Wednesday, July 31, 2019

Standard Costing, Operational Performance Measures

CHAPTER 10 STANDARD COSTING, OPERATIONAL PERFORMANCE MEASURES 1. MANAGING COSTS 1. Standard-cost systems are used to help managers control the cost of operations. The system has three components: standard costs (i. e. , predetermined costs), actual costs, and the difference between the two figures (termed a variance). 2. A standard cost for each product cost category (materials, labor, and overhead) is calculated on a per-unit basis. ? This calculation considers the planned quantity of each input factor allowed (pounds, hours, etc. and the planned price for each input factor (price per pound, rate per hour, etc. ). The total planned cost is a mini, per-unit budgeted amount. †¢ After the actual costs are known, a report is generated that shows actual costs, planned costs, and related variances. A manager can examine the variance column quickly to ascertain which exceptions require attention. ? Following up on significant variances is called management by exception. Managers focus their efforts where they are most needed in the limited time available. 2. SETTING STANDARDS . Managers set standards by analyzing historical data. However, past data must be adjusted for expected changes in technology, the production process, inflation, and other similar factors. ? Managers also use task analysis to focus on how much a product should cost. †¢ Knowledgeable people such as engineers, purchasing agents, production supervisors, and accountants should be brought into the standard-setting process. Cross-functional teams are very useful here. 4. Two types of standards may be used: perfection standards and practical standards. Perfection (ideal) standards assume that production takes place in the ideal world: employees always work at peak performance, materials are never defective, and machines never break down. ? Although some managers feel that ideal standards give employees a goal to shoot for, many behavioral scientists believe that setting unattainable goals has a demotivating effect, as employees simply give up trying to reach the standard. ? Practical (attainable) standards are set high enough to encourage efficient and effective operations but not so high as to seem impossible. Behavioral scientists feel that practical standards have a more positive effect on the productivity of employees. ? Unlike variances computed with perfection standards, variances calculated when practical standards are employed tend to be more meaningful as they represent deviations from a realistic goal. †¢ Service firms also use standards. For example, McDonald's restaurants are noted for using standards, not only for quantities of material (amount of beef per burger) but also for the time allowed to serve customers at the drive-in window or counter. . VARIANCE ANALYSIS 5. Variance analysis involves calculating the actual amount of input used and comparing it to the budgeted amount of input that should have been used (i. e. , the standard cost allowed for actual output). The variance is then analyzed into its component parts. 6. Standards are established for: ? The amount of material required to produce a finished product (the standard material quantity). ? The anticipated delivered cost of materials (the standard material price). The number of hours normally needed to manufacture one unit of product (the standard direct-labor quantity). ? The estimated hourly cost of compensation (the standard labor rate). †¢ The following model can be used to calculate variances for direct materials (DM) and direct labor (DL): DM Price = (AQ Purchased x AP) – (AQ Purchased x SP) DM Quantity = (AQ Used x SP) – (SQ Used* x SP) DL Rate = (AQ x AP) – (AQ x SP) DL Efficiency = (AQ x SP) – (SQ* x SP) * Standard quantity for the actual production levelNotice that the price and rate variances use a similar approach, and the quantity and efficiency variances use a similar approach, with efficiency being another way to say â €Å"quantity of hours† allowed. †¢ Unfavorable variances arise when the actual cost per unit of input (e. g. , gallons, hours, etc. ) exceeds standard cost and when actual quantities used (e. g. , gallons, hours, etc. ) exceed standard quantities. The opposite situation gives rise to favorable variances. 4. VARIANCE INVESTIGATION 1.A manager does not have time to examine each variance; therefore, he or she must consider selected factors in deciding when an investigation should take place. The factors include one or more of the following: ? Size of the variance (in absolute and/or relative terms, such as $5,000 or 10% of standard cost) ? Frequency of occurrence ? An otherwise small variance may require investigation if it consistently occurs, as it may indicate an ongoing problem or an outdated standard. ? Trends ? Controllability (there is little point to investigate items over which managers have no control). Favorable variances ? A manager should investigate both favor able and unfavorable variances. A favorable variance with advertising expense, for instance, could lead to the conclusion that an insufficient amount is being spent on promotion, which could lead to a loss of customers. ? Costs and benefits (the decision to investigate involves a cost-benefit analysis, as a number of investigative costs are incurred). Some companies use a statistical approach to variance investigation by preparing a statistical control chart. These charts help to pinpoint random and nonrandom variances, with a statistically determined critical value being compared to a variance to determine whether an investigation is warranted. 5. BEHAVIORAL IMPACT OF STANDARD COSTING 1. Variances may be used to evaluate personnel, often with regard to salary increases, bonuses, and promotions. ? Such incentives can have positive and negative effects, as a bonus plan may prompt a manager to pursue actions that are not in the best interests of the organization. ? An example of detri mental behavior: A purchasing manager may purchase cheap material to create a favorable price variance.That material could be of poor quality, which might result in excess usage and problems with the finished product. 6. CONTROLLABILITY OF VARIANCES 2. It is rare that one person controls any event; however, it is often possible to identify the manager who is most able to influence a particular variance. These managers are often the following: ? Direct-material price variance—Purchasing manager ? Direct-material quantity variance—Production supervisor and/or production engineers ? Direct-labor rate variance—Production supervisor ? Direct-labor efficiency variance—Production supervisor . Variances often interact, making investigation and controllability difficult. For example, a labor efficiency variance may be caused by problems not only with labor but by problems with machinery and/or material. ? Managers sometimes trade-off variances, purposely incurring an unfavorable variance that is more than offset by favorable variances. 7. STANDARD COSTS AND PRODUCT COSTING 4. In a standard-cost system, costs flow through the same accounts in the general ledger as shown earlier in the text; however, they flow through at standard cost.In other words, Work-in-Process Inventory, Finished-Goods Inventory, and Cost of Goods Sold are carried at standard cost. 8. ADVANTAGES OF STANDARD COSTS 2. A standard-cost system has several advantages, as follows: ? Managers have a sensible comparison method at their disposal, one that looks at budgeted costs vs. actual costs at the actual level of output. ? Managers can practice management by exception. ? Variances provide a benchmark for performance evaluation and employee rewards. ? Standard costs provide a stable product cost.Actual costs may fluctuate erratically, whereas standard costs are changed only periodically. 9. CRITICISMS OF STANDARD COSTING IN TODAY'S MANUFACTURING ENVIRONMENT 3. Criticisms of st andard costing in advanced manufacturing settings include: ? Variances are too aggregated and arrive too late to be useful. Variances should focus on activities, specific product lines, or production batches. ? Variances focus too much on the cost and efficiency of labor, which is becoming a relatively unimportant factor of production. Standard costs rely on a stable production environment, and flexible manufacturing systems have reduced this stability, with frequent switching among a variety of products on the same manufacturing line. ? Standards focus too much on cost minimization and not enough on product quality, customer service, and other contemporary issues. 10. OPERATIONAL CONTROL MEASURES 5. Many companies now focus on an increased number of performance measures, many of which are nonfinancial in nature. Examples often include: ? Customer-acceptance measures such as customer complaints, warranty claims, and product returns. Delivery cycle time, or the average time between t he receipt of a customer order and the delivery of goods. ? Manufacturing cycle time, or the total production time per unit. ? Manufacturing cycle efficiency, or processing time divided by the sum of processing time, inspection time, waiting time, and move time. †¢ To judge how well or poorly a company is performing, many firms use benchmarking, which involves comparing existing performance levels against those of either other organizations or other units within the same organization. †¢

Tuesday, July 30, 2019

My family’s relationship to nature and the environment

The history of my family demonstrates the drastic change in the relationship with environment that has occurred over the past few generations. Seeing the change in attitudes and lifestyles between my grandparents, parents, and my own generation is very educational, Examining the changing relationship with environment across this timeframe, one can make conclusions about the relative importance of natural surroundings in the life of people as changing over time. My family history naturally reflects the situation in Thailand, as I come from this nation, but I believe that it to a great degree parallels the events in other parts of the globe. My grandparents lived in a rural area in Thailand and made their living by farming. This is still a common situation in Thailand where 65% of the land is engaged in agriculture (Assumption University, n.d.). Their occupation made them strongly aware of their natural environment as they depended upon it for their livelihood. However, this relationship was not one of adoration or concern – land, water, plants were to them something matter-of-fact, something they perceived as their daily routine. Besides, their attitude was one of consumption. They saw the resources of the land as something they were entitled to merely because of being born in this land, since soil, skies and water were simply vehicles for growing food, not much else. There was little concern as to what will happen in the next generations, and little awareness of the need to implement new agricultural techniques in order to extend the land’s capability to generate harvests over generation. At that time, Thailand’s population was not so large, and it was at many times simpler to move to a new plot of land than to tend to the old one, trying to improve its productivity. With all this said, I would like to note that my grandparents were successful as farmers and developed some new crops that allowed them to outstrip the rest of the farmers in terms of financial gain. In the next generation, the income received by my grandparents enabled my father to receive a college education and obtain a white-collar job. Thus, nature offered them this opportunity to improve their lifestyle and life standards. As a result, my father who grew up on a farm, found himself working in an office in Bangkok, only occasionally visiting his elderly parents in their place. The same is true for my mother who also changed her rural motherland for an urban life. This made nature seem something of a holiday setting to them, rather than an everyday reality. In their office jobs, they did not need to care whether land preserved its fertility and whether the climate remained mild enough for the crops to grow. Although Bangkok and other cities in Thailand are made up of landscapes skillfully integrating trees, lawns and buildings to create a coherent image, this nature is very ‘cultured’ and very far removed from the roughness of the village landscapes. Thus, in my parents’ urban life, nature was very much a distant reality, something they saw on TV and enjoyed in our little Sunday outings. However, they identified with Thai nature as associated with their place of birth and motherland. Given their rural background, they remembered toiling in the fields and gardens, trying to turn the gifts of nature into material benefits. Somewhere deep inside their souls, they looked upon this connection, although on a subconscious level. One change that occurred in the relationship to nature in my parents’ generation was the rising awareness of nature as a global phenomenon. Thanks to books, periodicals, TV, and now Internet, their generation was able to realize that the boundaries of nature transgressed those of nations, and that nature was facing a threat from too much human interference. Seeing pictures of nature all around the world, they began to see in color how different various places on earth were, and realize how unique their own natural surroundings were. This ‘global’ realization, I believe, happened more or less in the time my parents’ generation was active, as millions of people throughout the world realized that the rest of the world has become closer, and reality is such that we live in a small, interdependable world. With the move to the US that happened when I was only 17, the connection with nature as some place in Thailand where my parents were born and grew up, has become even weaker. Here, we were surrounded by a rich and diverse natural setting, even if it seemed alien to us at first. However, the beauty of American nature took our hearts, and as a family we made quite a few ‘nature-focused’ outings, such as, for instance, a trip to the Grand Canyon or the Yellowstone park. More important is, however, the revolution in thinking that occurred in my generation. With globalization trotting over the planet at a dramatically increased speed, environmental plight is no longer something distant and incomprehensible, but instead has become something that threatens us already in out lifetime. With evidence of the global climate change and warming happening on a large scale, no one can ignore the significance of what is happening. Basing my judgment not only on my personal experience, but also on that of my colleagues and fellow students, I can claim that we are much more likely to make environmentally conscious choices. Personally, I agree with the words of James Gustave Speth, dean of the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, that environmental issues today have turned into â€Å"chronic problems,† that emerge and have a long-term nature† (Laverdiere, 2000). The fact that today’s ecological issues such as greenhouse effect, ozone depletion and loss of biodiversity cannot be solved by the efforts of one nation or dealt with effectively on a local level. Their solution requires the coordination of effort on an international level, translating into significant changes in our mentality. My generation is much more aware of the existence of other nations, better informed of their struggle for a cleaner environment and has better opportunities to join with representatives of other countries in the struggle for a safer and cleaner environment. Personally, I have participated in a few demonstrations focused on environmental issues and at one point attended the Ecological Club in my high school. I also know a lot of peers who take this action seriously. This is something my parents and grandparents would not think of doing since they had a totally different perception of their relationship to nature and environment. Thus, over three generations, my family went through a revolution in our relationship to environmental cause. To my grandparents, land and nature was commodity, something they consumed in order to receive material benefits for themselves and their kids. My parents were to a great degree alienated from nature that remained to them very much a childhood memory that bound them to their birthplace; at the same time, their understanding of nature and environment was considerably broadened to include places far away from their motherland. Finally, in my present generation, nature became a source of concern, something that requires distinct political action to protect and save it for future generations. References Assumption University, Bangkok. (n.d.). Agriculture. Retrieved January 27, 2006, from http://sunsite.au.ac.th/thailand/agriculture/AgriRes.html Laverdiere, M. (2000, January 27). â€Å"Forestry dean discusses hidden environmental problems†. Yale Daily News. Retrieved January 27, 2006   

Obesity Debate Essay

In the five section article, â€Å"Rethinking Weight† by Amanda Spake, the author outlines the conflict surrounding whether obesity classifies as a disease. Spake discusses the prevalence of obesity in America and sheds light on the idea that obesity may contain genetic roots. The article continues with the author’s insights into whether weight or fitness retains the most importance. Spake concludes the article with thoughts on the growing concern of insurance coverage and obesity treatment. The author claims that â€Å"At the heart of this obesity epidemic is a debate over whether obesity is a biological ‘disease’ and should be treated like any other life-threatening illness – cancer, heart disease – or whether it is simply a risk factor for these killers† (282). Spake successfully supports the claim by incorporating a narrative account, explaining the biology, psychology, and scientific research of obesity, and stating how society may already classify obesity as a disease, but Spake strays from the idea of obesity qualifying as a disease when she describes the role insurance companies play when paying for obesity treatment. The article begins with a narrative account of Maria Pfisterer. Spake uses Maria Pfisterer’s story to reveal the struggles obesity and dieting inflict upon a person. According to the author, Pfisterer’s many attempted diets, in terms of weight â€Å"All resulted in a little lost and more regained,† which supports the idea of weight and dieting inflicting a constant burden in the lives of many Americans (282). Spake also included in the story of Pfisterer’s weight battle the idea that no matter how hard Pfisterer tried to lose weight or what method Pfisterer thought to try, the weight never permanently disappeared, which in turn supports the concept of obesity being more than just a physical ailment. The author also discusses the possible treatment of gastric bypass surgery for Pfisterer, which remains unavailable to Pfisterer due to the high cost and specific criteria an individual must possess in order to receive the surgery. The narrative story provides an appeal to emotions by showing one woman’s struggle with weight and the effect that struggle embodies in Pfisterer’s life. The story also provides a persuasive element, influencing a want for Pfisterer to achieve her personal weight goals. The author pinpoints a person’s biology and psychological state as possible factors in the development of obesity. Xavier Pi-Sunyer from the Obesity Research Center at St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital suggests â€Å"†¦obesity is a biologically determined process† (282). Many weight researchers also believe that â€Å"obesity is controlled by a powerful biological system of hormones, proteins, neurotransmitters, and genes that regulate fat storage and body weight and tell the brain when, what, and how much to eat† (284). Rudolph Leibel, a Columbia University geneticist, also states, â€Å"I believe there are strong genetic factors that determine susceptibility to obesity† (285). The given beliefs demonstrate how obesity qualifies as more than a personal decision. A person’s biology resists changes; therefore, the idea of obesity as a biological condition contains validity for Spake’s claim. The author also includes Brian Wansink’s perspective, â€Å"†¦obesity is not just biology; it’s psychology† (286). The brain plays a key role in how obesity operates differently in individuals. The author continues to explain how, psychologically, obese individuals hold no control over the eating habits the overweight display. Spake’s inclusion of biological and psychological ideas presented by reliable professionals persuades critical audiences to agree with the author’s claim. Scientific research also plays a part in the obesity debate. Spake uses a variety of logos and ethos information to support the claim of the ongoing debate over the classification of obesity. The article incorporates the use of statistics from various studies on weight and obesity to solidify the author’s beliefs. The author gives a shocking statistic that â€Å"A majority of Americans—now 64   percent—are overweight or obese and struggling to conquer their expanding waistlines before their fat overtakes their health†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (282). A study done of twins showed that 20 to 70 percent of weight issues developed through inheritance. Another study conducted by RTI International and the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions stated, â€Å"the nation is spending about $75 billion a year on weight-related disease† (283). Spake even includes the statistic saying that, â€Å"Simply eating with one other person increases the average amount eaten at meals by 44 percent,† which refers to the psychological aspect of obesity (286). The author’s use of statistical information provides a strong backing for Spake’s claim about the obesity debate. Although not officially categorized as a disease, some organizations in society already list obesity as a disease. Spake chooses to include examples of situations in society where obesity may already encompass similar characteristics to a disease. The diseases that result from excessive amounts of weight embody a prominent situation described by the author. â€Å"Almost 80 percent of obese adults have one of these conditions, and nearly 40 percent have two or more,† Spake suggests when referring to diseases, such as heart disease, Type II diabetes, and high cholesterol that relate to the presence of obesity. Another example the author mentions confirms that, â€Å"The WHO has listed obesity as a disease in its International Classification of Disease since 1979.† Spake raises concern as to why obesity still remains uncategorized as an official disease when large quantities of overweight individuals contract other diseases due to the affliction of obesity and when a substantial organization already includes obesity in a database of diseases. Another statistic included in the discussion reads â€Å"About 325,000 deaths a year are attributed to obesity† (283). This shocking statistic sparks the question of why obesity lacks the definition of a disease even further. However, the author strays from her claim when insurance problems come into the article. Bringing the topic of insurance into the discussion provides no backing for any of the author’s claim. Spake chose to incorporate that â€Å"The health insurance industry argues that obesity treatments  can’t be covered†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (287). The claim refers to whether obesity classifies as a disease, not the effect of insurance coverage on those affected by obesity. Also, the author included that â€Å"the cost†¦of treatment and health insurance will escalate† (288). The price tag of treatment and rising insurance costs gives no support to the debate of obesity classifying as a disease that Spake claims as the purpose of the article. The inclusion of the insurance debacle distracts from the key issues the article puts forth, leaving readers to question the main idea of the article. In summation, Spake successfully supports the claim by incorporating a narrative account, explaining the biology, psychology, and scientific research of obesity, and stating how society may already classify obesity as a disease, but Spake strays from the claim when she describes the role of insurance companies in paying for obesity treatment. Works Cited Spake, Amanda. â€Å"Rethinking Weight.† Writing and Reading for ACP Composition. Comp. Thomas E. Leahey and Christine R. Farris. New York: Pearson Custom Publishing, 2009. 285-88. Print.

Monday, July 29, 2019

Manufactoring case study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Manufactoring - Case Study Example This part is also required to be stronger. Moreover, the extreme humidity may also damage the same by the formation of rust throughout the metallic body of the tool. However, there also some of the punch tools that are made up of plastic, especially the lever (Paper Pro Inc., â€Å"Home.†). The product generally stays in the normal room temperature and humidity. However, with the extreme humidity it might rust its surface. It generally stays in the hands of users therefore the presence of moisture in the hands might also form rust. Moreover, it is also observed in the table or shelf of an office or an educational institute or in the living room (Davis 1-58). The parts that are more vulnerable to be damaged after the execution of physical pressure are the punches and the lever. These parts are directly connected to the body of the punch machine and with the holes of the same. It is also connected with the part of the instrument, where the pressure is exerted (Davis 1-58). The inside dimensions of the lever and punch are very important aspect for a punch machine to be effective. The proper dimension of the lever for the satisfaction of the customer can be achieved by exerting less pressure for making paper holes. Moreover, the proper dimension of the punches is also important as leads to the formation of the holes at the specific dimension in papers (Davis 1-58). There are also certain non-dimensional attributes that are required to be considered. These include proper smoothness and color throughout the body of the tool. The body of the tool is also required to be designed as per the segments of the customers. If the tool is used in the corporate offices, it is desirable to have a corporate look. Further, if the tool is used by a young boy or a girl, it is required to be designed accordingly (Davis 1-58). The material that is used in the punches and in the lever is generally of steel. Steel is one of the strongest alloys of the

Sunday, July 28, 2019

Art Institute Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Art Institute - Assignment Example It was not just a picture of women crying, but also had lots of expressions on it. The overall experience was great, although there were certain areas that really put me off. For instance, the employees who worked there did not seem to be very friendly. In addition, flash photography was not permitted inside the museum and, therefore, one could not really experience the fun of walking around the museum. I took interest in a medieval painting of a child being held by the parent. This child looked like a miniature adult and that is one common thing from the painting of the medieval times. However, neither the name of the artist nor the school of art has been provided for this particular painting (Gardner et al. 126). I particularly enjoyed various works of sculptures, but there is mostly one that caught my attention. This was a work done by Richmond Barthe of ‘The boxer’. The piece of art depicts African Americans. In the year 1942, the boxer corresponded to the period of time where boxers, especially the blacks like Joe Louis, used to fight with their white rivals and ended up beating them. It meant a huge step for the African Americans and on the basis of equality at least while boxing (Gardner et al. 99). In the institute there is a widely known arms and armor collection that have been put on a special display. There are half and full suits, cannons, pole arms, a knight mounted on a horse that if fully arrayed and a shield in the company of two swords. There are ceiling which are high enough to allow for the Baroque tapestries and Renaissance to be included along with a sculpture. In addition, some paintings and objects imply a wide range of settings. The installation looks at the close association between the arms and armor and the contemporary art and style hence demonstrating the different ways hose objects put emphasis on the social status of the owner (Gardner et al. 226). There is a

Saturday, July 27, 2019

Strategic Plan,Conceptualizing a Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Strategic Plan,Conceptualizing a Business - Essay Example It has the ability for catering of services for both females and males in the area. To ensure that clients get quality services and products; to enhance their mental relaxation and improve on their physical appearance. Being a reputable salon; that offers quality products and services at fair prices (Hormozi et al., 2002). Disney has been a leading hair stylist in the city has worked with major beauty â€Å"spas† that deals with top models and wealthy clienteles. Through the three years of experience in upscale salons Disney has been able to create a reputable name in the beauty stylish industry with a strong base of clienteles. Working with her fellow beauticians; Disney is most destined to build this business enterprise a successful undertaking. Forming from this reputation already earned this company tends to attract more clients and continue the growth of the company. Our business company is located in one of Greensted busy streets which is easily accessible to any person, thus our clienteles won’t find difficulty locating us. The environment is conducive with enough space that ensures the clients receive professional services and recreation. Our business provides quite a variety of products and services all under one roof, and we are flexible in the working hours to suit our customers’ needs. The high reputation of our staff and the owner of being able to offer quality services to suit each customer needs will earn us more new clients and strengthen the relationship with our current clients (Karlsson & Honig, 2009). The company will provide services that cater needs of the whole family setting; that are convenient to children, women and men. These diverse services are: 1) Hair services: shampoo, weaving and waving, colors, haircuts, conditioners, relaxers, curling, perms and reconstructing; 2) Skin care services: facials, massage, and body waxing. 3) Nails Services: polish, manicures,

Friday, July 26, 2019

Week 2 discussion and participation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Week 2 discussion and participation - Essay Example The author of the article claims that the basic principle is focus. A great example illustrated in the article regarding focus was the case of Dell Corporation. Dell was able to penetrate the computer marketplace and increase its market share by focusing on the direct sales marketplace. The acronym developed the authors of the article was very practical. FOCVS is the acronym created in the article. The FOCVS system can be used by marketers to implement marketing strategies. F stands for first. It is common marketing knowledge that the first company that penetrates a marketplace will built a competitive advantage over the competition. O stands for do the opposite. Marketers can differentiate themselves by doing the opposite of the competition. C stands for category dominance. When marketers concentrate on one category of products they can build greater organizational knowledge which helps innovate within its category. V stand for visualizing the market. The use of a great image for a product can enable marketers to captivate the minds of its clientele. The last letter stands for second brands. More brands give marketers more options. The carnival cruise line presentation provided a lot of valuable knowledge for marketing students. Customer centricity allows companies to achieve a better relationship between the company and the clients. The use of segmentation is a great way for marketers to identify the customer attributes that can add value to a firm. For example if the demographics of a country are that 60% of populations are women companies should develop more consumer products for females. The marketing metrics calculated by the marketing department must be used as tools to implement marketing tactics. The performance of the marketing department is greater when strategies can be implemented faster. Segmentation is a marketing strategy that can provide a lot value to the customers. Segmentation can be used by

Thursday, July 25, 2019

Emergence of Confucianism Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Emergence of Confucianism - Assignment Example He is well celebrated for coming up with the textual traditions of china. The texts became the foundation and the state ideology of the Chinese dynasties. The texts were mastered by few in the society but penetrated deep in the society and are held sacred by the members of the Chinese community (Xinzhong, 2005). Confucius is locally known as the king qui the founder of the school of thought that is well studied and celebrated. Every country and nation experiences a financial depression at a certain period. It is up to the government to make sure that the situation is well handled and make sure that the financial position is restored as quickly as possible. In Britain, the financial hurricane hit in the year 2008.The financial advisor suggested that they should shrink the government. However, this did not work and led to high taxes and strangled and weakened the economy of Britain. The repercussions were loss of jobs and income to the people, high taxes, high interest and many more effects which that are detrimental to any state. As explained in the documentary, mandate of heaven is a myth and ideology the Asian empires of ancient times grant that they have the right to govern and lead the nation. Heaven is said to bestow the mandate to an individual to be a leader and the ruler of the people in question. Mandate of heaven does not require a leader with the royal blood but rather id concerned with the unique qualities of the person. If a ruler was overthrown, he is considered as have lost the mandate of heaven. This ideology is common in china and was used to support the kings and the rulers of the Shang and Zhou dynasties. The past of the Chinese society is vet strong and influences them greatly. They development is hindered by their retention of tradition practices and philosophies. Culture mix refers to the mixing together of different groups of people with differences in art and

Wednesday, July 24, 2019

Global Strategy FrogPubs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Global Strategy FrogPubs - Essay Example The examination and the evaluation of the strategic choices and actions of Paul and Thor have led to the conclusion that their business would not actually have many chances to survive within the French market; it could be further noted that signs existed even regarding the inability of the firm to be successfully established in the specific market; but it seems that these signs were ignored – or at least, they were wrongly interpreted. The position of FrogPubs within the French market can be characterized as quite satisfactory; based on the fact that in Paris there is no similar pub – in accordance with the market research developed by Paul and Thor – it could be stated that FrogPubs would have many prospects to achieve a high growth. On the other hand, the market in Paris would be appropriate for the enterprise of such kind – having in mind that because of its geographical position, Paris has many tourists and visitors from England who would be expected to visit FrogPubs – since there is no similar enterprise across Paris. However, the strategic position of FrogPubs would be evaluated using additional criteria: the type of activities of an enterprise is not decisive in regard to its potentials for growth; rather, various elements in the internal and external organizational environment should be examined in order to evaluate whether the specific enterprise would have chances to survive t owards its rivals in the industry under examination. In this context, the strategic choices of Paul and Thor need to be examined and criticized; recommendations would be then produced based on the feasibility and the viability of the particular project – even in the short term.Thor can be characterized as successful – under common market conditions. No problems regarding their cooperation or communication appeared during the development of their project; their failure to understand the market practices has been irrelevant with their potentials to establish a successful partnership – which is not evaluated only in terms of the profits achieved but also in terms of the quality of communication and cooperation between the partners.

Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 4

Report - Essay Example The high level of mechanization at the plant is evidence that the plant produces vehicles in large numbers. The sell of this vehicles make them firm play a major role in the global economy. The firm also employs a large labor force which contributes to the global economy. In reference to its cleanliness, the plant is very sparkling clean and everything is put in place so as to enhance the work inside the company. Mistake cannot be tolerated since accidents are bound to happen which may prove to be very fatal. The company does not build similar plants in the United States. The question to this would be why this plant located in Brazil other than the U.S and the answer would be that the plant is generally more automated than those compared to the U.S, they are flexible than any other plant. The main unique factor about the company’s relation and location to suppliers would be that of bankruptcy. Visteon which was part of the unit of the Ford group used to be second in world supply. The company has a diverse range of suppliers who supply a range of services and goods. It has programs on diversity of suppliers so as to achieve its ultimate success. In reference to time and technique, the company was designed so as to avoid time wastage and hence duplicate the work output by the workers. This was very helpful and it made the company grow. Ford has a no definite number of suppliers reason being that the suppliers are diverse and also wide spread. In refrence to Visteaon 2009 revenue, the company in 2004 had a sale of about $18.7 and 70,000 employees. In the year 2009 it was delisted from the stock exchange after it’s the companies shares had dropped significantly. $1.2 billion in profits were made in the year 2010 by the supplier group. Ford was sold some assemblies and components. The first is ford wheel hub assembly. The second is the Atlanta assembly. Finally is the explorer black light assembly.

Tuesday, July 23, 2019

The Anatomy of Temperature Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The Anatomy of Temperature - Research Paper Example Temperature is an important indicator of other problems, with high temperature being indicative of fever (which usually signals an infection) and therefore can be useful in determining the health of the patient (Miller, 2009). Essential Principles Evidently, a nurse needs to be aware of how to check the temperature of a patient as it is important in so many ways. There are four major areas from which a temperature can be taken; oral, rectal, gut and skin-based (including ear and forehead). Other areas can sometimes be used, such as the vagina (Timby, 2008). The first four are the most consistent with the body temperature and therefore are the most useful in determining the true temperature of the patient. The oral temperature is the easiest of these measurements to take, although it is generally slightly lower than the ‘core’ temperature because it is influenced by outside factors such as eating and talking (Blainey, 1974). An oral thermometer can be placed below the ton gue to take this reading. The skin measurements, such as the ear and the forehead, tend to be more susceptible to changes in outside temperature and the clothing of the individual, and therefore have different ranges of what can be considered normal and healthy (Ilsley et al, 1983). Skin temperatures can easily be taken by the patient using a plastic thermometer strip, which is useful for patients who do not require hospitalization but may require some temperature monitoring (Funnell et al, 2008). This simply needs to be placed against the forehead and the approximate measurement given should be noted (Hegner et al, 2009). The gut temperature is the most difficult to take, although it is most accurate, as it involves swallowing a small thermometer. The ear has become one of the most popular ways of testing the temperature of the individual in recent years.

Monday, July 22, 2019

Early Civilian Matrix Essay Example for Free

Early Civilian Matrix Essay Early Civilizations Matrix Using your readings and outside sources, complete the following matrix. Be sure to address the following in your matrix Provide names, titles, dates, brief descriptions of important events, and other details, as necessary. Note the details of key political, socioeconomic, technological, artistic, musical, architectural, philosophical, and literary developments for each civilization listed in the table, which were evidenced in the humanities. Properly cite the sources you use in completing this matrix. The Budda tells the story of his life. Buddhism is one of the most important Asian spiritual traditions.(Buddhism, n.d.)Brahmanism and Buddhism gave rise in India to form two types of socities. (Buddhism, n.d.) Buddist influences on print technology in East Asia are far reaching.Buddist Technology, n.d.)Buddist art is the artistic practices that are solely influenced by Buddhists(Buddhism, n.d.).Buddhist music or so call Saskit Music is an orginal form of a Buddhist chant.(Buddhism, n.d.)The development of Buddhist architecture can be traced back to the introduction of Buddhism. Their main feature are temples. (Buddhism, n.d.)Buddhism philosophy is the teachings o the Buddha Buddist Philosophy, n.d.)Buddhist scriptures comprise on complicated texts. (Buddist Literature, 1982)Early Middle AgesThe political structure of the western Christendom were changing and the boundaries of the known world were expanding.(Politics in the Middle Ages, 1912)The Middle Ages were a dark age for Europe. There was rapid technology progress during this time. One big improvement was the heavy plow. (Technology in the Middle Ages, n.d.)Art saw many changes during this period. (Art in the Middle Ages, n.d.)The music of the Early Middle Ages generally consisted of the secular music of the church. (Early Middle Ages, n.d.)During the Early Middle Ages, architecture can be divided in two classes religious and military architecture. (Newman, 2008-2014)The first period in the Early Middle Ages from around 400-1000 were called the Dark Ages.(Early Middle Ages, n.d.)Latin was the language of the church and of learning. (The Middle Ages, 2010-2014)High Middle AgesThere was political stability in Western Europe in the early High Middle Ages.(Middle Ages, n.d.) The High Middle Ages began after AD 1000. The churchs became the universal and unifying institutions. (The Middle Ages, n.d.)Some technology was developed  with the heavy plow, tidal mills, and blast furnaces. (The Middle Ages, n.d.)Christ ian-oriented art architecture flourished. Crusades were mounted to recapture Holy Land. The music during this period was primarily religious in nature. The music changed after the fall of Roman EmpireDuring the High Middle Ages, architecture took many innovative changes from Romanesque style to Gothic style. (Middle Ages,n.d.)The first truly great medieval philosopher was Augustine of Hippo. The Carolingian Rennaissance led to scientific Philoshical revival of Europe.A variety of cultures influenced the litersture of the High Middle Ages. (The Middle Ages, n.d.)Late Middle AgesThe Late Middle Ages went through major political changes. These changes were marked by the rise of strong and royalty-based nation-states.(Late Middle Ages Politics, n.d.)The Late Middle Ages lead to a crisis of events in the 14th 15th centuries that brought centuries of European property growth to a halt. The mining industry under went a transition during the Late Middle Ages.Until the late 11th century, Southern Italy occupied the western border of the vast Byzantine Empire.Medieval music is Western music written in the Late Midddle Ages. This era begins wi th the fall of the Roman Empire. (Late Middle Ages Music, n.d.) Gothic style and Christian motifs dominated aret and architecture during the Late Middle Ages.(Middle Ages, n.d.)Medieval philosophers are thehistorical success of the philosophers of this era. The development of secular litersture written in the vernacular continued and accelerated in the Late Middle Ages. (Middle Ages, n.d.)Ancient GreeceAncient Greece wascomposed of mulitiple self-governing states. Political standing was determined by sex, age, foreign status, and states. ( Discovery Channel, 2010)Agriculture was difficult due to geographic necessities such as rich soil.Talos, automatic doors, steam engines, and water/air pumps. Talos was an operational robot.(Sfetos, 2002)Art during the Archac period was on a more natural level. Approved greek artists worked in jewelry making, metal working, ivory carving, and gem cutting. (The Metropolitian Museum of Art, 2000-2001)Lyric poetry and short songs with musical instruments. Poems to be sung by a chorus on sacred or ritual occasions. (King, n.d.)Donic Ionic principals. Columns were very popular in the Ancient Greece period.( The Metropolitian Museum of Art, 2000-2001) In Ancient Greece only free men born in the city were all owed to vote. They were able to enter political  debates.( Philosphy Politics of Ancient Greece, 2002-2011)Poetry was created far before literature and writings. Poetry was intented for singing and reciting. (Greek Literature, 2001)Ancient RomanThe ancient government was very similar to that of greeks. The Roman Empire was under one man rule until the beginning of time.(UNRV.com, 2003-2014)Slave-based economy. Agriculture and trade dominated the Roman economy. (UNRV.com, 2003-2014)Aqueducts, sewage systems and major technological achievements. The aqueducts brought water into the city of Roman and supplied water to some of the fountains.(Roman Technology, n.d.)Murels and large wall paintings were popular forms of art within Anciet Roman. Stautes, portraits, and sculptures were also important art forms.(The Art of Ancient Roman, n.d.)Romans took musical influence from those they conquered. Music in this time period was generally performed and associated with the military.( The Music of Ancient Rome, n.d.)Architecture was an essential part of the Roman period. Arches and columns of many different shapes and sizes became fluent within the city. (The Art of Ancient Rome, n.d.)By 50 BC, Romans began writing philosophy. Much of the Roman philosophy mocked greek philosophy. (Carr, 1998-20 11)Roman literature began as dramas, which began with no song or dialogue. It was much later, Rome began to see both comedies and tragedies played out by Roman Writers.(Roman Colosseum, 2008)ChinaAncient China had a government ruled by dynasties, sometimes united under on dynasty. China was ruled by emperors.The people of China were arranged in different social classes based on their economic status. (Ancient China History, n.d.)Ancient China was technically advanced in iron-making. Ancient Chian was also advanced in other technological fields.Chinese art is a visual art as we know it today. Traditional Chinese music can be traced back 7000-8000 yrs based on a bone flute made in Neolothic ( Discover.com, n.d).They lived in small houses made of mudbrick with only one room and dirt floors.(Discovery.com)Neo-Confuciumism became highly popular during this era.People in China started writing about 1500 BC. IndiaThe identity and unity of its government belong to the Ancient Vedic Age. The system goes back 5000 years or more. The customs, beliefs, and practices we re quite different during the Ancient India. The modern numeration system was developed. The art work during the India Era, consisted of sared murals and photographs.The Birthplace of Indiam musical  Ragu and Swwarus.The architecture was a very unique style. Earliest architecture dated back to 2500 BC.The Bhagavad Gita is revered as a sacre text of Hindu. The Republic has 22 officially recognized languages.Judaism1st century Judaism was a cauldron of resentment and frustration.(Jadaism Politics, n.d.)Concerned with caring for the needy people of there society. Looks at remedying the situation of poverty.(Judaism Economist, n.d.)Technology helped them in understanding the commandments betterMterial on the art formation is extremely rare. Investigastions lead to pottery, seal-engraving, metal cast, and sculpture.Jewish music stems from Ancient prayer chants of the Levant some 3000 years ago.Synagogue architecture followed styles in vogue for artistic expression.(Jewish Architecture, n.d.)Early Jewish Philosophy drew heavily from Plato, Aristotle, ans Islamic philosophy.H ebrew literature consists of ancient, medieval, and modern writings in Hebrew language.Early ChristianEarly Christians fell within the boundaries of the Roman Empire. The citizens within the Roman Empire generally made offerings to the state Gods and Godesses. (Early Christian History, n.d.)Much Earl Christianity was underground, the economy and society was the same as the Roman Empire. Christianity was no ant acceptable religion. Individuals remained a part of the Roman Empire.(UNRV.com,2003-2011)The technology used was similar to the Roman Empire. Aqueducts, sewage systems and amphitheaters were some of the greatest technological achievements .Art included decorations of the hidden places of worship. Early artists focused on portraying the Christians Beliefs.Music was discreet, Early Christian music came in the form of chants an versus.Early archecture was primarily for churches. This included the Basilica Church. The churches were primarily made of regular brick and marble.(Early Christian Architecture, n.d.)Early Christian wss derived from may subcuktures within the Roman Empire. The Christian church was a place for new ideas. (Graham,2011)Early literature included the New Testament, which was a collection of these writings. This included documentation of the early movement the words and death of Jesus. (TroxelIslamTotal tarianism seeks total political control. Not solely a religious movement.The Islamic economy was primarily dependent on trade between China, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Iran, Iraq, and Syria. (Carr, 1998-2011)The piston pump was created in 1206 AD. The pump enabled water to travel underground to surface  by means of pressure.(History of Science And Technoloy in Islam, n.d.)Islamic Art was primarily in pottery from potters used metal-based glazed on their pottery. (Carr, 2008-2011)Music took on a multi-cultural approach between 661-750 AD. Arab music had great influences.In the late 600s AD, they began to build mosques and oalaces. (Carr, 1998-2011)Islamic litersture was not always in existent. Arabic was primarily spoken and rarely written until after 1000 AD(Carr, 1998-2011) Use a list format of complete sentences rather than paragraphs. Do not copy and paste from outside resources. The following are two examples of the level of detail and documentation expected for this assignment Ancient Egyptian politics The union of Upper and Lower Egypt by Narmer in 3150 B.C.E. is commemorated in a 2-foot high slate known as the palette of Narmer (Sayre, 2013, pp. 3233). Ancient Greek architecture Minoan society The three-story palace a t Knossos was a labyrinthine masonry structure with dozens of rooms and corridors built around a central courtyard (Sayre, 2013, pp. 4344). Include a reference page if you are using sources other than the textbook.

Sunday, July 21, 2019

Who Is Immigrant Entrepreneurs Business Essay

Who Is Immigrant Entrepreneurs Business Essay Many successful entrepreneurs story told us how an immigrant set up or developed a business successfully, such as Steve Jobs who was born in US, but He Was the Most Famous Arab in the World: The father of the innovative head of Apple was from Syria. (The lede, Ner York Times, October 6); Sergey Brin, one of googles co-founder, was born in Moscow, Russia and grew up in US (Forbes.com); Steven Wong, New Zealand crisps King was originally from China. He moved to New Zealand when he turned to an adult. Why do people name them as an immigrant entrepreneur even they were born or grew up in local? What have the immigrant entrepreneurs done for the world? What challenges and opportunities have they met or will they meet in the future? This research essay will focus on these questions. Literature review Who is immigrant entrepreneurs There is lack of consensus on the exact definition of the concept of the immigrant or ethnic entrepreneur. On reviewing the variety of studies that have addressed this topic, it can be seen that the expression of immigrant or ethnic entrepreneur crops up reasonably frequently, although it should be underlined that its use is somewhat disparate. The term often overlaps with or is substituted by other terms that refer to the condition of being an immigrant, to the condition of being an entrepreneur, or the condition of belonging to a minority group within the economic space under analysis. According to Chaganti and Greene (2002), the reasons that explain this overlapping of terms lies in the theoretical framework used as a reference, which conceives immigrant entrepreneurs as a group of minority business owners for reasons of race, ethnic background (Rinder, 1958). As Chaganti and Greene (2002) state, immigrant entrepreneurs are not always characterized by ethnic attributes, and not al l ethnic minority entrepreneurs are immigrants, as in the case of second or third generations. The term immigrant or ethnic entrepreneur is regarded from a broad perspective and has been used in the majority of studies on the topic (Cavalcanti, 2007), referring both to the immigrant population that create a new firm and to those that belong to ethnic minorities even when they are not immigrants, thus combining the different terms used in the literature. We use the term ethnic entrepreneur with the meaning given by Waldinger et al. (1990) or Ma Mung (1992), and adhere to the ideas of Chaganti and Greene (2002) on this collective, who highlight the importance of the entrepreneurs involvement with their ethnic community with regard to identifying their ethnicity and the lesser relevance of their place of birth or nationality in this sense. Role / Status of immigrant entrepreneurs Immigrant entrepreneurship is an important socio-economic phenomenon of the century. The main destinations of immigrants in the country like the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, migrant entrepreneurs play an important role in economic development. For instance, entrepreneurship is critical to sustaining Americas economic power. Immigrant entrepreneurs, like their predecessors, play a key role. Immigrants are credited with 24 percent of patents and founded or cofounded over 25 percent of engineering and technology companies in the U.S. between 1995 and 2005. Economic impact of migrants in the host country operators is aware, but its influence is not limited to economic aspects alone. It involves important non-economic effects such as the development of ethnic community spirit, social integration and recognition of immigrants, a spirit of entrepreneurship preserving, and providing a role model for immigrants (Chrysostome Lin, 2010), especially for unskilled workers resulting in increased entry of foreign labor. Contribution of migrant entrepreneurs of the country of destination cannot be denied. Ayda et. al (2010) concluded that the producers of these migrants contribute to the growth of various products and services, not only because they are skilled and competent, but because of social relations with local communities. In a study of Turkish immigrant entrepreneurs in Switzerland, Baycan-Levent Kundak (2009) found that the movement of a foreign employee to an entrepreneur is very common and easily among Turkish immigrants. Socio-cultural norms of factors, government policies and the educational system in the host country Switzerland to make people less inclined to become entrepreneurs. Mustafa Chen (2010) studied on how five entrepreneurs- can be the internationalization of business and the role of transnational family network. The results showed that the producers of these migrants have access to resources and using the relationship between transnational borders is through family and ki nship networks that allow them to simultaneously engage in social and business activities in both countries. The socio-cultural profile of the entrepreneur and firm creation Understanding the reasons that explain why particular individuals, groups, and less directly, regions and countries are more entrepreneurial than others has been one of the principal objectives of researchers in the field of firm creation, which has been shifted to the more specific area of ethnic entrepreneurship. In recent years, the increase in firms created by this collective, as well as differences shown by diverse ethnic groups within the same target society has once again placed the spotlight on cultural aspects that differentiate certain communities from others (Basu and Werbner, 2001). Culture is considered to be an ethnic resource whose use on the part of the entrepreneur endows the firms created, the process followed for their creation and the strategies adopted for their development with specific traits. Culture is associated with a set of values, beliefs, and norms shared by a group or community (Hofstede, 1991); manifested as a way of thinking, feeling or reacting (Kluc khohn, 1951) through which members of a particular group differentiate themselves from those that belong to others. Therefore, culture exists within the context of a social group or unit, and the cultural differences can reflect variations related to the country or region of origin, ethnic background, social class, religion, gender, or language. Within the cultural elements, values have been one of the factors that the literature has studied most (McGrath et al., 1992a, b). Rokeach (1972) explained that having values means maintaining a permanent belief in preferring one specific type of behaviour over, or a final state of existence in relation to others. Schwartz (1992) characterizes values as concepts or beliefs that are applied to final desired states or behaviours. For Hofstede (2001), values are learnt predispositions, in other words, learnt mechanisms that are used in actions or behaviours with a view to obtaining positive consequences and/or avoiding negative ones. In this sense, it should be stated that values can be held by individuals and by groups, and also by collectives (Kilby, 1993; Kluckhohn, 1951), although it is only on a collective level that values can become components of a culture. More specifically, in the field of firm creation, some researchers have demonstrated the existence of associations between business and certain values that form a part of a given culture upheld by individualism, achievement, independence, or masculinity (Hofstede, 1980; Lipset, 2000). Equally, certain cultures have less consistent value systems in which business activity is included, especially in cases in which the activity implies risk, innovation, growth, and reinvestment of profits (Light, 1972). In this sense, what is common to all studies carried out on this topic is that not all ethnic groups have neither the same entrepreneurial capacity nor show the same entrepreneurial behaviour. Thus, for example, according to the Office for National Statistics (2001) in the UK, the ratio of firm creation by west Europeans is 12 percent, as opposed to 15 percent among Indians, 18 percent amongst the Chinese population and 19 percent of Pakistanis. In the same vein, Asian and East African e ntrepreneurs have a long tradition in business, in many cases related to the restaurant sector (Basu and Altinay, 2002). Corkill (2001) states that African immigrants tendto concentrate on the building industry in Portugal and on agriculture in Spain, whilst Latin Americans and Asian women tend to work in domestic services and Polish, Lithuanian, and Rumanian immigrants tend towards the construction industry in Spain. Curran and Burrows (1988) point out that those from Southern Asia look more to the restaurant, general food trading, and clothing industries. The Chinese are to be found principally in retailing (Song, 1997), and Afro-Caribbeans in the construction sector (Curran and Blackburn, 1993). Relationship between immigrant entrepreneurs and the local market and international market The success of their own business is also assisted by the local people. The locals who are willing to partner with them and hire shops for foreign migrants somehow give them opportunities to start a business. Thanks to the efforts of this migrant entrepreneurs, eventually some of them can establish their own companies, whether small or large scale. There are also foreign workers who have managed to become entrepreneurs took the opportunity to improve their lives doing wrong in the law of this country. Companies may be owned by locals but foreign operators who manage most of the way companies operation and their employees who are employed are foreign workers. In addition, people normally choose foreign operators because the price offered is far cheaper than the local operators do. Many Chinese entrepreneurs are operating fresh food or fast food companies in US, Australia or New Zealand etc. They have achieved many success in a result of advantage of low price. According to Amit and Muller (1995), based on their motivation to engage in entrepreneurial activity, there are two types of entrepreneurs, namely, Push and Pull entrepreneurs. The former includes those who are pushed to start a business as they are dissatisfied with their current position in the labour market in terms of unemployment or underemployment. The latter are those who are attracted by their new venture idea and initiate venture activity. Amit and Muller (1995) also conclude that Pullentrepreneurs are more successful than the Pushones. Chavan and Agrawal (2002) found from their study, examining the changing role of ethnic small business in Australia by studying three generations over a period of time, that the first generation of ethnic entrepreneurs were associated with Push motivations and the second and third generations of entrepreneurs were associated with Pull motivations. As scholars (Basu, 2004; Chavan Agrawal, 2002) have found, immigrants are motivated to engage in entrepreneurial activity either derived from Pushor Pullfactors, or from both, as immigrant entrepreneurs can also be classified as either. There are a number of theories that appear to be relevant for immigrant entrepreneurship and the following paragraphs will examine them. Discussion Analysis Challenges of immigrant entrepreneurs According to Waldinger et al. (1990), immigrant entrepreneurs face various challenges in adapting to the host culture and establishing their own businesses. The main problems that ethnic business owners commonly face include: protecting themselves from political attacks; dealing with surviving competition; managing relations with customers and suppliers; obtaining financial and human resources; acquiring needed information and appropriate training and skills. These social and economic handicaps coupled with the disadvantages drive many immigrant entrepreneurs into small businesses. Indeed, immigrant entrepreneurship can pave the way to upward social mobility (Kloosterman, 2003). Nevertheless, business researchers have documented that the businesses many immigrants engage in are small businesses which are characterised by low entry cost, high levels of competition, limited profit margins, high rate of failure, and labour intensity (Fernandez Kim, 1998; Phizacklea Ram, 1995; Waldinger, 1989; Waldinger et al., 1990). The reasons for this situation can be best explained using opportunity structure theory. Opportunity Structure and Risk-taking Theories The opportunity structure theory states that ethnic entrepreneurs can only move into those niches that are underserved or abandoned by native entrepreneurs. These opportunities are mainly found in the industries where the risks of failure are high. They are characterised by low status, low rewards, heavy labour, high running costs, and limited profit margins (Waldinger, 1989; Kupferberg, 2003). Due to the evolution of the global economic system, the structure of opportunities is continually changing in modern business society. In addition, political factors might frequently hinder the working of business markets. Immigrant business owners have therefore found themselves facing various market conditions (Aldrich Waldinger, 1990). Waldinger et al. (1990) point out that demand for services provided is essential for a business to prosper. The primary market for immigrant entrepreneurs can be the members of their own ethnic community in which there are no language barriers. Within the sam e community, people intimately know each others needs and preferences. In this sense, ethnic entrepreneurs can develop niche customer bases. Kloosterman (2003) sees this as the pull factor on the demand side that creates the opportunities for immigrants to set up a shop within their own ethnic community. Immigrant businesses then do this to meet new comersneeds and facilitate them in solving their special problems caused by the strains of settlement and assimilation. Some businesses provide cultural products, such as newspapers, books, magazines, food and clothes. Others offer special services, for instance, law firms and accountants (Waldinger et al., 1990). Ethnic entrepreneurs thus enjoy an advantage over potential competitors outside the community since they can tap into the buying preferences of consumers in these groups (Hammarstedt, 2001). Massey (2005) claims that enterprise is a risky business as only a proportion of the businesses will survive. Entrepreneurs have to take a number of risks such as financial, emotional and social. This is because they put themselves on the line and thus, their social identities can suffer as well. Barbosa, Kickul and Liao-Troth (2007) claim that risk has always been at the centre of the definition of entrepreneur. Risk perception has been conceived as a determinant of risk behaviour and entrepreneurial decision making. One interprets the environment based on ones perceptions which include analysis, judgment, and intuition. In this sense, whether a situation is deemed of moderate or high risk depends on the perceivers. Different people can draw different conclusions. As Stearns and Hills (1996) note, successful entrepreneurs are good risk managers but not wild-eyed risk takers. They are able to calculate risks and whether the potential rewards are appropriate. Das and Teng (1997) also suggest that a successful entrepreneur is a professional risk-taker because one of the most distinctive features of entrepreneurial behaviour is risk taking. Indeed, risk-taking behaviour has been associated with entrepreneurship and entrepreneurs have been described as self-employed individuals who adjust themselves to risk (Gilmore et al., 2004). Entrepreneurs introduce new products or processes and they adjust themselves to risk where the return is uncertain (Palich Bagby, 1995). Starting a small business is seen t o be a particularly risky undertaking (Gilmore, Carson ODonnell, 2004). The risk that entrepreneurs face can be both financial and psychological since new actions and activities may put their self-images at risk. Failure may lead to the loss of their capital and of their self-image. Therefore, Das Teng (1997) assert that the entrepreneurs are inherently risk takers. They often underrate their chances of failure and they need to be aware of the risks involved and make appropriate financial decisions (Pinfold, 2005). Similarly, immigrants are also risk takers by nature because the process of leaving ones home to take up life in a new new country means accepting great changes (Waldinger et al., 1990). As Delores (1997) contends, immigrants face a number of emotional and cognitive adjustments to the reality of life in the host society. They experience the stresses of adapting to a new country and being upset by the loss of their own culture. Therefore, Waldinger et al. (1990) claim that people who enter the immigration stream tend to be able, better prepared and more inclined toward risk. There is no doubt that immigrant entrepreneurs must be prepared to take risks. According to Kupferberg (2003), the risk-taking theory emphasises that immigrants are prepared to take on a low status business when they perceive that there is a future in that business. These immigrant entrepreneurs will have strong motives to prove themselves and thus they tend to enter the business differently from a member of the n ative community. Aldrich and Waldinger (1990) claim that in almost all markets, small businesses continue to attract immigrants and many newcomers have set up small business enterprises. There are two possible explanations for this situation. One could be the low status and low rewards in running such businesses. The other might be that small businesses have a high rate of failure. These two factors may reduce the pool of native-born entrepreneurs. Immigrant entrepreneurs therefore can step in as vacancies arise (Waldinger, 1989). Since the structure and allocation of opportunities open to potential ethnic owners have high rates of failure and low status, immigrant entrepreneurs must have the ability to take risks in order to survive. In addition, they are able to quickly respond to the results that the business produces. Immigrant entrepreneurs will abandon those businesses that have limited prospects and stick to those businesses that bring good profits, regardless of whether the businesses might be risky. Based on this theory, immigrant entrepreneurs are seen to have great sensitivity to the market and this market-adapted behaviour enables them to seize any opportunities and attempt all types of businesses. Conclusions The process of globalization and the internationalization of economies and markets is provoking increasingly sizeable and intense international migration (Wauters and Lambrecht, 2007). Our study has analyzed the influence of demographic profile on the ethnic entrepreneur with regard to business activity, the main motivation for creating a new firm and the process followed in creating the firm. We have gone a step further than analyzing who has or has not created the firm and have focused on those that have been involved in firm creation. From the results of the research, the conclusions indicate the difficulty inherent in generalizing on the influence of all the factors of the dimensions analyzed. The area of origin of the entrepreneur is the only demographic factor that shows a significant relationship with the majority of the factors that make up the dimensions analyzed, and thus, this factor is the one that mainly influences the elements that characterize business activity, the mo tivation for starting up a business and the process followed in doing so.

Synthesis and Anticancer Activities of 5-halogeno Pyrimidine

Synthesis and Anticancer Activities of 5-halogeno Pyrimidine SOLID STATE MICROWAVE-ASSISTED SYNTHESIS AND ANTICANCER ACTIVITIES OF N-DERIVATIVES OF 5-HALOGENO SUBSTITUTED PYRIMIDINE 2, 4 DIONE BY TAHIRA SAGHIR ABSTRACT This study will report the synthesis of some substituted 5-halogenated pyrimidine 2,4dione by conventional and solid state microwave assisted methods. Derivitization of 5-halogenated pyrimidine,2,4 dione give predominately N1and N3-subsituted compounds where R may be the alkyl ,aryl, allyl, acyl, cyclohexenyleetc. 5-halogenated pyrimidine 2,4 dione derivatives represent the new group of anticancer and antibacterial agents with potential for development of medicinal application. The application of solid state microwaves to organic synthesis is opening up new opportunities for the synthetic chemist by providing new routes. High consumption of chemicals for prolonged time has adverse effecton environment. This is the key reason to adopt solvent free condition i.e. eco-friendly microwave assisted solid state synthetic routes. Introduction Microwave irradiation has emerged as powerful tool for organic synthesis. In concern with a rapidly expanding applications base, microwave synthesis can be effectively applied to any type of chemistry resulting in faster reaction time from minutes to seconds and improved product yield. The environmental protection has become a global concern and chemical industry is increasingly searching the ways of developing and applying more efficiently and environmentally begins strategies for future sustainable growth. An important part of present effort towards eco friendly synthesis is aimed at reduction of use of solvents as in classical procedures. For this purpose in organic synthesis solid support has made a land mark as the reaction can be performed in dry media or solvent free conditions. Further usage of solid support in conjunction with microwave leads to high yield remarkable reaction rate enhancement high catalytic activity with optimum utilization of energy. The solvent less approach provide an opportunity to conduct selective organic functional group transformation more efficiently and also allows the work to conductin open vessel thus avoiding the risk of high pressure development. 5-halogenated pyrimidine 2,4dione is used as an anticancer agent. A major difference between cancer cells and normal cells are that the cancer cells divide much more rapidly. Rapidly dividing cells require a constant new supply of DNA is the nucleoside,deoxythimidine,which is synthesized in the cell by methylation of uridine. Flouro uracil is administrated to a cancer patient as part of chemotherapy. The body convert it in to flourouridinegreatly decreasing DNA synthesis. A number of pyrimidine bases possess anti viral and anti cancer activities. In addition N1and N3-di substituted 5 halogenated pyrimidine2,4dione also exhibit anticancer , antibacterial and anti fungalactivities. Literature Review Zeng and his coworkersstudied on activity and structure of co-relation which are useful to drug discovery. By modifying the nature and position of substituent or pyrimidine and theirderivatives, a change in biological activity is observed. The synthesis of organic compound and pharmacological evaluation of these compound have been described by them, they have synthesized large number of compound using different reaction condition i.e. liquid phase reaction and solid phase1. Stefeny,PaulaM and their coworkers applied microwave assisted organic synthesis in many formats ranging from traditional solution phase to solvent free reactions2. Verma and Rajender Singh made solvent free synthesis of heterocyclic compounds. They reported that microwave enhanced solvent free synthetic approach has many advantages. These advantages aresimplicity,manipulative ease of the operation and conservation of solvent .A variety of solid state reactions are described that occur rapidly at ambient pressure under solventless conditions and provide ready access to intermediates such as enamines and tosyloxyketones which can be transformed in situ to biologically significant heterocyclic compounds such as isoflav-3-enes, flavones, quinolones, 2-aroylbenzo[b]furans and thiazoles in one-pot operation. Multicomponent reactions under these solvent-free conditions can be adapted for high speed parallel synthesis and are exemplified by assembly of dihydropyrimidine-2(1H)-ones (Biginelli reaction) and imidazo[1,2-a]annulated pyridines, pyrazines and pyrimidines (Ugi reaction) which may have potential in building a library of such compounds3. Verma et al. 2009 found that microwave enhanced solvent free synthatic approach has the features: simplicity manipulative ease of the operation and conservation of solvents as the main advantage. This eco friendly approach is found as an application in facile organic functional group transformation is applied to rapid assembly of hetrocyclic compounds4. Filler and Roberts postulated the importance of fluore containing compounds synthesis in bio and medicinal chemistry e.g. amino acid,anti canceragents,nucleosides, centeral nervous system agents and anesthetic agents5. Sugiyama,H,etal.explained 5 iodo uracil containing DNA-zalpha complex showed photo reactivity. For the high tendency binding it was observed that NH2 terminusZ-alpha and double strained RNA was very profound respectively. In the absence the incidence of Z-alpha,to relate the structure of Z-DNA induced by Zalpha,were perceived in comparison to that with high salt concentration,than the hydroxylated product was meritoriously produced in it specified by Z-alpha.6 Zhan,etal. have made the solvent and catalyst-free synthesis of dihydropyrimidione in one pot conditions under focused microwave irradiation in 2008.7 Andre Loupy has defined microwave chemistry as â€Å"the science of applying microwave irradiation to chemical reaction’’8.In literature we found that initiallyRichard Gedye and coworkers have described the use of microwave irradiation for organic synthesis.After Richard then number of other scientist in the field of organic chemistry reported in detail about various organic reactions which were performed by using this technology. Various reactions in literatureinclude Alkylation,Esterification,Sponification,Condensation ,Oxidation.Reduction.Cycloaddition,Rearrangments,N-acylations,and Olefination.9 Kidwai and Rastogi reported an eco friendly approach for the synthesis of 2 substituted-4-6-diarylpyrimidines using inorganic solid supports for its catalytic roleas well as energy transfer medium is described.The methodology eliminates the usage of solvents during reaction.Microwave assisted basic alumina catalysed reaction is the best as a catalysis as well as reaction time and yield.10 Gedye and Langahave talked about specific microwave effects.11 Loupy and coworkershave published a number of rewiews on solvent-free reactions.12 Kamal Alannan have reported that substituted uracils especially at 5-position play a key role in many metabolic processes. Uracil reacts with halogens such as,chlorine,Bromine. Iodineflorine to give haogen substituted compounds. From the literature it was found that the halogen substituted uracils are important anticancer drugs.13 Zhang and zhou reported the major advantage of solvent-free, for the green synthesis derivatives of heterocyclic compounds. The major advantages of this method are simple experimental and work-up procedures, solvent-free reaction conditions, small amount of catalyst and short reaction time, high yield, and utilization of an inexpensive and reusable catalyst14 Zhao and co-workers reported the advances in the research of pyrimidine derivatives as antitumor drug according to their action on targets.15 Chowdhury and shanker describe the recent development in solvent-free multi component reactions which was the perfect synergy for eco-compatible organic synthesis. The eco-friendly solvent free approach opens up numerous possibilities for conducting rapid organic sunthesis.16 Khosrou and Ali reported the cytotoxicity of synthesized dinitrophenyl derivatives of 5-fluorouracil under hypotoxic conditions on HT-29 cell line under both aerobic and hypotoxic conditions.17 Objectives Solid state microwaves assisted organic synthesis have an impact on drug discovery. The discovery of compounds with improved biological properties can be made more efficient by using new techniques. The objectives of the present research will be: Synthesis of new bio active compounds. Method development for synthesis of new bioactive compounds. Characterization of all synthesized compounds. Pharmacological evaluation. Plan of work Synthesis of 5 -halogen substituted pyrimidine 2,4 dione. Synthesis of N-derivatives of 5-halogeno substituted pyrmindine-2,4-dione. Structure elucidation will be carried out by a.UV/VIS spectroscopy b.FTIRspectroscopy c.NMR d.Mass spectrometry 4.Pharmacological evaluation(anticanceractivities)of synthesized compounds. METHODOLOGY Microwave- assisted synthesis has been applied in many formats ranging from traditional solution phase to solid phase and solvent free reactions. By using dry conditions, the hazards of volatile organic solvents in microwave oven can be eliminated. The solid state synthesis of N-derivatives of 5-halogen substituted of pyrimidine 2,4 dione is of great interest in present research. PLACE OF WORK 1. Lahore College For Women University, Lahore. 2.University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences Lahore. . References 1.Zeng ,J .pharma, Res.16, 304-309, 1999. 2.Stafani, H.A; Gatti, P.M, Synth.commun.30, 2165-2173,2000. 3.Varma, R.S., JournalofHetrocycle.Chem.36, 1565-1571, 1999. 4.Verma, R. S., Journal of Heterocyclic Chemistry, 36(6), 1565 – 1571, 2009. 5.Filler,ACS.Symp.Ser,60, 616,3793,2000. 6.Oyoshi, T.; Sugiyama, H.Journal of Nucleic Acids Research, (1), 123-4, 2001. 7. Zhan, H.W;Wang, J. X. Journal ofChin.Chem,Lett. 19,1183-1185,2008. 8. Loupy, Micro wave in Organic synthesis, Willey-VCH, Weinhein, 2006. 9. Gedye, N; Smith F.E,Can J. Chem. 66,17, 1887. 10. Kidwai, S.Rastogi, Bul and KoreanChen. Soc., 24, 11- 1575, 2003. 11. Lang,F. org. synth., 4,373-386, 1997. 12. Loupy, A.Synthesis1998. 13. Kamal,A; Venka, P, J.Chem, soc., Daton Trans, 3381-339,2002. 14. Zhang, Y; Zhou, Z, Organic chemistry international, 1, 194784-5, 2012 15. Zhao, P; You W, Acta pharmacentica sinica, 47(5):580-7, 2012 16. Choudhury, S; Shankar, M, RSC Adv.2, 4547-4592, 2012 17. Khosrou, Ali , ISI journal of Bio Chemistry and molecular Biology.27/59, 176/290, 2013

Saturday, July 20, 2019

Graduation Speech -- Graduation Speech, Commencement Address

It’s hard to believe that we are actually sitting here in the auditorium for the last time as students of Kheradmand High. But we are! We made it through four years of high school. Now we are teetering on the edge of the rest of our lives, having to grow up and head out into the â€Å"real† world. That thought might scare some people, but we are ready. After all, if you decide that you don’t want to be a part of the real world, maybe, you can always come back to Kheradmand High and maybe they will let you be a teacher. Remember the first day you stepped foot onto the Kheradmand High School campus, and how awestruck you were by the size of the seniors? Not only were they tall, they were enormous. I wonder if we had that same effect on the freshmen? I am sure that I didn’t. I hate to break it to you guys, but most of you didn’t have that effect either. We did have an effect on our school. We truly did change some minds in the administration. We were the last class to have Freshman Focus. After us they decided that it was impossible to get students to focus on school. We survived our... Graduation Speech -- Graduation Speech, Commencement Address It’s hard to believe that we are actually sitting here in the auditorium for the last time as students of Kheradmand High. But we are! We made it through four years of high school. Now we are teetering on the edge of the rest of our lives, having to grow up and head out into the â€Å"real† world. That thought might scare some people, but we are ready. After all, if you decide that you don’t want to be a part of the real world, maybe, you can always come back to Kheradmand High and maybe they will let you be a teacher. Remember the first day you stepped foot onto the Kheradmand High School campus, and how awestruck you were by the size of the seniors? Not only were they tall, they were enormous. I wonder if we had that same effect on the freshmen? I am sure that I didn’t. I hate to break it to you guys, but most of you didn’t have that effect either. We did have an effect on our school. We truly did change some minds in the administration. We were the last class to have Freshman Focus. After us they decided that it was impossible to get students to focus on school. We survived our...

Friday, July 19, 2019

Essay --

Lactic Acid had a pretty nasty reputation up until recently. It was thought to cause muscle fatigue and muscle cramps in not only ultra marathon runners and marathon runners, but in any sport. I had recently completed my first marathon and was worried about the lactic acid buildup more than anything. Around the sixteenth mile of the Atlantic City Marathon I felt the tiredness creeping up from my toes into my hips. Right away, I thought about lactic acid. Before doing the research for this paper, anything I knew about lactic acid was told to me by my high school cross country coach and my brother, who runs cross country and track for Lock Haven College. When my legs would get tired during training, I was told to lay on the floor with my legs up against the wall so the lactic acid would drain out of them. Who knew that everything I was told was a lie?! I know a lot of coaches that still believe that lactic acid is bad and refuse to give up on that fact, but without doing the research, they will never know the truth. When running long distances, the body uses two systems for energy: the aerobic and the anaerobic energy systems. The aerobic energy system uses oxygen in the process, while the anaerobic energy system does not use oxygen. According to the American Running Association, â€Å"ATP is a high-energy molecule and the main source of energy for muscle contractions. When we exercise aerobically, ATP is derived from the oxygen that we breathe in. Glucose and glycogen is nevertheless also required to convert this oxygen into energy. When the amount of ATP needed cannot be derived quickly enough with traditional oxygen intake and conversion to energy, the body then relies on the anaerobic energy system, which created as a byproduct, la... ...ned by the heart and the blood vessels. So if you carry on training a guy, you will not improve his aerobic capacity, but his performance will still improve because the lactate acid threshold is not limited by the cardiovascular system---it’s determined by the quality of the muscles. â€Å" This means that the more a runner’s muscles are adapted to this kind of running, the better they will be during a long run or ultra marathon (Cox). When I think about these men that have run ultra marathon after ultra marathon, it kind of inspires me to do one someday. After I think about it for a little bit though, I go back and remember what it felt like running 26.2 miles. I could never imagine what my legs and feet would feel like after running even 27 miles, let alone 50 or more. People like this are so inspirational and what ever they put their mind to, they can accomplish it.

Thursday, July 18, 2019

All Good Things Must Come to an End Essay

The amazing thing about literature is that it can be interrupted differently by each person who reads it. Which means that while one piece of writing is amazing, creative, and witty to one person to another person it could be the most boring, uninteresting, and redundant piece of literature they have ever read. In this semester of Literature 221, I was given the opportunity to read works from many different genres, time periods, and styles of writing. Some of which, like Emily Dickinson’s Life I and Life XLIII, Joyce Carol Oates’ Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?, and Sherman Alexie’s What You Pawn I Will Redeem I thoroughly enjoyed and learned from. While others such as Ernest Hemingway’s Big Two-Hearted River, Mark Twain’s excerpt When The Buffalo Climbed a Tree from Roughing It, and the excerpt from Sula by Toni Morrison weren’t exactly my cup of tea. Emily Dickinson is a remarkable poet who often writes from a very emotional and self-examining perspective. This is why I really enjoyed the two selections of her work we had to read this semester. In her first poem Life I, the very first two lines make you stop and think, â€Å"I’M nobody! Who are you? Are you nobody, too?† (Dickinson 2) Bam! I was hit in the face with self-reflection. Am I somebody? Or am I a nobody? Emily Dickinson continues by saying â€Å"how dreary to be somebody!† (Dickinson2 ) as if to be somebody is a bad thing. I love that Emily Dickinson questions the ideology of having to be surrounded by people and having to constantly be in a spotlight. Every move that you make is questioned and examined by people. Instead of being able to live for yourself and for your own happiness you are forced to live by the way society sees you. It made me see that maybe it truly is better to be a happy, content nobody. In her poem Life XLIII, Dickinson again made me pause and self-reflect but this time on the beauty of the human mind and it’s capabilities. In this poem she states that the brain is â€Å"wider than the  sky†, â€Å"deeper than the sea†, and â€Å"is just the weight of God† (Dickinson 3). The sky, the sea, and God. Three powerful, endless, and even omnipotent to the human eye and yet the brain is more than that because it has the capability to imagine all of it. You can hold images of God, the sea, and God all in your mind. Dickson wrote these poems with such beautiful imagery that really does make a reader stop and think. This is why her works are among my favorite reads from this semester. Joyce Carol Oates brought a real life serial killer to life in her tale Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? Based off the actual murders of Charles Howard Schmid Jr., Oates tells the story of Arnold Friend and a young girl named Connie and the events that would eventually lead up to Connie’s murder. I loved this tale because Oates gave a real voice to the real life victims of Schmid. While an article by the Daily News stated that, â€Å"Despite his creepiness, ladies loved Smitty† (citation here news article) in Oates’ tale it was made evident that Connie wanted nothing to do with Friend and instead she tried to call the cops and even told him to â€Å"Get the hell out of here!† (Oates 340) When I read a tragic news article I will feel sorrow for the victim and their families for a moment and then go on with my life and forget about them. Yet when I read a piece of work that captures my soul and really moves me to feel emotionally about a character as if they were a real person, I can recall them for years afterwards. Oates’ made me feel for Connie because she gave her a background of a beautiful girl with a mother who disapproved of all she did and constantly compared her to her more homely sister, June. â€Å"Why don’t you keep your room clean like your sister? How’ve you got your hair ?xed—what the hell stinks? Hair spray? You don’t see your sister using that junk.† (Oates 333) A girl that may have been desperate for love and attention. Suddenly, in my mind, Oates’ has not only weaved a haunting tale of young, naive girl who made mistakes and talked to the wrong stranger on the wrong day but she also made me feel for the real life victims of Schmid. Suddenly they became more than just names on a page and their names, Alleen Rowe, Gretchen and Wendy Fritz, will foreve r be in my mind and probably countless others who have read her work and know who it was based on. While Oates’ is a talented writer and her words were beautifully written the reason her piece stands out as one of my  favorites of this semester were for the deeper meaning and the legacy she left for the victims of a cruel, sick, twisted man. A reader cannot help but root for a character who has redeemable qualities despite whatever odd, crude, or socially unacceptable behavior they may exhibit. Such is the case in my final favorite piece of writing from this semester, Sherman Alexie’s What You Pawn I Will Redeem. In this tale of a homeless, alcoholic, money floundering Spokane, Washington Native American Indian named Jackson Jackson, a reader cannot help but fall in love with his spirit of never-ending generosity and unbreakable ties with tradition and family. Alexie’s particular style of writing gave light to Jackson’s seemingly uncaring, lazy, and unapologetically unmotivated he attitude in a way that a reader cannot help but find just a little bit comical. It is written in first person from the rambling mind of Jackson and lines such as â€Å"Piece by piece, I disappeared. And I’ve been disappearing ever since. But I’m not going to tell you any more about my brain or my soul† (citation here page 401) made me laugh out lou01d at the standoffish behavior of this character. Jackson was unable to maintain a job, any of his marriages, or his relationships with his children. In fact, the only thing he did seem capable of maintaining was a constant drunken stupor throughout the entire tale. Yet when he came upon his Grandmother’s stolen regalia at a local pawn shop he was determined to find a way to raise the $999 needed to rebuy this long lost family heirloom and return it to its rightful place. Each time he managed to earn or was gifted money for his mission he could not help but immediately spend it. However he was never selfish with his spending. He made sure that whatever he was given he shared with his fellow Indian. Never even coming close to making the necessary money to buy it make but still I found myself cheering him on. Because of his generosity, I was rooting for him to find a way to purchase back that precious connection to his family. And in the end, despite never actually managing to acquire the necessary cash, the pawn owner returned the regalia to Jackson, and I inwardly rejoicing in his success. And Alexie captured the moral for me in this thought, â€Å"Do you know how many good men live in this world? Too many to count!† (Alexie 415) A lexie challenged the stereotypes of a good person because he showed that even a drunken person who is unsuccessful in every  societal standard can be a good person because he is a kind, generous soul. This is the reason why this is another of my favorites from this semester’s readings. When thinking of a literary legend a name like Ernest Hemingway often comes to mind, yet in this semester’s reading of Big Two-Hearted River, Mr. Hemingway missed the mark for me. While I appreciate the concept of a post-war soldier suffering from PTSD, I had a hard time really getting into this piece. Hemingway’s commonly used iceberg principle style of writing was apparent in this piece with its overall lack of a substantial plot and its seemingly never-ending descriptions of just about everything. It is just not a style that appealed to me as a reader. I found it boring and extremely long. The symbolism was often obscured by the unnecessary descriptions of the surrounding scenery. â€Å"On the left, where the meadow ended and the woods began, a great elm tree was uprooted. Gone over in a storm, it lay back into the woods, its roots clotted with dirt, grass growing in them, rising a solid bank beside the stream. The river cut to the edge of the uprooted tree.† (Hemingway 262) It just seemed excessive and unneeded to me. While this is definitely one of my least favorite of this semester’s readings, I have to say that Hemingway was a beautiful wordsmith who could make you feel as though you were part of the story. In this sentence, â€Å"He sat on the logs, smoking, drying in the sun, the sun warm on his back, the river shallow ahead entering the woods, curving into the woods, shallows, light glittering, big water-smooth rocks, cedars along the bank and white birches, the logs warm in the sun, smooth to sit on, without bark, gray to the touch; slowly the feeling of disappointment left him† (Hemingway 262) you can practically feel the heat of the sun on your back and the relief that Nick feels as if a burden was lifted from your own chest. This story had some beautiful imagery overall though it was just not a tale I enjoyed reading. Mark Twain is an inspirational writer with amazing talent and has written some remarkable classics. However, the excerpt from Roughing It When the Buffalo Climbed a Tree, will not be joining my list of his beloved masterpieces. Instead I found this fictional account tedious to read and found myself drifting off to sleep while at the same time trying to  understand the particular vernacular used in this piece. The narrator of the majority of this tale was a character named Bemis whose style of speech was rambling and over-the-top. For example, â€Å"Well, I was first out on his neck – the horse’s, not the bull’s—and then underneath, and next on his rump, and sometimes head up, and sometimes heels—but I tell you it seemed solemn and awful to be ripping and tearing and carrying on so in the presence of death, as you might say.† (Twain 16) I can just imagine Bemis being this rambling, fool telling this ridiculous story with no ending in sight. It was just exhausting and mindless drivel that did not succeed in making me think about anything substantial or self-reflect which are qualities I rather enjoy when reading. I understand that according to Mark Twain, â€Å"to string incongruities and absurdities together in a wandering and sometimes purposeless way, and seem innocently unaware that they absurdities, is the basis of American art†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Twain 13) and he accomplished that task beautifully. Nevertheless, it is just not a style that appealed to me and I struggled to enjoy reading this story. This semester was my first time reading any of Toni Morrison’s works. The excerpt from Sula was all of over the map for me. I had a hard time deciphering any real plot. It started off with two 12 years old girls walking through town and getting objectified by the men in the town. And if it wasn’t bad enough that two young girls were being gawked at by grown men, the girls actually seemed to enjoy it. â€Å"So, when he said â€Å"pig meat† as Nel and Sula passed, they guarded their eyes lest someone see their delight.† (Morrison 346) That line made my skin crawl with utter disgust. Then suddenly the girls are playing near a lake when a young boy named Chicken Little ends up drowning before their very eyes and their only reaction was â€Å"Nel spoke ?rst. ‘Somebody saw.’† (Morrison 351) I had a hard time reading a story about such loss of innocence at such a young age. Morrison’s writing was beautiful and captivating. The only reas on this makes my least favorites list from this semester was I just genuinely felt sick the entire I was reading it. Completely horrified by these young girls lives and saddened by the fact that many girls’ lives of this time period were like this. This semester of Literature 221 was full of amazing pieces of writing. Tales  that completely delighted, inspired, and captured my heart like those from Emily Dickinson, Joyce Carol Oates, and Sherman Alexie. As well as others who, for me, just did none of those things such as those from Ernest Hemingway, Mark Twain, and Toni Morrison. Overall I really enjoyed this class. I felt as though most of the forums gave me the opportunity to share my thoughts on each piece as well as opened my eyes to different perspectives. If I could give any constructive criticism it would be that sometimes I felt as if I could not quite meet expectations in the essay requirements because I felt as though they were not clearly stated. Other than that, I thoroughly enjoyed this class and I feel as though I learned a lot. It definitely has made me look forward to taking other literature classes in the future. Works Cited Alexie, Sherman. â€Å"What You Pawn I Will Redeem† American Literature Since the Civil War. Create edition. McGraw-Hill, 2011. 401-415. e-Book. Works Cited Dickinson, Emily. â€Å"Life I & XLIII American Literature Since the Civil War. Create edition. McGraw-Hill, 2011. 2-3. e-Book. Hemingway, Ernest. â€Å"Big Two Hearted River.† American Literature Since the Civil War. Create edition. McGraw-Hill, 2011. 253-264. E-book. Morrison, Toni. â€Å"From Sula.† American Literature Since the Civil War. Create edition. McGraw-Hill, 2011. 346-354. e-Book. Oates, Joyce Carol. â€Å"Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?† American Literature Since the Civil War. Create edition. McGraw-Hill, 2011. 333-344. e-Book. Twain, Mark. â€Å"From Roughing It. When The Buffalo Climbed a Tree.† American Literature Since the Civil War. Create edition. McGraw-Hill, 2011. 16-18. e-Book. Twain, Mark. â€Å"How To Tell a Story† American Literature Since the Civil W ar. Create edition. McGraw-Hill, 2011. 12-15. e-Book.