration, and deal with the life cycle of those workloads. 3) Elasticity: Cloud Elasticity implies that the framework can bolster the changing needs of the association, sending new administrations as required, distributing more assets to administrations that experience overwhelming burden or de-allotting assets to spare power when the heap is light. With cross-cloud administration, workloads can likewise move amongst private and open mists, giving additional limit, geo-scale reach, or different qualities as required. 4) Usage Based: In the cloud show, clients are charged or if nothing else get educated on their cloud asset utilization in light of their genuine asset utilization #3 Resilient File System (ReFS), codenamed Protogon, is a Microsoft exclusive record framework presented with Windows Server 2012 with the goal of turning into the people to come document framework after NTFS. The reason you would utilize it is helps you store and ensure information, paying little mind to the dependability of the basic equipment and programming stack. This limits the cost of capacity and lessens capital uses for organizations. You can convey a Windows Server 2012 R2 document server connected to an only a cluster of plates (JBOD) stockpiling setup with Serial ATA (SATA) or Serially Attached SCSI (SAS) drives. Also, the arrangement could incorporate failover grouping where the client sends a scale-out, two-hub record server bunch with Storage Spaces, where the group utilizes a mutual JBOD stockpiling design with SAS drives #4 Server Roles: !) Active Directory Certificate Services 2) Active Directory Domain Services The primary Windows Server 2012/R2 part that I would introduce on a server for a small assembling organization is the Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS) part. The reason I would introduce this part on small assembling organizations server is because it permits the Windows Server 2012/R2 go about as a space controller. This is valuable for the assembling organization since it handles confirmation and approval for every one of the workers that are in a Windows area condition. The second Windows Server 2012/R2 part Active Directory Certificate Services (AD CS) gives adjustable administrations to issuing and overseeing endorsements in programming security frameworks that utilization open key advances. For foundation data about open key cryptography and the advantages of having an open key framework (PKI), You can utilize AD CS to make at least one affirmation specialists (CA) to get testament demands, check the data in the solicitations and the character of the requester, issue endorsements, renounce declarations, and distribute authentication denial information. #5 Server Core establishments require around 4 GB less space than a Server with a GUI establishment. By utilizing Server Core establishments on virtual machines, you can accomplish a huge space funds by not storing the GUI records on the virtual machines plate. Servers frequently have nearly a lot of memory and complex plate clusters, both of which can set aside a lot of opportunity to instate at startup. Since Server Core establishments limit the quantity of restarts required for updates, the recurrence at which plate clusters and memory must be re-introduced is lessened. Certain server applications have conditions on specific Windows administrations, libraries, applications, and records that are not accessible in Server Core establishments, but rather the manager needs to exploit the decreased requirement for refreshing commonplace of Server Core establishments. The Minimal Server Interface offers extra similarity while as yet keeping up a diminished framework impression (however to a lesser degree than a Server Core establishment). Highlights on Demand can be utilized to diminish the impression for your virtual machine organizations by evacuating parts and components that will never be sent in your virtual machines. Contingent upon the parts and elements utilized as a part of your virtual machines, it is conceivable to lessen the size by more than 1 GB. Diminished adjusting, Since Server Core introduces just what is required for a reasonable DHCP, File, DNS, Media Services, and Active Directory server, less adjusting is required. Decreased administration, since less is introduced on a Server Core-based server, less administration is required. Decreased assault surface Since there is less running on the server, there is less assault surface. Less plate space required Server Core requires around 3.4GB to introduce. More noteworthy solidness. Since a Server Core establishment has less running procedures and administrations than a Full establishment, the general dependability of Server Core is more noteworthy. Less things can turn out badly, and less settings can be designed mistakenly. Disentangled administration. Since there are less things to oversee on a Server Core establishment, its less demanding to arrange and bolster a Server Core establishment than a Full one-once you get the hang of it.

Friday, October 25, 2019

Minor League Baseball: Boom Or Bust To Communities? :: essays research papers

Minor League Baseball: Boom or Bust to Communities?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Despite the occasional disappointment, minor league baseball provides many communities with economic development and an improved quality of life. Communities as small as Elizabethtown, Tennessee or as large as Phoenix, Arizona have shared the common bond of being the homes of major league farm teams. This is referred to as the National Association of Professional Baseball, or more commonly known as the â€Å"minor leagues.† As the popularity of major league baseball seems to be decreasing due to the recent player strike, free agency, and anti-trust labor laws, minor league baseball has generated excitement that can only be associated with baseball in the good old days. This excitement is a purity of spirit which the majors no longer possess. â€Å"It is baseball in its simplest form-- just ball, bats, gloves, and lifelong dreams. The parks are generally small, the players, hardworking young men whom local fans are likely to run into the next day at the mall or maybe the corner bar. A family of four can see a game, eat dinner--maybe even pick up a souvenir or two--without having to consider a second mortgage. No lockouts, no holdouts, no five-dollar beers, and the umpire is the only one who can call a strike. â€Å"Just the national pastime, played the game it is,† says one editor of The Minor League Baseball Book.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are currently 156 teams that are part of the National Association of Professional Baseball. This number will grow in the next few years with the addition of two expansion teams at the major league level. There have also been a number of independent leagues formed which are said to be the â€Å"future of minor league baseball.† The success of these teams have shown how the value of these franchises have grown over the past ten years. In the past, class AAA teams would sell for three hundred thousand dollars while a smaller class A team went for fifty thousand. Today the class AAA teams are being sold for as high as five million dollars while class A teams are going for around one million. The best example of the fact that franchises have grown in value over the years is the Reading Phillies. Joe Buzas, a minor league baseball entrepreneur, has owned and operated twelve minor league teams in seventeen cities since 1956. In 1976, Buzas bought the Reading Phillies franchise for $1. Ten years later in 1986 he sold it for $1,000,000.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The addition of minor league baseball to communities can provide many benefits. The greatest benefit is the overall economic lift that minor league

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Organizational Structure Essay

In this paper, I will analyze the elements of a job analysis and discuss its significance to the hiring and employee development aspects of human resource management. I will describe the importance of a PAQ, proposing two ways the results can be used to redesign a customer service job for efficiency. I will develop two strategies that HR professionals can in the selection for a customer service position using a Fleishman Job Analysis System. I will examine the challenges for designing this job for efficiency and suggest two ways to redesign it. Finally, I will propose three ways a HR manager can use the information from a job analysis to measure the performance of customer service representatives. One of the most important aspects of human resources is recruiting. In order to recruit the best applicants, job recruiters have to be knowledgeable in all aspects of the position. The best source of information about a position comes from a job analysis. A job analysis is the process of getting detailed information about jobs. A job analysis helps recruiters to match job requirements with the best applicants. It is also essential in employee development, performance appraisals and compensation. A job analysis includes many steps but only three elements. Those elements are the sources of job information, the job specification and the job description. The first element of the job analysis is the source of information used. In doing the analysis, human resource professionals gather information about jobs through interviewing employees, observing performance of certain tasks, asking employees to fill out questionnaires and worksheets, and collecting information about a job from secondary sources. Other sources within the company include existing job descriptions and supervisors. Some of those  secondary sources include existing job analysis information from a competitor and O*NET. Next, the job specification includes the tasks that make up the job, the conditions under which the job is performed and what the job requires in terms of aptitude, knowledge, skills and abilities (Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart, & Wright, 2014). This will provide a lot of data. It measures the amount of time the employee spends on major duties. It provides a description of the major duties in order of importance. It determines whether any licensures, certificates or security clearances are needed to perform the job, as well as the physical, environmental and mental demands of a position. This information is essential in creating a job description. The last element is the job description. â€Å"A job description is a list the tasks, duties, and responsibilities that a job entails (Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart, & Wright, 2014).† A well-written job description can sell jobs to perspective employees and develop training programs as a job position evolves. Sometimes the needs of business changes and therefore some duties may change within a position. â€Å"For the employer, the job description is often used as a recruiting tool and by supervisors to outline position expectations. The job description may be used to indicate salary or reporting structure and as a reference during performance evaluations (Richards, 2014).† Once all the information has been assembled for a job analysis, it can be further analyzed by using a position analysis questionnaire (PAQ). â€Å"A PAQ is a standardized job analysis questionnaire containing 194 questions about work behaviors, work conditions, and job characteristics that apply to a wide variety of jobs (Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart, & Wright, 2014).† The purpose of the questionnaire is to measure the job characteristics and its relation to the human characteristics. The PAQ can be used for a few different things. Common uses include developing a compensation model, selection criteria for a specific job and to study the nature of work (PAQ.com, 2014). A PAQ can be used to redesign a customer service job to be more efficient and improve quality. â€Å"Using the PAQ provides an organization with information that helps in comparing jobs, even when they are dissimilar (Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart, & Wright, 2014).† In making those comparisons, analyzers might find ways to be more efficient. The collected data from this approach helps in developing or revising a job description. In the customer service business the needs of each customer can vary. Therefore, responsibilities of a customer service representative can vary to meet those needs. Those things might not be listed in the job description but will need to be added in order to keep the job description updated. Furthermore, information learned from the PAQ helps in evaluating the position for appropriate classification. A good source to use for worker requirements is the Fleishman Job Analysis system. The Fleishman Job Analysis system (F-JAS) is a job analysis technique that asks subject-matter experts to evaluate a job in terms of the abilities required to perform the job (Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart, & Wright, 2014).† Because the results of a F-JAS, provides a picture of the ability requirements of a job, than recruiters know what abilities to scan for when reviewing resumes. Typing skills might be a skill that is important in a customer service position. The F-JAS can give us an idea of just how important typing is to a job so that we would be able to make reasonable accommodations for an applicant with disabilities. Human resource professionals can also use F-JAS to update job descriptions. As processes change the need for some abilities change as things may become automated, therefore job responsibilities change. â€Å"Kannisto adds, â€Å"With the compliance environment and legal implicat ions, the stakes are a lot higher for job descriptions to be crystal clear with essential responsibilities. If you have a measure of performance that doesn’t appear on the job description and you have a case brought against you, depending on the agency [involved], there could be punishment,† he explains (Tyler, 2013).† When considering the job of a customer service representative (CSR) who handles consumer inquiries for a company that sells items online and by catalog, a few challenges of designing this job for efficiency, come to  mind. The first challenge that comes to mind is monotony. Over time, employees will be bored of doing the same job over and over. Even more so if the job is divided into departments, such as sales, returns and customer service, employees will lose interest. A suggestion for redesigning the customer service representative position is job enlargement. Employees might find the job more engaging if all the calls came through on department. We could cross-train employees to be able to handle all the calls that come through the queue. Another suggestion is job rotation. Maybe every week, we could rotate the tasks. We could also make some customer services responses automated for customers. So if a customer wanted to check status on an order, we could generate a system automa ted response so that those calls don’t come into the call center. Another challenge for designing a customer service representative job is defining authority. Sometimes, customer service requires problem solving and quick decisions. Waiting to speak to a manager can be frustrating for the customer and it makes the employee look incompetent, because it increases hold time. The employee probably feels impotent having to get permission to make a decision, especially when they know what to do. A suggestion for redesigning the CSR’s position is job enrichment. CSR’s need a certain amount of authority when it comes to resolving customer service issues. This is a way to raise productivity levels and employee satisfaction from a sense of personal achievement in taking ownership of problems and meeting the challenge of increased responsibility. A human resource manager (HRM) can use the information obtained from job analysis to measure the performance of a customer service representative. Job analysis is a set of procedures or methods for determining what workers actually do on the job and for describing which aspects of worker knowledge, skill, ability, and other characteristics are needed for job performance. This process defines a productive employee and gives human resource managers a place to start for measuring performance. One way HRM can use this information is in making personnel decisions. This tool can help determine whether an employee should receive a promotion, transfer, pay increase or be fired. It can also be used for employee development. A performance  appraisal will determine the strengths and weaknesses of employees. This is key to helping our CSR’s grow, because we can create training programs to increase their skills levels. Taking the time to strengthen their weaknesses will make them perform better, which is great for the company. Finally, the performance appraisal can be used as documentation to protect a company from lawsuits, because it is used as the basis for personnel decisions. In conclusion, the job analysis is the foundation of most human resource functions. With its use, job descriptions are created and updated which standardizes recruiting. It is a perfect outline for measuring performance of new and existing employees. Job analysis provides training and employee growth opportunities. Personnel decisions are also validated by job analysis, because it creates a system of checks and balances for hiring, performance appraisals, promotion and demotion and/or firing. Works Cited Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart, & Wright, (2014). Fundamentals of Human Resource Management. (5th ed., p. 103). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education. Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart, & Wright, (2014). Fundamentals of Human Resource Management. (5th ed., p. 107). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education. Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart, & Wright, (2014). Fundamentals of Human Resource Management. (5th ed., p. 108). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education. PAQ.com. (2014). The paq program. Retrieved from http://www.paq.com/?FuseAction=Main.PAQProgram Richards, F. (2014). Key parts to job descriptions. The Houston Chronicle. Retrieved from http://work.chron.com/key-parts-job-descriptions-12366.html Tyler, K. (2013, Jan. 01). Job worth doing: Update descriptions. Retrieved from http://www.shrm.org/publications/hrmagazine/editorialcontent/2013/0113/pages/0113-job-descriptions.aspx

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Ethics in Business: Annotated Bibliography Essay

This article discusses how corporations should aim to be responsible for more than just profit maximization. The author goes into the discussion of how downsizing a company violates the psychological and social contracts in the employer-employee relationship. The author seems to support the idea that employees should have a since of security in their job as long as he or she is productively advancing the goals of the organization. Downsizing productive employees harms the moral of the company and violates the trust that hard work makes an employee valuable. The author states that he believes downsizing is immoral and does more damage than good. The author then shows he does not have a complete bias opinion on downsizing because he makes the point that if layoffs are the only way to save a company, downsizing is an ethically valid and morally responsible corporate behavior because the layoffs generate the greatest good for the greatest number. Chafuen, Joseph T. â€Å"Sorrow and Guilt: An Ethical Analysis of Layoffs.† SAM Advanced Management Journal 65.2 (2000): 4–13. Print. Joseph Gilbert who is also a Professor discusses how downsizing can be considered unethical by the use of three prominent ethical approaches: that is rights and duties, utilitarianism, and justice and fairness. Following his analysis, Professor Gilbert makes a deduction that, in cases where downsizing is being used by a corporation or an organization to help it remain in business, otherwise, it goes under, and then it can be considered morally right and consequently ethical corporate behavior. Subsequently, in his use of utilitarian approach which argues that the determination of whether an action is morally right or wrong is entirely dependent on its consequences, downsizing can be considered moral and thus ethical because they result in greatest utility for a large number of people. Further, the  rights and duties approach contents that it is moral to downsize since employees lack absolute rights to their jobs. Nevertheless, the counter argument to ethicality to this is that these same employees still command a right of fair and just treatment. In conclusion, the justice and fairness approach finds downsizing to be immoral. This is because of lack of proportionality an employee`s behavior and the action of termination their duty. In an article â€Å"Strategic downsizing† by David Band and Charles Tustin published in 1995 discusses the fact that downsizing is morally wrong unless the company will not survive without the necessary layoffs. This agrees with the article that was published in 2000 by the Joseph Chafuen because both agree that downsizing a company for the reason of increasing profit is morally wrong. Chafuen also agrees with Band that downsizing in a company is morally correct if it is the best decision for the greatest amount of people. In contrast to the article from the Joseph Chafuen, David Band and Charles Tustin make the point that the unwritten contract between an employee and employer will be broken if downsizing in a company cannot be justified without profit goals in mind. Later in Joseph Chafuen’s article he agrees that it is ethically incorrect to terminate an employee that has been beneficial to the company. Gross, Larry. â€Å"Downsizing: Are Employers Reneging on Their Social Promise.† Society of Chartered Property and Casualty Underwriters. CPCU Journal 54.2 (2001): 112–121. Print. According to Larry Gross, the strategy of downsizing that is at times applied by corporations to their employees is unethical. He argues that this strategy violates the social and psychological contract that exists between the employers and employee. He posits that whenever one is employed, their exists some sense of security that is afforded to the employee by the employer so long as the employee remains committed, efficient, effective, and continues to adhere to the rules, regulations and continues to advance the goals of the organizations towards achieving its vision. Therefore, downsizing of employees who have proved to be productive and have shown  commitment to the organization is immoral because it is a lucid violation of their employment contract. (119) Herbert, Bob. â€Å"Laid Off and Left Out.† The New York Times 25 May 2006. NYTimes.com. Web. 15 Apr. 2014. Whilst reviewing Louis Uchitelle’s book, â€Å"The Disposable American: Layoffs and Their Consequences,† columnist Bob Herbert claims that in as much as the better educated and those that are well or better trained do get better jobs, the reality is that there is inadequacy of available good jobs that is enough to meet the demand for these individuals. Many jobs cannot support the employees anymore. Many people that are laid off from a job is because the company cannot afford to have them; not because of their work quality. This article was useful because while some companies get back-lash for huge layoffs, a lot of the times it was the companies last resort. In an article â€Å"Downsizing: Are Employers Reneging on Their Social Promise† by Larry Gross published in 2001 by CPCU Journal claims that terminating an employee that has been hardworking and valuable to a company breaks the contract between the employee and employer. This agrees with the article â€Å"Laid Off and Left Out† by Bob Herbert published by The New York Times in 2006 because both articles agree that breaking the employee-employer contract does damage to the company’s reputation and repels high-value employees. In contrast to the article from Larry Gross, Bob Herbert says in his article that there are many qualified people that would be hired by company if the company could afford to hire them. Bob Herbert’s article was less bias because he made the point in the company’s defense in some cases both employee and employer suffer from downsizing. McKee, Andrea. â€Å"Costs of Low Wages Paid by the Fast-food Industry.† Journalists Resource RSS. Harvard Kennedy School’s Shorenstein Center, 05 Feb. 2013. Web. 13 Apr. 2014. This article talks about the issue of fast-food leaders being accused of encouraging their workers to sign up for programs that are paid by the taxpayer’s dollar; in order to keep their wages low and profits up. This  article focuses on how the cost of living continues to rise, and millions of low-wage workers having to get by on federal and state programs for basic necessities. The article explains that while many believe most employees of major fast-food are young adults living with their parents, that 68% of employees are single/married adults, with/without children. It discusses how if fast-food companies took a small portion out of the budget that almost all qualified employees could receive the benefits they need. The article stated that McDonalds have started to give employees Affordable Health Care and both employees and employer have benefited. This article was very useful because it taught me that providing employees with the benefits they deserve will improve busi ness ethics. Sam, Gillbert. â€Å"Business Ethics.† Business Ethics RSS. World Press- Business Ethics, 14 Nov. 13. Web. 13 Apr. 2014. â€Å"Business Ethics† discusses how a company’s moral beliefs about reducing waste for the environment can be a benefit for the environment and reduce their cost. It also gives easy suggestions to reduce waste costs. This article focuses on the retail businesses. The article explains that waste is an issue for all retail operations because of the need to take in and unpack large numbers of individual items and then display and package them up on a regular basis. It discusses how small steps can make big changes in a company’s waste. The author shares the California’s Department of Resources and Recycling advice for retail companies: reduce reuse, and recycle. This article was very useful because it gives many small suggestions that any business can use; such as giving customers the choice of having their items bagged- or giving a discount to those who bring their own. They also suggest donated any clearance items that the business plans on throwing out. In an article â€Å"Costs of Low Wages Paid by the Fast-food Industry.† by Andrea McKee published by Harvard Kennedy School’s Shorenstein Center in 2013 discusses the issue employees that work in the low-wage fast-food industry are deprived of basic benefits with long hours and are encouraged to use programs paid by the taxpayer. This agrees with the article â€Å"Business Ethics† published by Business Ethics RSS in 2014 because both articles touch on how small changes in a company that have beneficial improvements for  employees and the environment can actually bring in long-term profits with a small cost. The article â€Å"Business Ethics† is about companies that make small changes to cut waste and help the environment. These changes boosted the moral of the company and raised profits. â€Å"Cost of Low Wages Paid by the Fast-food Industry† stated that restaurants that started offering benefits to employees were experiences a lower turnover rate and employees were working efficiently. In contrast to the article from Andrea Mckee, â€Å"Business Ethics RSS† gives suggestions that any company could use to cut costs and waste while â€Å"Cost of Low Wages Paid by the Fast-food Industry† focused on the negative factors that come with disregarding employees needs in order to save money. Schwepps, Cadbury. â€Å"Ethical Business Practices†- Business-Case Study LLP.†Conclusion. The Times 100, n.d. Web. 13 Apr. 2014. This case-study discusses the different outcomes of an organizations moral judgments of right and wrong business practices. It also discusses the rationale for rejecting the route that would lead to the biggest short-term profit in order to remain a good ethical reputation. The article goes into the many benefits of being an ethical business. The author states that having an ethical business attracts customers to the firm’s products and therefore boosting profits. The article says that employees will want to stay with the business that practices honest moral which reduces labor turnover and increases productivity. The author taught me that ethically correct business will attract job-seekers to your business which will reduce recruitment costs and increase talented employees. Unethical behavior will damage a firm’s reputation and make it less appealing to stakeholders. A creative and well managed business and social responsibility program is in the best interests of everyone involved. Street, Marc D., and Vera L. Street. Taking Sides: Clashing Views in Management. McGraw-Hill Contemporary Learning Series, 2007. Web. 15 Apr. 2014. In the article introduction to â€Å"social responsibility,† Hay and Gray argue that organizations and corporations should extend their responsibility to  more than just making or maximizing on profits. They base their argument on stakeholder theory, which they present in a historical manner of how management thinking has evolved on the limits of corporation responsibility. The stakeholder is a theory of organizational management and business ethics that addresses morals and values in managing an organization. There was a chart in the article that shows the groups that are stakeholders of a corporation, and both describes and recommends methods by which management can help increase the interests of those groups. This article addressed the â€Å"Principle of Who or What Really Counts.† The article â€Å"Ethical Business Practices† by Cadbury Scheppes published by The Times 100 discusses the theory that business that practice morally correct business attracts the best employees. The article says that business that treat their employees ethically get the best work from those employees because the employees â€Å"like† the company they work for. This agrees with the article â€Å"Taking Sides: Clashing Views in Management† published by McGraw-Hill Contemporary Learning Series in 2007 because both articles discus the many ebenfit companies receive when the employees trust in the company The both agree that the happier the employee the better quality work they will produce which leads to higher profits. In contrast to Cadbury Scheppes, â€Å"Taking Sides: Clashing Views in Management† brings the stakeholder theory into his argument to make his point stronger. Thompson, Robert B. â€Å"Insider Trading, Investor Harm, and Executive Compensation.† Case W. Res. L. Rev. 50 (1999): 291. Print. Robert B. Thompson who is a legal scholar brings to the fore the argument posited by Henry Manne on the inside regulation. Thompson breaks down the status and the significance of the position taken by Henry Manne three decades ago after he had published his seminal paper. Henry had used three central assumptions to defend his arguments on the insider trading in the year 1996. However, today, three decades later, Henry`s arguments still remain as relevant and as alive in the regulation debates. It is still clear that despite having been through several and conflicting approaches, there still lacks a coherent and crystallized approach to the question of  legalizing insider trading. Tushoski, Michael. â€Å"Walmart Accepted Clothing from Banned Bangladesh Factories.† Top Stories RSS. ProPublica, 12 June 13. Web. 12 Apr. 2014. This article discusses the issue of large retailors making morally corrupt decisions in order to save a buck. The world’s largest retail store, Walmart, said they cut all business with factories that have serious or repeated safety problems, labor violations or unauthorized subcontracting. This article focuses on a certain factory called Bangladeshi that collapsed and killed more than 1,100 and how Walmart tried to get away with accepting business from them without getting public backlash. This article focuses on how trying to practice unmoral ways hurts businesses in many ways; even giant corporations like Walmart. The article explains that once it was out that Walmart was still doing business with factories that they themselves put on a banned list, it lost many customers and employees. It discusses that with the ongoing reputation of cutting corners and pinching pennies, suppliers also question Walmart’s ability to monitor its supply chain as well as its efforts to ensure decent working conditions in factories located in low-wage countries. This article was helpful because it showed that doing the wrong thing to make money eventually costs more money than it would if a company did the right thing from the start. In an article â€Å"Insider Trading, Investor Harm, and Executive Compensation.† by Robert Thompson published in 1999 discusses the harm insider trading does to investors of a company. Thompson states that insider trading is morally corrupt because it is unfair and greedy to use information that is not available to the public in order to benefit and protect themselves. This agrees with the article â€Å"Walmart Accepted Clothing from Banned Bangladesh Factories† by Michael Tushowski published in 2013 because this article reviews how corporations such as Walmart makes unethical decisions that the public is unaware of and how companies try and hide information from the public that could hurt their business. In contrast, Tushowski’s article explains how Walmart sent out a public document that listed factories they would no longer work with because of unsafe working conditions, yet was caught doing business with them. Using a real-life example made his point  very clear.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

The International Strategy of TESCO PLC The WritePass Journal

The International Strategy of TESCO PLC Abstract The International Strategy of TESCO PLC ). This is particularly true when some resources are worth more to an organisation owing to the special linkages between the firm and such resources. When the firms have such resources, they are more likely to opt for high control strategies for instance wholly owned subsidiaries. This decision is mostly made with the assumption that such linkages will be influential in enhancing the relative position of the firm in the new foreign market. In addition to the highlighted theories, the integrative theoretical perspective on foreign market entry holds that the firm’s decision to enter into a foreign market and its choice of entry are functions of multiple factors that arise from location and ownership-specific advantages (Alexander Doherty 2009). Although these theories differ in many important aspects they allow for broad generalisations on the factors that influence an organisation to enter into a foreign market and the entry strategy. The next section analyses the internation al strategy of Tesco Plc based on the integrative framework. Tesco Plc International Strategy The company enters foreign markets mainly through joint ventures with local firms, acquisitions and Greenfield investments (Mosley Barrow 2013). The company aims at being the market leader in the foreign country it enters within a period of five years. It has registered huge successes in Asia and most of the European markets. However, the situation in America has been different because the company has struggled to gain market control (Harrison 2013). The success of Tesco Plc in the international market has been aided by its sensitivity to the local culture of the host countries and the market environment. This has mainly been done through partnerships, mergers and acquisitions which have made it easier for the company to offer the local markets with what they want by serving their unique needs. This has been particularly helpful in high context cultures like in the Asian market. The global expansion and diversification of Tesco Plc are based on the long-term desire for the company to develop sustainable growth and development. Morschett (2011) claims that one of the main reasons why the company decided to pursue the international market was that the local UK market had reached saturation and maturity making it very difficult to grow without exploiting overseas opportunities. This was therefore the only viable solution for the company if it was to remain relevant for the economy in the long run. The main factors influencing the choice of entry for Tesco Plc are the different threats that it may encounter in the international markets.   Some of the common threats are industrial structures and cultural factors. Nonetheless, the primary influencers of the choice of entry for the company are based on cultural factors (Harrison 2013). Tesco Plc has consistently preferred to use international joint ventures as an entry strategy in the Asian market. This is partly because these countries have high context cultures that require organisations to build interpersonal relationships (Alexander Doherty 2009). In these cultures, relationship networks among business associates, colleagues and even clients tend to be close and personal. As a consequence, it is important for firms to build trust and relationships during business interactions. The importance of these relationships arises from the fact that they have high uncertainty avoidance levels; therefore relationships and trust reduce the level of uncertainties, risks and ambiguities (McLoughlin Aaker 2010). For instance in South Korea, the international joint venture with Samsung helped the company establish contacts with the local suppliers and manufacturers. This was very important in penetrating the market in South Korea because the customers there often shop freque ntly as they prefer fresh and quality products like vegetables and meat which is different from the customers in the UK who like piling stock. Based on the internalisation theory, Tesco Plc gained advantage by internalising the market in South Korea. This was done through building local networks to ensure that the company sales remain as high as possible. Therefore it employed all the employees of Samsung to ensure that the normal operations were not interfered with. The local managers were also given the authority to make decisions on behalf of the company because of their experience with the local market. Additionally, this was part of the company’s plan to deal with the challenges associated with the competitive environment by positioning itself using localisation and decentralisation while the other players in the industry pursue globalisation strategies (Hitt et al 2008). According to the bargaining theory, localisation and decentralisation gives the company a local imag e thus making it highly responsive to the tastes and lifestyles of the local consumers. This gave Tesco Plc a competitive advantage in the South Korean market compared to the other foreign firms like Wal-Mart and Carrefour. The entry strategies of Tesco Plc have also been shaped by cultural factors like psychic distance. Psychic distance refers to the extent to which a firm is uncertain on the nature of the foreign market (Thain Bradley 2012). Acquisitions and international joint ventures with the local businesses in the high context cultures are important in reducing risks, adaptation costs, psychic distance and cultural barriers. The acquisition of the local distribution channels gave the company a huge advantage over the other multinationals like Wal-Mart which were struggling because the Korean market is characterised by a strong nationalist outlook. The company pursued the same strategies in Thailand and China and this enabled it to penetrate the market with ease compared to other multinational companies. Therefore international joint ventures and acquisitions enabled Tesco Plc. to succeed in markets where Carrefour and Wal-Mart had failed eventually being forced to exit the market in 2006 (Mosley Barrow, 2013). In Thailand for instance, after the acquisition of Lotus, Tesco Plc has managed to grow and is currently the market leader as it has pumped huge investments into organic management. The company also diversified its operations in Thailand to include smaller express stores so as to reach more customers. Tesco Plc has made huge successes whenever it chose to enter foreign markets through strategic alliances and acquisitions; however Greenfield entries have proved to be costly and inappropriate. Although Greenfield entries provide the company with full control and ownership over its operations, it has proved to be unsuitable because of the dismal results. Despite the extensive research that the company made prior to joining the US market, its failure there demonstrates that the research was either flawed or inadequate (Krafft Mantrala 2010). Additionally, its operations in the US were an attempt to duplicate its operations in the UK because it tried to standardise instead of localising them. Part of the problem with the market research was that it only concentrated on the buying behaviour of the Americans and ignored other important variables like shopping experience, value, aesthetics, store atmosphere and quality. This was a great mistake because corrective investments should have been made in response to these marketing aspects (Morschett 2011). For instance the Tescosells pre-packaged fruits was a big mistake because Americans prefer selecting their own fresh fruits. Tesco failed to appreciate the US customer base because it underestimated it. This is the reason why the company handled its operations in the US as an extension of the UK market. The company was attracted to the US market by the booming economy and the ever rising property value (Ryans 2013). These are the factors that prompted it to go for Greenfield investments in US. This was a viable option; however the company failed to account for the deeper financial dynamics that could have saved it from the 2009 financial crisis. In addition to this, the choice of Tesco Plc to enter the US market through Greenfield investments was partly influenced by managerial short termism and egoism.   As a consequence, several mistakes can be pointed out from its entry and post entry strategies. The first mistake that the company made at the point of entry is that it increased its exit barriers by aggressively increasing more stores despite the fact that it was making huge losses. Secondly, the company may have been driven by managerial subjective interest for power emanating from the previous international successes. This led to overconfidence therefore blurring the vision of the managers to see that they were driving the company in the wrong direction (Morschett 2011). However, the biggest mistakes that Tesco Plc made was that it failed to plan and strategize for post entry and this led to flaws in its quest to compete in the home market of the world’s largest retailer. As a result the company made huge loses in the US and was eventually forced to exit without ever recording any profits. In Taiwan, the situation was the same as that of the US; Tesco entered the market in 2000 without partnering with the local companies. The company was able to establish six hypermar kets through organic growth. However, just like in the US the Taiwanese retail market was hugely dominated by Carrefour which had the advantage of having all the strategic positions. Just like in the US, the company was unable to attain the market scale necessary for building central distribution centres. Therefore in 2005, it was forced to exit the market through a divestment deal with Carrefour. Recommendations Based on the findings of this study, the following recommendations can be made for Tesco Plc for it to succeed in its quest to establish its presence in other international markets. First off, the company should abandon Greenfield investment strategies because they have proved to be very costly in the past. The company struggled in the US and Taiwan and was eventually forced to exit because lack of local partners made it very difficult for it to succeed in markets that are dominated by the two retail giants. The company should have strategies that fit into the culture of the target market like it did in South Korea. The retail industry is very sensitive because it represents the daily necessities of the consumers and as such must be responsive to their cultural habits. For a multinational company to succeed in a foreign market it must have strategies that are responsive to the needs and culture of the local people. Therefore Tesco Plc. should continue incorporating localisation strat egies and respond to the culture of the local markets. It should be more innovative and proactive in its marketing strategies in the international markets. For instance the company should enhance its market intelligence and customer database in order to be able to customise service delivery to the customers. References   Alexander, N., Doherty, A. M. (2009).  International retailing. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Cunningham, J., Harney, B. (2012).  Strategy strategists. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Harrison, A. L. (2013).  Business environment in a global context. Oxford: Oxford university press. Hensmans, M., Johnson, G., Yip, G. S. (2013).  Strategic transformation: Changing while winning. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan. Hitt, M. A., Ireland, R. D., Hoskisson, R. E. (2008).  Strategic management: Competitiveness and globalization. Mason, Ohio: South-Western. Krafft, M., Mantrala, M. K. (2010).  Retailing in the 21st century: Current and future trends. Heidelberg: Springer. McLoughlin, D., Aaker, D. A. (2010).  Strategic market management: Global perspectives. Hoboken, N.J: Wiley. Morschett, D. (2011).  European retail research: Volume 25, Issue I. Wiesbaden: Gabler Verlag. Mosley, R., Barrow, S. (2013).  The employer brand: Bringing the best of brand management to people at work. Hoboken, N.J: Wiley. Ryans, A. (2013).  Beating low cost competition: How premium brands can respond to cut-price rivals. Hoboken, N.J: Wiley. Seth, A., Randall, G. (2011).  The grocers: The rise and rise of the supermarket chains. London: Kogan Page. Sternquist, B., Witter, G. (2011).  Retail strategic international expansion (SIRE ²) theory and cases. Haslett, MI: BSC Publisher. Thain, G., Bradley, J. (2012).  Store wars: The worldwide battle for mindspace and shelfspace, online and in-store. Chichester, West Sussex: John Wiley Sons.

Monday, October 21, 2019

Feeling Like a Fraud

Feeling Like a Fraud Every time I begin a new book, I doubt my skills to make it happen. Just last week I told my husband as we cooked dinner: I keep wondering if my first books were chance, luck, my best ideas used up. He shook his head, marveling at my silliness, telling me as always that I think too hard. But invariably when I write, I wonder, Am I pretending to be a writer or am I really a writer, and how do I know the difference? Any writer who thinks they have arrived are not writers to read. Ive learned that much in this crazy business. The biggest names in the business continue to improve on their craft, their brand, their storytelling ability. We start as novices, then we advance to mid-level where weve learned a few things, but we arent masters. We make some money, but not enough to crow about. Many of us quit along the way, because that doubt takes hold and wins. Others weather through that insecurity over and over, dying at a higher rung on the ladder or choosing to climb higher. But nobody is immune to the feeling that they are trying to be something they are not. Just like were supposed to turn off our internal editor as we write, we should invest ourselves in a story for the sake of storytelling, not for the dream of fame and wealth. Its those who continue writing, those who write because they simply enjoy the experience, those who fight to be better without putting a dollars and cents measurement on the investment, who wake up one day after writing day after day and realize theyve actually done something decent and earned a degree of respect. Its not a flash in the pan. It sneaks up on you . . . assuming youre still around. The legitimate reward of writing is the writing itself. Your job is to write and make it a part of your being. Of course you want people to appreciate your work, but thats the gravy, people. Improve, improve, improve. Then after years of daily diligence, someone just might recognize you as an overnight wonder. But if not, no big deal. Writing is what you would do with your life anyway.

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Character Development

Describe in detail the THREE most important things which happen to Amir which cause him to change his attitude to life. Find quotation and detail from the text to support your argument. I think that the three most important events in the book that effect Amir’s character is.. 1) When he watches Assef rape Hassan. This while it does not effect Amirs’s character in a positive way, still has a profound effect on him. He is wracked with guilt that haunts him though his life. It is a ‘metaphorical demon’ that he must face. After allowing Hassan to be raped, Amir is not any happier. On the contrary, his guilt is relentless, and he recognizes his selfishness cost him his happiness rather than increasing it. â€Å"That was a long time ago, but it’s wrong what they say about the past, I’ve learned, about how you can bury it. Because the past claws its way out. Looking back now, I realize I have been peeking into that deserted alley for the last twenty-six years. † To the reader, the quotation functions as a teaser. It piques the reader’s interest without revealing exactly what Amir is talking about, and from the time period Amir mentions, twenty-six years, the reader gets an idea of just how important this moment was. As the story unfolds, we realize that the deserted alley Amir refers to is where Hassan was raped, and that this event has largely defined the course of Amir’s life since. This is what Amir means when he says that the past continues to claw its way out. Try as he might to bury it, he was unable to because his feelings of guilt kept arising. As a result, he figuratively continues peeking into the alley where Assef raped Hassan, literally meaning that he keeps going over the event in his mind. â€Å"I actually aspired to cowardice, because the alternative, the real reason I was running, was that Assef was right: Nothing was free in this world. Maybe Hassan was the price I had to pay, the lamb I had to slay, to win Baba. † When Amir says this, toward the end of Chapter 7, he has just watched Assef rape Hassan,and rather than intervene, he ran away. Amir says he aspired to cowardice because, in his estimation, what he did was worse than cowardice. If fear of being hurt by Assef were the main reason he ran, Amir suggests that at least would have been more justified. Instead, he allowed the rape to happen because he wanted the blue kite, which he thought would prove to Baba that he was a winner like him, earning him Baba’s love and approval. The price of the kite, as Amir says, was Hassan, and this is why Amir calls Hassan the lamb he had to slay. He draws a comparison between Hassan and the lamb sacrificed during the Muslim holiday of Eid Al-Adha to commemorate Abraham’s near sacrifice of his son to God. In this context, Hassan was the sacrifice Amir had to make to get the kite and ultimately to gain Baba’s affection. 2) the discovery of Sohrab. Once Amir has married and established a career, only two things prevent his complete happiness: his guilt and his inability to have a child with Soraya. Sohrab, who acts as a substitute for Hassan to Amir, actually becomes a solution to both problems. Amir describes Sohrab as ‘looking like a sacrificial lamb’during his confrontation with Assef, but it is actually himself that Amir courageously sacrifices. In doing this, as Hassan once did for him, Amir redeems himself, which is why he feels relief even as Assef beats him. Amir also comes to see Sohrab as a substitute for the child he and Soraya cannot have, and as a self-sacrificing father figure to Sohrab, Amir assumes the roles of Baba and Hassan. 3)The confintation with Assef. My body was broken—just how badly I wouldn’t find out until later—but I felt healed. Healed at last. I laughed. † This quotation occurs during Amir’s meeting with Assef as he tries to find Sohrab in Chapter 22. Assef beats Amir with brass knuckles, snapping Amir’s ribs, splitting his lip and busting his jaw, and breaking the bone beneath his left eye, but because Amir feels he deserves this, he feels relief. He thinks he should have accepted the beating from Assef years ago, when he was given the choice of saving Hassan—and likely getting physically hurt—or letting Assef rape Hassan. Since that time, Amir has struggled with his guilt, which was only made worse by the fact that he was never punished for his actions. He had even gone looking for punishment in the past, as when he tried to get Hassan to hit him with the pomegranates, because he felt then there would at least be some justice for the way he treated Hassan. But Amir’s guilt lingered until his confrontation with Assef, which despite the physical pain, made him feel psychologically healed. Thus, while Assef beat him, he began to laugh. For each of these ‘life lessons’, describe how Amir changes /what he learns. (How is Amir different at the end of the novel)? 1)The rape, at first,does not have a positive outcome to Amir’s personality. But it was a cross road. The rape made Amir wake up to the true world. Because he chose not to help the guilt haunts him. This guilt is the metaphorical demon of Amir. If it wasn’t for this guilt Amir would have never found the motivation to help Sohrab. The book is about redemption, redemption of this guilt. But because he feels guilt about the rape, and how it has troubled him for the past 26 year shows how deeply he actually cared about Hassan. The raep motivates him though out the book to try and find a way to redeem himself to face down his demon. 2)The discovery of Sohrab gives Amir away to redeem himself for his past sins. He is to Amir â€Å"a sacrificial lamb† Because of this he becomes truly determined and dedicated to Sohrab. And the man he becomes through helping him is a man to be admired. 3)His confintation with Assef is to AMire a way to pay for his sins. Completely get ride of them. A way to ‘heal’ himself. This is where the man at the end of the book, a good man, comes into being. What do you think about Amir? Do you admire him or not? Explain why you feel like this? The central character of the story as well as its narrator, Amir has a privileged upbringing. His father, Baba, is rich by Afghan standards, and as a result, Amir grows up accustomed to having what he wants. The only thing he feels deprived of is a deep emotional connection with Baba, which he blames on himself. He thinks Baba wishes Amir were more like him, and that Baba holds him responsible for killing his mother, who died during his birth. Amir, consequently, behaves jealously toward anyone receiving Baba’s affection. His relationship with Hassan only exacerbates this. Though Hassan is Amir’s best friend, Amir feels that Hassan, a Hazara servant, is beneath him. When Hassan receives Baba’s attention, Amir tries to assert himself by passive-aggressively attacking Hassan. He mocks Hassan’s ignorance, for instance, or plays tricks on him. At the same time, Amir never learns to assert himself against anyone else because Hassan always defends him. All of these factors play into his cowardice in sacrificing Hassan, his only competition for Baba’s love, in order to get the blue kite, which he thinks will bring him Baba’s approval. The change in Amir’s character we see in the novel centers on his growth from a selfish child to a selfless adult. After allowing Hassan to be raped, Amir is not any happier. On the contrary, his guilt is relentless, and he recognizes his selfishness cost him his happiness rather than increasing it. Once Amir has married and established a career, only two things prevent his complete happiness: his guilt and his inability to have a child with Soraya. Sohrab, who acts as a substitute for Hassan to Amir, actually becomes a solution to both problems. Amir describes Sohrab as looking like a sacrificial lamb during his confrontation with Assef, but it is actually himself that Amir courageously sacrifices. In doing this, as Hassan once did for him, Amir redeems himself, which is why he feels relief even as Assef beats him. Amir also comes to see Sohrab as a substitute for the child he and Soraya cannot have, and as a self-sacrificing father figure to Sohrab, Amir assumes the roles of Baba and Hassan. So in conclusion I did not like Amir’s character at the bigining but I could understand it. On His path to redemption I admire him for just how much he did to achive his goal. His character at the end I truly admire,here is a man who made him self suffer for years and after reliving himself of that guilt is a truly better man. One that I am sure Baba would be proud of.

Friday, October 18, 2019

The Manhattan Project Based on the Factors of Time, Cost and the Essay

The Manhattan Project Based on the Factors of Time, Cost and the Achievement of an Object - Essay Example This research will begin with the statement that the success of a project is measured in relation to the three major constraints namely time, quality and cost which depend on each other. Adjustment of one element requires that you adjust the other two elements. Proper balancing of the three elements ensures successful scheduling, resourcing and implementation of the project. The quality of the project indicates the desired result objective of the project. The cost includes all the resources need for the accomplishment of the stated objective that may include capital, labor, materials, and risk management among other requirements. Time is the duration of the project which can be broken down to the time required to accomplish every task within the project. The Manhattan Project, like all other projects, was based on the factors of time, cost and the achievement of an object. The project was a military-funded research project responsible for the creation of an atomic bomb. Most of the p hases were carried out within the United States thus the main stakeholder was the United States Government. Other stakeholders included the rest of the Allied nations with Canada and United Kingdom providing support to the program. The project started on a small scale but eventually grew to employee more than 130,000 people and the cost exceeding that of $2 billion, cost of which estimated in 2013 would have been $26 billion. At the time of the start of this project the world was engaged in a fierce war. The Allied nations were doing everything in their power to end the war as soon as possible with as little few casualties as possible. The activities of the project and their time limit have been given in the Gantt chart below. The project has three main stages. First stage was Uranium 235 enrichment through gaseous diffusion, electromagnetic separation and thermal diffusion until 1945 when efficiency was raised to12730 pounds. The second stage was plutonium enrichment which was to b e used as substitute for uranium 235. 95% pure plutonium was produced in February 1945. The final stage of bomb designed using plutonium and uranium. The first bomb was tested in the year 1594. The project was later transferred to Atomic Energy Commission and in August 1947 Manhattan Engineer District was ended. The Manhattan project used the theory of production in the construction of the bomb. Three basic phases were used in its construction planning, execution and control. These phases are measured in relation to the factors of productions that include time, resources and the scope of the project. Planning phase included a number of technical activities that needed to be addressed before the start of the construction. The first issue was the enrichment of fissile materials Uranium and Plutonium. Second phase was the structure and design of the bomb while third phase was the testing of the atomic bomb. Evaluation of the project Over several decades the success of projects has been assessed by the Iron Triangle that consists of time, quality and cost. Project management involves use of resources, tools and techniques to achieve a specific assignment within the limits of cost, time and qualities. Project managers has a responsibility of managing, planning, coordinating various activities in a project as well as managing the changes that occur in the duration of the project. According to Atkinson, success of the project should also be measured in relation to benefits to all the stakeholders of the project as well as the final product and thus the success of a project should be measured at different stages of the project. Some projects have a positive impact at the initial stages but the set objectives are not achieved in due to time, quality and cost constraints.

How do international organisations shape relations among states today Essay

How do international organisations shape relations among states today - Essay Example These are just a few of the many regional arrangements currently proliferating across the globe. Accordingly, international organisations are increasing with global interdependence and this essay seeks to explain the effects of international agreements on states and decision-makers around the world. Through an exploration of states responses to key international organisations and their agreements, this essay will discuss state sovereignty in an increasingly interdependent global world and international agreements in practice through regional organisations such as the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization Are international agreements a positive or negative force? How do they shape relations among states today? These questions will be answered as this essay concludes with a summation of the work studied. We now turn to an analysis of the question of state sovereignty in the 21st century. State sovereignty is a basic principle of the current international order and notions of sovereignty are intrinsic to the global system of international affairs. Despite the fact that ideas about state sovereignty shape the international system and are basic premises of the functions of global governance, this important concept is under threat from a variety of forces. Seeking to address the concept of state sovereignty in the twenty-first century, this essay will explore the abrogation of sovereignty as a direct result of globalisation and the increased salience of unilateral action by the dominant power in the international system. Firmly entrenched as a guiding principle in international affairs, basic concepts of state sovereignty are responsible for the current structure of the international order. How has sovereignty, a guiding principle of the international order been challenged in recent times? Do international agreements help or hinder

Discussion Questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 28

Discussion Questions - Essay Example A longer productive business life means a steady profitability for longer and for all these to be achieved, effective marketing of the company’s products and services must be carried out. Marketing is done mostly through advertisements and promotions. These two services are important to any established business venture. For these two to succeed, they have to be supported by a brand position statement that embodies a factor of production that the firm takes pride in. For instance, these may include high quality products, low prices, convenience among other attributes. When choosing a brand positioning tool, care must be taken so that it gets straight into the minds of the target audience. Taking pride in quality means that prices should not matter to the customers; no matter how high the goods and services are priced, they will still access the market. Trying to convince a customer that a product is of a high quality and low price is never achievable. A marketer must thus stay open minded and be keen enough to grab an opportunity where others opt not to see any. The essence of setting up any business is to benefit from accrued profits. The strategy for attaining success differs from one business to another. Some concentrate on quality while others concentrate on sales brought in from the products offered. When expanding one’s customer base, it is very likely for the business to engage in activities that will lower earnings but in the long run, the business stays viable for longer and promises and steady flow of income from the increased customer size (Kotler 78). While the manager who is interested in profits will be exploiting a limited customer base, the other who believes in expansion will seek to get more. Some of the methods of doing this include price reductions and the provisions of other incentives. Chances are high that these incentives will attract customers from the other business. After a short period of time, as the

Thursday, October 17, 2019

CVS Caremark ratio analysis Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

CVS Caremark ratio analysis - Assignment Example The company is therefore focused in the reinvention of pharmacy and the provision of highly innovated solutions that improve the well-being of the customers. The company also has a strategic plan to offer high quality health care service at an affordable cost, to cater for the needs of people with different financial background. The company has also implemented a health care program for the members of staff. The program involves free health care services to the employees. The program also constitutes the employee motivation strategy for the company. The company has more than 7,300 pharmacy stores spread across the United States. The accounting standards The International accounting standards and the general accounting principles have established rules and regulations governing the accounting practices in organizations. These rules and regulations are intended to guide the organization’s management team into practicing the generally accepted accounting methods. The company†™s financial statements reflect a commitment by the company to following the standards set by the international accounting standards. Such standards include the guide to revenue recognition, the concept of consistency, the concept of materiality and earnings management. The accounting standards state that revenue is â€Å"the gross inflow of economic benefits during the period arising in the course of the ordinary activities of an entity when those inflows result in increases in equity, other than increases relating to contributions from equity participants.† According to IAS 18, revenue is supposed to be recognized exclusively under the following criteria: when a business unit has completed the transfer of ownership of goods; when a business has ceased exercising applicable managerial authorities and has given up any form of control over the goods; when the amount of the expected revenue can be determined with consistency; when it is certain that financial inflows resultin g from a certain business transaction will be directed to an entity; and when expenditures and costs related to a business transaction can be measured with consistency (Oppermann, 2009). On the other hand, revenues obtained through the provision of services should be recognized â€Å"where the outcome of a transaction involving the rendering of services can be estimated reliably, associated revenue should be recognized by reference to the stage of completion of the transaction at the end of the reporting period. The importance of distinguishing between the terms in financial reporting is to facilitate the provision of reliable material information to the users of financial statement. After a keen evaluation of the company’s financial statements, it has been proven that the accounting standards have been given first priority. The company has strictly followed the rules guiding the revenue recognition when preparing the income statement. The concept of consistency is an accoun ting term that states, similar items in a financial statement should receive similar treatment. For instance, item X in the current financial period should be treated the same as item X in the subsequent financial periods (Oppermann, 2009). CVS Company has considered this concept during the financial statement preparation. To illustrate further, for the two financial periods under consideration, the account receivables have been given a similar treatment. That is, they have been recognized as assets. The concept of materiality states that a financial state

Transforming Clear Lake College Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Transforming Clear Lake College - Case Study Example On the other hand, the elements of transformational leadership that Sam exhibited included significantly transforming Clear Lake College into a productive and successful academic institution through launching graduate degree programs and several new undergraduate majors; being a people person where he manifested communicating and interacting with different stakeholders; being true to his word by increasing the salaries of faculty and personnel when the financial condition improved; and capturing opportunities in the educational markets. 2. Sam’s leadership traits and characteristic make him a pseudo-transformation leader than a transformational leader. As a pseudo-transformation leader, Sam exhibited self-serving behavior despite being initially inspirational. He made decisions on his own and therefore discouraged participative and collaborative decisions and earned the ire of faculty, staff and students by berating them in public. 3. Yes, I was able to confront a leader about a manifested behavior, whether by acknowledging a job well done or by disclosing that the current behavior was contributory to affecting the morale of subordinates. The leader was highly accommodating of the feedback and appreciated one’s comments.

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Discussion Questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 28

Discussion Questions - Essay Example A longer productive business life means a steady profitability for longer and for all these to be achieved, effective marketing of the company’s products and services must be carried out. Marketing is done mostly through advertisements and promotions. These two services are important to any established business venture. For these two to succeed, they have to be supported by a brand position statement that embodies a factor of production that the firm takes pride in. For instance, these may include high quality products, low prices, convenience among other attributes. When choosing a brand positioning tool, care must be taken so that it gets straight into the minds of the target audience. Taking pride in quality means that prices should not matter to the customers; no matter how high the goods and services are priced, they will still access the market. Trying to convince a customer that a product is of a high quality and low price is never achievable. A marketer must thus stay open minded and be keen enough to grab an opportunity where others opt not to see any. The essence of setting up any business is to benefit from accrued profits. The strategy for attaining success differs from one business to another. Some concentrate on quality while others concentrate on sales brought in from the products offered. When expanding one’s customer base, it is very likely for the business to engage in activities that will lower earnings but in the long run, the business stays viable for longer and promises and steady flow of income from the increased customer size (Kotler 78). While the manager who is interested in profits will be exploiting a limited customer base, the other who believes in expansion will seek to get more. Some of the methods of doing this include price reductions and the provisions of other incentives. Chances are high that these incentives will attract customers from the other business. After a short period of time, as the

Transforming Clear Lake College Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Transforming Clear Lake College - Case Study Example On the other hand, the elements of transformational leadership that Sam exhibited included significantly transforming Clear Lake College into a productive and successful academic institution through launching graduate degree programs and several new undergraduate majors; being a people person where he manifested communicating and interacting with different stakeholders; being true to his word by increasing the salaries of faculty and personnel when the financial condition improved; and capturing opportunities in the educational markets. 2. Sam’s leadership traits and characteristic make him a pseudo-transformation leader than a transformational leader. As a pseudo-transformation leader, Sam exhibited self-serving behavior despite being initially inspirational. He made decisions on his own and therefore discouraged participative and collaborative decisions and earned the ire of faculty, staff and students by berating them in public. 3. Yes, I was able to confront a leader about a manifested behavior, whether by acknowledging a job well done or by disclosing that the current behavior was contributory to affecting the morale of subordinates. The leader was highly accommodating of the feedback and appreciated one’s comments.

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Equality and Diversity Essay Example for Free

Equality and Diversity Essay This essay examines the key factors that influence inclusive learning and teaching in the lifelong learning sector. Teaching methods will vary according to what you want to get out of the session, what the learners are able to achieve within the time frame, what materials and resources are available, what you are teaching, the needs of the learners and your personal style. This could be formal, informal or a mixture of both. Formal teaching methods include lecturers, demonstrations and presentations. Informal teaching includes discussions, group work and practical activities. As I will be teaching within the Beauty Therapy my lessons would be a mixture of both these delivery methods. Each activity within the classroom will consist of teaching and learning activities which are balanced to meet the different needs of my learners. Blended learning incorporates both traditional and computer based methods. This is commonly referred to as Information learning technology (ICT) this use of computer based technology to enhance teaching methods and resources or develop learner autonomy is widely promoted. The other main teaching methods other than ICT I am opting to use are lecturers and demonstrations. These demonstrations are very important as it would show the students the beauty routine that we would expect them to follow within their practical sessions. This ensures that students will be working to the same standard and will also adhere to the requirements of the awarding body. Practical sessions also help to explain difficult parts of the task when verbal exposition in not enough. I would also use group work activities, these particularly suit kinaesthetic learners but also when you have a group consisting of various abilities it allows both weak and strong learners to work collectively. Question and Answer sessions will be most commonly used in my tutorials. If I was teaching for example ‘the bones and muscles of the body) I would ask students to identify where muscles are on the body to help promote learning. At the start of the course the approach I will use to facilitate inclusive learning will be to carry out an initial assessment. This will help me identify what type of learners they are, I would then plan my teaching sessions to meet these individual needs by using a mix of visual, auditory, kinaesthetic teaching and learning strategies. For example I had just completed a practical demonstration to my group on ‘a facial routine’, I wanted to make sure my learners could confidently work in pairs and practice this routine on each other. A task like this would suit the kinaesthetic because he/she is provided with an opportunity to do and learn, and for the visual learner I would produce a step by step illustrated hand-out to support the routine. The Equality Act 2010 outlines protective characteristics which promote equality within schools and colleges and prevent discrimination. This includes sexuality, sex, disability, marital status and religion. In order to promote equality in my classroom I will need to respond positively to the diverse needs of all learners. Effective communication with learners is essential and it is the teacher’s responsibility to ensure that learners understand appropriate vocabulary and terminology and that comments are not discriminatory or offensive. As a teacher I would keep language simple so that if I have a learner from different backgrounds they may not have the same level of English as British learners. Resources used such as hand-outs, assignments and work sheets will also aim to promote equality and diversity. For example I would produce worksheets in a gender free language and also aim to promote multiculturalism by producing scenario based worksheets that use names from various ethnic backgrounds. I would also pace my sessions so students have plenty of time to take notes and ask any questions. Although inclusion is about supporting learners’ needs. It is not always possible for teachers to do this without support themselves. All teachers should be aware of the limits of their own responsibility and know when and where to access support for learners. you will not be able to get students to solve all their own difficulties. Get to know and use your institutions student services or pastoral support system: it exists to support your students, and you, so do refer where it is appropriate† Petty 2004 There are many places of referral within education; these can be both internal within the education establishment or an external organisation. The internal places of referral may inc lude student support services, learner study support centre, and counselling and careers advice. If I had a student for example who needed help with writing their essay I would arrange for them to go to the learner study support centre who would be able to assist Learners with learning difficulties or disabilities may need additional support and may need a designated support worker to support them within the classroom. A learner with dyslexia may find it hard to read text or numbers or have difficulty with writing and spelling, therefore I would produce written hand-outs and allow learners with dyslexia to present their ideas verbally or tape notes if necessary. Political correctness is a commonly used term at the moment and is used to ensure that expressions do not cause offence to any particular group of people. There are also many external agencies where learners can be referred, and which agency they are referred to would depend on the individual’s needs of the learner. This may include health related issues, family difficulties, poor attendance, or repeated challenging behaviour. The purpose of referring a learner to an external support agency is to support an individual student and to help them overcome their difficulties which are impacting on their education. For example if I had a student who was constantly disruptive in class and had a record of aggressive behaviour I would refer them to the Pupil Referral Unit. They would help and encourage the learner to be involved in the learning process, but in a smaller environment where they be in a much smaller group (3-4 learners) and also receive one-to-one support. Functional skills such as literacy, numeracy and ICT can be easily integrated into my lessons. These activities will meet both literacy and numeracy standards but are more easily understood by the learner. An example of this would be an assignment covering salon duties. I would ask the students to produce a sales ledger for stock to be re-ordered from our supplier. This would include maths as the student would have to calculate the cost of goods and also the total value of the order, it would include English as the student needs to produce the document and ICT as the student would have to present it in a typed format. The best way to establish ground rules with my learners is to negotiate them. The rules should be appropriate and fair and agreed as a whole class. As a teacher, I would establish ground rules during the first session, and plan a short activity around this. The class could discuss what is expected of them and write the rules in small groups. I would also list a few ground rules and then negotiate them as a class. This gives all learners the opportunity to be included and involved and as they have decided on the rules they are also more likely to respect them. When establishing ground rules it is important to ensure they are clear and brief and start positively rather than with ‘do not’. Once the rules have been established I would ask the learners to write them on some flipchart paper and hang them up in the class so that they are visible to all. It is also important to reinforce the rules consistently and to phrase learners when rules have been adhered to. I feel this method would motivate learners and also model good behaviour. Some rules may not be able to be negotiated. For example when the students come into class they must be wearing their salon uniforms and hair must be tied back. As a teacher even though I have designed my lessons to meet everyone’s needs I still need to ensure that my learners are motivated and want to learn. Maslow (1970) argues that basic needs such a food, safety, love and belonging and self-esteem need to be met in order for them to achieve their goals and aspirations. Everyone is motivated through either Intrinsic (because they want to learn) or extrinsic motivators (because they have to i. e. better job prospects). â€Å"A good teacher will play to the strengths of the learner when trying to raise enthusiasm in learning† Wilson 2004 – page 188 Other theories of motivation that can be used to motivate learners include the goal orientated theory, based on desire to be rewarded for achievement. A learner is given a clear direction or task and when it is reached there is a reward. For example I would set a group task for my learners to complete within the lesson. If they finish before the end of the lesson they are allowed an early break. If they don’t complete the task at the by the end of the session they will have to complete as homework. Albert Bandura (1994) suggested that an individual’s belief in themselves and their ability is related to what they can achieve. An example of how this can be applied into the classroom is to encourage my learner to try, and re-explain the topic if they are unsure. Through coaching and reassurance I will enable that learner to achieve. Giving effective feedback will help to improve the confidence of learners and develop their potential. Feedback should be delivered promptly and be a two way process. I would ask the learner how they think they did and get an idea if their understanding of the topic. Even if I had negative feedback to give to my learner I would end with a positive statement to incite the learner to take my comments on board and leave them feeling more positive about their performance. To conclude I suggest that inclusive teaching can only take place if both equality and diversity are positively promoted. Inclusive teaching relies on a range of differentiation strategies which may include adapted resources or additional classroom support. Depending on individual learner needs, learners may need to be referred to internal or external places of referral for extra support. .

Monday, October 14, 2019

Effect of Different Lights and Miracle Grow on Plants

Effect of Different Lights and Miracle Grow on Plants Research Question: To what extent does different lights and miracle grow have on the effect of the roots of forsythia?   Ã‚   Background Information: Forsythia are deciduous shrubs that are mostly native to eastern Asia. The Forsythiaplant got its name from William Forsyth, a Scottish botanist. Leaves on Forsythiaare opposite of one another and are quite simple looking. The plant is known for being a tough and reliable garden plant. Low hanging boughs often take root. It is suggested that cuttings be taken from November to February(University). Parenchyma cells, also called ground or fundamental tissue, are mostly unspecialized cells, with thin and flexible primary walls. Most all parenchyma cells lack a second wall. These unspecialized cells carry out most of a plants metabolic functions. Photosynthesis occurs within the parenchyma cells of plant leaves. Parenchyma cells make up the mesophyll and cortex of plant leaves and the pith of stems and roots of plants. The mesophyll of a leaf is the internal layers, while the cortex is the outside layers of a leaf. The pith of stems or roots is the most internal layer. Many plant cells that are developing, are originally parenchyma cells. They then started to develop into their specialized structure or function. Collenchyma cells have unevenly thickened primary walls. However, there can be some secondary thickening. They provide support to the parts of the plant that are still growing and developing, particularly the young and not yet mature parts of a plant shoot and their leaves. The cell walls of collenchyma cells are composed of cellulose and pectin. Botanists tend to group collenchyma cells into four groups: angular, annular, tangential, and lacunar. Angular collenchyma cells are the most common type and their cell corners are thickened more heavily. Annular collenchyma cells have evenly thickened cell walls throughout. Tangential collenchyma cells have thicker cell walls only when they are parallel to the surface of the structure where they are present. Lacunar collenchyma cells contain thickening around the cell walls facing the inter spaces. Collenchyma cells are flexible and have the ability to elongate, in order to support the leaves and stems(Arrington). Sclerenchyma cells are specialized cells for support. These cells have secondary walls hardened with lignin. Lignin is a complex organic compound that makes plants rigid and woody. When sclerenchyma cells are fully mature, they are dead. There are two types of sclerenchyma cells: fibers and sclereids. Fibers are elongated sclerenchyma cells and they usually occur in groups. They are found in most all aspects of the plant body, including the stem, roots, and vascular bundles in the leaves. Sclereids are irregularly shaped sclerenchyma cells. They have very thick and lignified secondary walls. They are found in different tissues of the plant such as periderm, cortex, pith, xylem, and phloem. Monocotyledons, or monocots, are flowering plants that have only one cotyledon. Cotyledon is an embryonic leaf, or a seed leaf. Monocots have veins that are usually parallel. Their vascular bundles are usually arranged in complex ways. Their stem is usually unbranched and fleshy. The root systems of monocots are fibrous. They have floral parts that usually come in multiples of threes. The leaves of monocots are usually thin because the endosperm to feed the new plant is not on the inside the seed leaf(refer to printed off charts). Dicotyledons, or dicots, are flowering plants that have two cotyledons. The veins on their leaves are usually netlike. Their vascular bundles are usually arranged in a ring shape. Dicots typically have a tough stem. Their root system is a taproot, with smaller roots growing from it. The floral parts usually come in multiples of four or five(refer to printed off charts). Plants also have meristems. Meristems are tissue in plants that contain undifferentiated cells, or meristematic cells. Meristematic cells are capable of continuous division, since they grow into a specialized structure later on. There are two types of meristems: apical meristems and lateral meristems. Apical meristems are located near the tips of roots and shoots and are responsible for primary growth, or growth in length. Lateral meristems are elongated and located in the shoots and in the roots. They are responsible for secondary growth, which is adding girth and strength to the roots and shoots. A stem is an alternating system of nodes. Nodes are the points on a stem in which leaves, branches, or roots grow. The stem segments in between nodes are called internodes. The number of leaves that grow from a node can help determine of what species a plant is. Each plant has many nodes. The morphology of plants reflect their evolutionary history as terrestrial organisms that must simultaneously inhabit and draw resources from two different sources: soil and air. The soil contains water and oxygen. The oxygen in soil is found in air pockets and it gives the plant the ability to break down sugars and release energy to allow the plant to live and grow. The water helps nourish the plants and helps it live and grow. The air(including sunlight), provides carbon dioxide for the plants. The air allows the plant to breathe and photosynthesize, to make food. A cross section of a leaf allows one to view the three tissue systems of a leaf: dermal, ground, and vascular. The dermal tissue includes the upper epidermis, the lower epidermis, and the stomata, or guard cells. The ground tissue is the mesophyll, which contains the palisade parenchyma and the spongy parenchyma. These parenchyma cells are equipped with chloroplasts and they are specialized for photosynthesis. The vascular tissue contains the xylem and phloem, which are the plants veins. The infrastructure of the vascular tissue acts as a skeleton that reinforces the shape of the leaf. Dermal tissue, or the epidermis, is a single layer of tightly compacted cells that cover and protects all young parts of the plant, best known as the skin of the plant. Ground tissue is neither vascular nor dermal. Ground tissue has many functions such as photosynthesis, storage, and support. Vascular tissue continues throughout the plant and is involved in transport of materials between roots and shoots. The veins of plants, which are the xylem and phloem, are within the vascular tissue. The xylem conveys water and dissolved minerals upward from roots into shoots. The phloem transport food made in mature leaves to the roots and nonphotosynthetic part of the shoot. The epidermis of leaves and other photosynthetic organs pores are stomata, which supports photosynthesis by allowing the exchange of carbon dioxide and oxygen between the outside air and leafs interior. Stomata is the main avenue for water to exit leaves through evaporation. Stomata changes the shapes of the cell that border, stoma can close pores to minimize water loss in hot, dry conditions. Transport in plants occurs on three levels: (1) the uptake and loss of water and solutes, absorption of water and minerals from the soil by cells of roots; (2) short-distance transport of substance from cell to cell at the level of tissue and organs, loading sugar from photosynthetic cells into sieve tubes of phloem; (3) long-distance transport of sap within xylem and phloem at the level of the whole plant. The start of transport in a whole plant starts when roots absorbs water and dissolved minerals from soils. The water and minerals are transported upward from roots to shoots as xylem sap. Transpiration occurs, the loss of the water from the leaves through stomata pulls up the xylem sap. The gas exchange occurs in the stomata, exchanging carbon dioxide for photosynthesis and expelling oxygen. Sugars is produced in the leaves by photosynthesis, then the sugar is transported as phloem sap to roots and other parts of plant. Ending back where roots exchange gases with the air spaces of soil taking in oxygen and leaving carbon dioxide, the gas exchange supports the breakdown of sugar, cellular respiration in the root cells. Hypothesis: The aim of the experiment was not only on rooting, but how it occurs by looking into the transpiration. As previously discussed, the plants with the most Miracle Gro quickly died. The roots of said plants were quite black and their leaves were droopy. However, the control, or the Forsythia with 60 mL of water, was the tallest and strongest. In addition, the control plant provided a clearer example of lateral rooting. From this experiment, it is notable that Miracle Gro may be helpful for taller plants with need of a push to grow. In the case of our Forsythia, the plants with less, or no Miracle Gro at all, were the healthiest. The stomata count lab gave us a clearer understanding of the movement of water in and out of the plant. From this lab, connected this idea to the previous lab: Every time I came back to class, and observed our plants, we noticed less water in each tube. The plants with less Miracle Gro had less water, thus, more homeostasis. The plants with the most Miracle Gro seemed to have let water out, but let the salt and solutions in. Thus, there was little to no homeostasis. Table 1: Variables Type Description Reason Use Independent The independent variables are variables that can be changes to test the dependent variables. To test whether miracle growth changes the rate of growth and transpiration on a plant. Using light and miracle growth as the dependent variables it can altered to different lighting and different amounts. Dependent The dependent variable is the variable that is being tested and relies on the independent variable to have changed. The dependent variable is the reason for the whole experiment. The hypothesis is centered around testing the dependent variable. The dependent variables would be water and the plant itself because those are the only variables that arent altered and that depend on the independent variables Control The variable that is not altered at all, the variable stays the same to see whether the dependent variable has changed. Is the variable to tell whether the independent variables has changed the dependent variables. The plant that will stay the same which is some of the forsythia. Materials: 24 large test tubes Four test tube holders Deionized water Miracle Gro ( 5ml, 10ml) Two micropipettes 24 branches of Forsythia Microscope Clear nail polish Blue dye Graphing Paper Procedure: Lab #1 For the first lab, decided to use six tubes, with one Forsythia in each, for our results to have more validity. Each tube had 60 mL of water. However, the control tube was the only one that solely contained water. The other five tubes also contained water, but a specific number of Miracle Gro, in mL, was placed in each tube. For example, the second tube contained 55 mL of water and 5 mL of a water/Miracle Gro solution, the third tube contained 50 mL of water and 10 mL of water/Miracle Gro solution, etc. The aim of the lab was to determine the effectiveness of a stimulant in plant cell differentiation and cloning. The lab lasted an estimate of three weeks. We measured the plants to have the same amount of stomata dipped in water. The number of stomata dipped in water were four on each branch. Every Forsythia branch weighed 6 grams. In addition, we tried to use Forsythia with 15-17 leaves to be as accurate as possible. Procedure #2 By taking one of the leaves from one of the Forsythia used in the previous lab, our group aimed to count the number of stomata in a leaf to investigate more on the transpiration. I placed clear nail polish on the leaf. After the nail polished dried, I carefully removed the nail polish layer, as it contained most of the stomata. The role of the nail polish was to stick onto the leaf, thus, the stomata to stick on the layer. Then traced the leaf using graphing paper to cut a specific centimeter square. Lastly, placing a blue dye on the square, and placed it under the microscope. After counting the number of stomata in that square, we had to multiply that to the total number of squares that were inside of the leaf from the graphing paper. The final amount was around 5,000 stomata. Data Collected: Each day I went back and water the plants with the same amount of water. I also so paid attention to root growth and the leaves. When the roots finally started to grow I begun to measure the root growth of each plant remembering to write down my data. It was too much for me to put the root growth of every one of the twenty-four plants, so i averaged the growth according to which variables it was. Being that they are in the same variable group that they are giving the same amount of miracle growth. Table 2: Miracle growth in forsythia Type Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Growth of roots (inches) Dependent 5 mL 10 mL 5 mL 10 mL 5 mL 10 mL 5 mL 10 mL .75 inches .25 inches 1 inches .5 inches 2.3 inches .9 inches 2.8 inches 1.2 inches Control 1.5 inches 2.8 inches 3.4 inches 5 inches Evaluation: The lab investigation was limited in some ways. First, being that there was low ecological validity in the investigation since the experiment was done inside and not outside. Second, miracle growth isnt a substance that is naturally outside that can be tested. Third, the forsythias was clippings that was from an uprooted plant, as to measure the root growth, which couldnt be done if the experiment had high ecological validity. The quantitative data collected is enough to support my conclusion of miracle growth affects the root growth of forsythia also that miracle growth mixtures slowly kills the forsythia clippings. The data also shows that miracle growth mixtures also controls the increase stomata and transpiration of the forsythia clippings. Conclusion: The goal of my experiment was to determine whether my hypothesis that miracle growth concentrations would not only help in root growth but also kill the plant also growing the stomata count and transpiration of the forsythia clipping. The experiment was done by comparing different concentrations of miracle growth and water to a controlled forsythia group. The experiment somewhat supported the hypothesis in the portion that concerns root and stomatal growth, not so in the killing of forsythia being as I didnt start early and didnt have time to determine whether the forsythia will die. The goal of the experiment was reach in a way that it could be seen that the strengths and limitations. Works Cited BBC Gardening: Plant Finder Forsythia. BBC News, BBC, www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/plants/plant_finder/plant_pages/3306.shtml. Accessed 10 Mar. 2017. Easy Biology Class. Easybiologyclass, www.easybiologyclass.com/collenchyma-cells-in-plants-structure-classification-and-functions-with-ppt/. Accessed 10 Mar. 2017. The Editors of Encyclopà ¦dia Britannica. Parenchyma. Encyclopà ¦dia Britannica, Encyclopà ¦dia Britannica, Inc., 20 July 1998, www.britannica.com/science/parenchyma-plant-tissue. Accessed 10 Mar. 2017. The Editors of Encyclopà ¦dia Britannica. Sclerenchyma. Encyclopà ¦dia Britannica, Encyclopà ¦dia Britannica, Inc., 20 July 1998, www.britannica.com/science/sclerenchyma. Accessed 10 Mar. 2017. Wise, Nicole. The Science Behind Holganix: Monocots vs Dicots: What You Need To Know. HOLGANIX The Natural Green Solutio, www.holganix.com/blog/bid/59573/The-Science-Behind-Holganix-Monocots-vs-Dicots-What-You-Need-To-Know. Accessed 10 Mar. 2017. Wise, Nicole. The Science Behind Holganix: Monocots vs Dicots: What You Need To Know. HOLGANIX The Natural Green Solutio, www.holganix.com/blog/bid/59573/The-Science-Behind-Holganix-Monocots-vs-Dicots-What-You-Need-To-Know. Accessed 10 Mar. 2017. Accessed 10 Mar. 2017.