A Overview of the Grand Canyon Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

A Overview of the Grand Canyon - Research Paper Example How the Grand Canyon came into existence? No one knows. There are abundant guesses. Accept it as the one of the most beautiful area of nature. A number of processes and more than one factor must have contributed to its formation and what one sees in the Grand Canyon presently, is the outcome of the process of evolution over a very long period. â€Å"The most powerful force to have an impact on the Grand Canyon is erosion, primarily by water (and ice) and second by wind. Other forces that contributed to the Canyons formation are the course of the Colorado River itself, volcanism, continental drift and slight variations in the Earth’s orbit which in turn causes variations in seasons and climate†. (The Geology†¦.)Canyon is basically located in a desert. Heat of the sun bakes the soil in the Grand Canyon; it becomes so hard that it cannot absorb water, when rains come. The roots of the plants in the Grand Canyon cannot pierce the hard earth-bed and the root systems are very shallow and they absorb as much water as is possible during rains. These plants are unable to block the process of soil erosion. With no check on the soil and rock in place, during heavy rains flash floods occur with devastating consequences. The flood water carries down the Grand Canyon, everything on its course, spares nothing, and big boulders roll down as if they are pebbles. It assumes the shape of flowing concrete and not water. Those hiking through the side canyons must have the accurate information of weather conditions, to avoid calamities. It is a steep canyon. The ‘sculptor’ of this canyon is the Colorado River in Arizona, USA. It is 277 miles long, the maximum width is 18 miles and its depth is a stunning 6000 ft. It is part of the countless years of the Planet Earth’s geological history, and the River and its tributaries are the architects of this

Realities Behind Deceiving Appearances Essay Example for Free

Realities Behind Deceiving Appearances Essay According to Alfred Kazin, â€Å"In every great novel of society what counts is the reality behind the appearance† (Kazin, 1981, 297). In other words, he’s saying that the best books are those that include one or more realities behind appearances. The novel first I chose is called Perfect by Ellen Hopkins. This book has four main characters; Cara, Sean, Kendra, and Andre, who are all teens struggling to fit the ideal of perfection, even if it means hurting and lying to themselves and others. The other novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain tells a story of a runaway slave named Jim and a young boy Huck, running from the dangers of his father. Together they are trying to get to the North but run into many roadblocks. This adventure includes deceit, danger, excitement and most of all, friendship. Both of these novels show reality behind experiences through its actions, dialogs, and the characters themselves! In the following paragraphs, I will compare and explain the reality behind appearances such as friends or family, disguises and secrets in both novels, Perfect and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Jim, a runaway slave from The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn shows many realities behind deceiving appearances. An example of a deceiving appearance is when Huck and the duke paint Jim all blue and dressed him up in King Lear’s outfit before leaving to town. Huck doesn’t want to risk Jim being taken away and sold back into slavery so they disguise him as a â€Å"sick arab-but harmless when not out of his head† (Twain 157) so that he wont have to uncomfortably lay tied up in the wigwam all day. The reality behind this disguise is that Jim is a kind and harmless runaway slave. After a tiring adventure, Jim talks to Huck about his family. When telling stories to Huck, he reveals a reality behind a deceiving appearance about his daughter Elizabeth. When Jim’s daughter was young, she got very sick. When she was better, Jim had told her to shut the door but she just stood there smiling at him. He repeated himself and again, she just smiled at him. Thinking that she was being naughty and a rebel, he smacked her across the head as a punishment. When he slams the door shut and she doesn’t budge, wince, or make any notice of it, Jim realizes â€Å"Oh, she was plumb deef en dumb, Huck, plumb deef en dumb† (Twain 156). The biggest and most important reality behind a deceiving appearance is that along this adventure, Jim was  freed from slavery. After all the trouble Tom put him through, Tom finally fesses that Jim was free because â€Å"Old Miss Watson died two months ago, and she was so ashamed she ever was going to sell him down the river, and said so; and she set him free in her will† (Twain 289). The duke and the king from The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn are very mischievous people. They are full with illusions, lies, and intelligence. The first reality behind appearance Huck saw is their names. On the day they first meet, both men claim they were a king and a duke in order to receive pity and to be spoiled by Jim and Huck. While Huck sees through this appearance, Jim does not. Later on in the story, the king cons the people of a religious camp in order to get some money. He pretends to be a pirate who changed his ways after he was robbed and now is working his way back to the ocean in order to change all pirates. He gives credit to the people of the town to earn their pity and succeeds. â€Å"‘Don’t you thank me, don’t you give me no credit; it all belongs to them dear people in Pokeville camp-meeting, natural brothers and benefactors of the race, and that dear preacher there, the truest friend a pirate ever had’† (Twain 132). The reality behind the king’s appearance is that it was all an act and that he is just a cheater. Even after this silly event, the king and the duke are still greedy for more. When they find out that a man who has a lot of money for a relative has died, they head towards the town. There, they pretended to be the uncle of three girls who are very sweet and innocent. Eventually, the actual heirs to the money show up and start to expose the duke and the king. They have a more authentic english accent and state that the handwritings when compared to an old letter aren’t the same. In my novel, Perfect by Ellen Hopkins, there are four main characters struggling to fit an ideal of perfection. One of the main characters is named Kendra. Kendra is a senior in high school and everything you would want to be. She’s popular, on the cheer team, rich, and most of all, skinny. Kendra’s obsession with perfection comes with dangerous consequences as she is willing to do anything to achieve it. The most deceiving illusion when it comes to Kendra is her appearance itself. Kendra has gone through many plastic surgeries to look as she is now. With a rhinoplasty already  scheduled, she is also hoping to get a boob job which her stepfather refuses to allow. Along with the plastic surgery, in order to lose weight, Kendra eats as little as possible. Kendra believes she is fat, being 5’ 10† and 122 pounds. Though everyone tells her she’s not, she states that the â€Å"stinking mirror doesn’t lie. Everytime I walk by, it shouts out, †˜Hey. Chub. When are you going to lose those fifteen pounds of ugly-ass flab? Do you want to stay size four forever?’† (Hopkins, 23). The reality behind Kendra’s illusion is that she’s already beautiful and dangerously skinny. With every calorie she doesn’t eat, she inches closer and closer to death. One of the reasons why she believes that she’s not beautiful is because her boyfriend Conner left her. She believed he left her because she wasn’t good and pretty enough. The thought of this tortures her because Conner was her first love, the first person whom she gave her heart and soul to. She later finds out that Conner is in the hospital because of an accident. The reality is that Conner didn’t get into an accident, he tried killing himself and he didn’t leave her because he thought she was ugly. He left her because he had fallen in love with someone else. When Kendra leaves her beauty agent for Xavier, she begins to work with a man named Gilles. Xavier tells Kendra that Gilles is one of the â€Å"biggies† and that she needs keep him happy. â€Å"I have to keep Gilles happy. He likes the way I look. Especially naked† (Hopkins 496). Gilles and Xavier claim that they love her but in all honesty, they are taking advantage of her. If they rea lly did love her as she is, they wouldn’t abuse her body with pills, sex and surgeries. The appearance of Gilles loving her for her style and determination masks the reality that in order to do business, she must trade it with her service to him. Another character who has a deceiving appearance in the novel Perfect is a girl named Cara. Cara, like Kendra is also on the cheer team, beautiful, rich, has good grades and a wonderful sexy boyfriend but is she really all the things people make her out to be? Cara has a secret, one that could ruin her reputation; She’s a lesbian. Her boyfriend Sean is just an appearance. An appearance to make her seem straight when in reality, she’s a lesbian. When Sean finds out about her secret after they break up, he exposes her by taking a photo of Cara and her lover making love and sharing it to all of her â€Å"friends†. After this incident, all of Cara’s friends leave her and  began calling her cruel names such as slut and dyke. â€Å"I can’t believe Cara broke up with Sean. Neither can half the senior class They’re chopping her into little pieces: is a slut anyway, always was full of it, serious commitment issues† (Hopkins 306). The comfort and companionship of her friends was all an appearance in which the reality was just to use Cara for their own benefit. Because of this incident, Cara finally decides to tell her parents. â€Å"‘Dani said I should press charges’ Mom’s eyes grew steadily more severe. ‘I think it’s best to let it drop. If this becomes public knowledge, the media will smear it all over the headlines. Our reputation will be ruined. Bad enough we had to deal with all the flak about Conner.’ She straightened her blouse, as if it had been wrinkled by the very idea of her children disgracing her name† (Hopkins 535). The definition of parents is a mother and a father and that’s exactly what Cara’s parents are. A mother and father, nothing more. Though they do provide Cara with materialistic needs, it is all for her mother’s reputation. Her heartless parents with their high expectations are so extreme that it causes her twin brother Conner to kill himself. The idea of loving and supportive parents is just an appearance that the Sykes family create when the cold truth is that they don’t hold any familial bonds with each o ther. In the preceding paragraphs, I have compared and explained the realities behind appearances in both novels, Perfect and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. As Alfred Kazin was saying, realities behind deceiving appearances make a book more interesting to read. It also makes the readers realize that there are many illusions in our daily lives. Through the characters, we can perhaps learn a lesson on how to act, spot, and deal with these realities behind appearances.

NO Spiritual Reward for Depriving the Physical Body Essay -- Theology

There is NO Spiritual Reward for Depriving the Physical Body of Comfort or Pleasure I. Doctrine There is a great falsehood that is perpetuated by the modern church, and it is one that threatens the very mission assigned to every believer in Matthew 28:18-20. Before one can address this falsehood, one must understand the duty of God's people in this life. It is the believer's task to go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them as God ordained, and teaching them how to obey the teachings of Jesus. What then are the teachings of Jesus? As believers, we hold as doctrine that God the Father, along with the Holy Spirit and the Son created all that is. He gave Man, God's special creation made in His own image, dominion over the physical creation, directing Man to "fill the earth and subdue it". Scriptures outline in Genesis 1:28-30 this natural stewardship of Man over the fish of the sea, all living creatures on the ground, and the birds of the air. In addition, God gave to Man the use of "every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit w ith seed in it" (Genesis 1:29b). God, after reviewing all that He had created noted in Genesis 1:31 that it was "very good". Man's charmed life lasted until the Fall, by which sin and sin nature entered the world. Pain in childbirth, difficulty in agriculture, and, most importantly, death are all results of Man's disobedience (Genesis 3:16-19). Death, despite its negative connotations was given to Man as a gift, for only in death could the separation between God and Man be bridged. The practice of offering firstborn livestock to God began with Abel's first sacrifice. This offering pointed to God's ultimate resolution for sin's breach, first promis... ...s idolatry is the fundamental problem of this world, and drug-related idolatry is no different than any other flavor in God's eyes. Rejecting Christ is this world's flaw, and is the sin against which believers wage war. Teaching a drug idolater that the drugs are evil in and of themselves denies the basic truth that placing anything higher than God is sinful (Exodus 20:3-6). Programs like the 'Twelve Steps' teach blasphemy. They teach drug and alcohol idolaters to remain just that, although the idolaters no longer permit themselves to indulge in that which they worship. It is only through recognizing that God's creation is good and that Man commits evil that one can come to true freedom in Christ. It is with respect that this author pleads for such a tactic for those who seek healing in areas of addiction. After all, His grace and only His grace are sufficient.

Milton’s Paradise Lost: The Story of Satan’s Power Politics

In Paradise Lost, Book I & II   the power struggle between Satan, his followers on the one hand   and God and his angels on the other provides a good story with dramatic conflict. In Book I Satan â€Å"who durst defy the Omnipotent to arms† emerges as leader of a rebel group who are overwhelmed by their first defeat but not totally overcome. As a punishment of his ambition and audacity, Satan and his comrades were â€Å"hurled headlong from the ethereal sky †¦to bottomless perdition.† (Bk.I.l.45)Like a statesman with strategic insight he converts this defeat as a springboard for the   next battle and accordingly inspires his followers with a thunderous call: â€Å"What though the field be lost?/All is not lost: the unconquerable will,/ And study of revenge, immortal hate,†(ll.105-07) He instills a confidence in his comrades that victory and defeat are in the hands of the fighters. So his clarion call to his army is addressed to boost their morale and s hake off their depression: â€Å"Awake, arise, or be for ever fallen!†. (l.330)There is also the hint that the first battle was lost due to lack of experience and a inadequate strategy. Moreover, the strength of the enemy (the Almighty) was also not known. Now with hindsight they can formulate a better strategy for an embarking on a war that can end only in triumph. Besides, he has a worthy lieutenant in Beelzebub who has great admiration for the general and mobilize the army. The story of struggle between the ambitious and scheming Satan and the Almighty has all the ingredients of a good plot– a bold and strong anti-hero as the protagonist, the vivid descriptive and narrative power, the sublime epic style, the dramatic dialogues and the technique of beginning the story in the middle of action.Nine days after their expulsion from the bliss of Heaven, Satan and his followers lie stupefied in the burning lake of Hell. Then he rises and awakens his worthy Second-in-Comman d to lead his army to the scorching dry land and hold a meeting to devise the winning strategy. Presently,   a vast council chamber is built to hold a conference of the great Angels. Readers’ attention is arrested by the suspense about the nature of   crime for which such harsh punishment has been meted out to them. Members of Satan’s inner circle – Moloch, Belial and Mammon — offer their opinions, but it is Beelzebub’s suggestion about secretly ruining God’s new creation that is accepted as a fitting revenge against the Almighty.As none offers to undertake this perilous task, Satan volunteers   to take the voyage to the earth after passing through the Hell gate and Chaos. Milton has used flash back technique to present earlier events with the help of dreams, reminiscences and conversations (in Books V-VIII) It seems in Satan Milton has subconsciously created a character for whom he feels sympathy and admiration. But C.S. Lewis refutes this view in A Preface to Paradise Lost: â€Å"It may mean that Milton’s presentation of him is a magnificent poetical achievement which engages the attention and excites the admiration of the reader.† (Lewis.94)  The setting of Hell is an integral part of Milton’s epic style. It is   appropriate as place for punishment of the expelled angels. But Satan with his ingenuity turns it into an advantage by erecting a vast palace called Pandemonium. There he hatches the conspiracy to destroy God’s creation. Hell also highlights the change of scenario for the angels who have fallen from grace. Milton gives us a vivid account of the flaming hell without light and the miserable plight of the fallen angels writhing in pain.The vanquished followers of Satan â€Å"who lay entranced/ thick as autumnal leaves that strow the brooks.†(ll.301-02). Milton further portrays them â€Å"with looks/ downcast and damp †¦ have found their chief/ not in despair, to have found themselves not lost/ in loss itself;† (ll.522-26) To the   dejected followers comes the uplifting call â€Å"Cherub and Seraph rolling in the flood/ with scattered arms and ensign,† The congregation of the fallen angels at Pademonium is described with due pomp:   Ã¢â‚¬Å"Of trumpets loud and clarions be upreared/ his mighty standard (ll.532-33)The fighting spirit of the downcast and damp followers are raised with the help of   sonorous metal blowing martial sounds and ten thousand colorful banners fluttering in the wind and serried shields in thick array convey the impression of the preparation of a counter attack. â€Å"The imperial ensign†¦with gems and golden luster rich emblazed,/ Seraphic arms and trophies:(ll.538-39). We get a grand impression of Satan â€Å"in shape and gesture proudly eminent/ stood like a tower† (ll.590-91)   â€Å"his face/ deep scars of thunder had intrenched †¦ under brows of dauntless courage, and con siderable pride† (ll.600-603) The wealth of details truly conforms to the epic tradition and adds to its grandeur.Millions of rebellious spirits thus stand suffering silently with loyalty and devotion to their commander even after being flung from their eternal splendor, â€Å"driven out of bliss, condemned/ in his abhorred deep to utter woe;/ where pain of unextinguishable fire† (Bk.II.ll.86-88). Satan’s makes a dramatic escape from Hell with a view to covertly strike God by sabotaging his beautiful creation. However, according to F.R. Leavis, â€Å"After the first two books, magnificent in their simple force (party politics in the Grand Style Milton can compass), Paradise Lost, though there are intervals of relief, becomes dull and empty: ‘all,’ as Raleigh says, ‘is power, vagueness, and grandeur.’ Milton’s inadequacy to myth, in fact, is so inescapable†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (Leavis 61)If the setting of Paradise Lost is changed, we have a new story. In modern era a person of   Satan’s caliber would be hailed as an irrepressible leader of the opposition party in a country with democratic set up. His goal would be to dislodge the ruling party in power in the election. He would aim to convince people by highlighting the government’s failures and underestimating its achievement. Naturally, there would neither be God nor Satan, neither Heaven nor Hell, neither angels nor devils in the new scenario. The ambition to rule would not be regarded a punishable offence.Examples and parallels abound. Many countries in Asia now have militant groups of separatists who declare themselves as â€Å"Liberation Force† that wage armed battles against their own government for freedom and autonomy (naming them would be unwise). Satan’s role has affinity with a militant trade union leader who sometimes, like Lech Walesa in Poland, can win election and   become the President. In stead of brute force the oppo sition leader uses his political strategies and communication skill to convince majority of the voters that the ruling party is at fault and their country will be safer in the hands of his political party.  In U.K. the Labor party won the election overthrowing their rival Tories in 1994 under the leadership of Tony Blair. It is the business of the opposition to pick holes in the performance of the ruling party. He would criticize their policies, attack their inefficiency, expose their corruption and project them as responsible for country’s backwardness. He would offer better plans and strategies to get the country out of the mess. He does not have to fight physically to defeat his rival like Satan, but the methods of   attack have much resemblance.As Satan says: â€Å"our better part remains/ to work in close design, by fraud or guile,† (Bk.I.ll.645-46) and his continual emphasis on victory: â€Å"For who can think submission? War then, war/ open or understood mu st be resolved.† (ll.661-62) The opposition leader often resorts to disparaging remarks and undermining the image of his rival as Satan debunks God, â€Å"Who now triumphs, and in excess of joy/ sole reigning holds the tyranny of heaven.† (ll.123-24) The political rival is presented as oppressor.The main difference is that in Milton’s world there no neutral voters who decide the fate of the leaders. It is God and his angels are in power, and Satan and his ambitious followers endeavor to dethrone Him. Like real life politics there are fence-sitters and defectors in Paradise Lost. The rebel leaders’ meeting in Book II to discuss and debate their strategies has a parallel in modern politics. It may be argued that Milton’s religious epic still have relevance in a secular world. Satan’s story is everyman’s search for power and his struggle to gain it.The underlying theme of Satan’s struggle against God and his angels is that of   s earch for power and motivate a demoralized group of fallen angels and a determination   to sacrifice everything to conquer Heaven and rule it. As Satan proclaims: â€Å"to be weak is miserable,/ Doing or suffering:† (ll.157-58) â€Å"To wage by force or guile eternal war,/ Irreconcileable to our grand foe,† (ll.121-22)  The main characters, the epic style, the inspiring speech, and the preparation for a â€Å"perpetual war† all help to develop the theme of pursuit of power and the use all means to get it. Satan shows the right mindset of a winner who would not accept anything short of   victory as he speaks candidly about it: â€Å"To reign is worth ambition, though in Hell:/Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven.†(Bk.I.ll.262-63) Satan represents the freedom-loving individualist who also demonstrates great pragmatic sense by adapting himself to the harsh realities of   Hell and consoles himself with his psychological insight: â€Å"The min d is its own place, and in itself/ Can make a Heaven of Hell, a Hell of Heaven.† (Bk.I.ll.254-255)Work CitedLewis, C.S. A Preface to Paradise Lost. London. O.U.P. 1984Leavis, F.R. Revaluation. Harmondsworth. Penguin.1972Abrams, M.H. & Greenblatt, Stephen. The Norton Anthology of English Literature.(7th ed) New York. W.W.Norton & Co. 2001. pp.722-764April 28, 2008

Industrial revoloution Essay

How bad were the living conditions for the poor in the newly industrialised towns and cities of the 1840s In the 1840s, there was a lot of pollution, and there was little regulation of what was put into the river or the air. The houses for 1840s workers were built very poorly. They were usually made by the factory owners at minimum cost. They were made either one brick, or half a brick thick, and only consisted of one room. There were no indoor lavatories, therefore the workers were left with only two ways to go to the toilet. The first way was to walk up the road and use the toilets at either end of the blocks. Once there they would deposit their body waste into the cess pool via a wooden bench. Flies lived on the walls of the cess pool. They were nourished by the molecules of excretion in the air. There toilets would be shared by as many as 160 people, sometimes more. The cess pool would empty itself into the river, but sometimes market gardeners who would go down into the cess pit to use the filth inside as fertiliser for their garden. Occasionally, young children would drop into the cess pit, never to be seen again. The second way of going to the toilet was to simply do it out of a window. The body waste which was left on the streets was called night mud. Sometimes when it rained, the night mud would slip underneath your door and end up in your house. Sometimes the night mud would be placed in your house on purpose by people being malicious. People did not have the type of water supply we have today. They did not have instant running water in their houses, instead they had to collect their water from standpipes in the street. These standpipes had clean water which could be pumped out, as it wasn’t safe to drink from the river, but water only came to a street, via these standpipes, every other day. Yet, there were also water seller who would sell bottles of supposedly, clean water, although no one ever found out where the water came from. People in the 1840’s were afraid to leave their houses for an extended period  of time. The reason for this is that as soon as you leave you house for over a day, it would be used as a toilet. This meant that people who got new jobs in factories would have to clean out there new houses of all of the muck left there by their fellow workers. In the 1840s, living conditions were much worse than nowadays, due to the lack of both appropriate sanitary provisions and constant running water, but people of 1840’s would have found those conditions normal. What we think of as clean would have probably been considered impossible in those days.

Software Configuration Management Essay Example

Software Configuration Management Essay Example Software Configuration Management Essay Software Configuration Management Essay In this world of rapidly changing technology, it has become a need for IT companies to have people working in parallel on Software projects across different geographical locations. Under these circumstances, using Software Configuration Management tools to keep track of all the changes in the code is the need of the times. This essay outlines the definition and primary characteristics of a Software Configuration Management system, and its role in any organization. It also explains the SCM Technology used by IBM ClearCase as an example of how SCM tools actually work.Full Text (907 words)In this era of rapid advancements in the world of Software Technology, there are Software developers working together on the same project across continents and geographical locations due to the evolution of the Global Delivery Model.   Projects now involve global teams working in parallel and modifying the same code base from different locations at the same time .Under these circumstances, the absenc e of a version control system would have caused the most unimaginable catastrophes. In the event of two programmers made changes to the same part of the code simultaneously, changes made by the second developer could undo or break the changes by the former, affecting the project dramatically. Tested features would disappear mysteriously, and the entire development could be marred by many such crippling and frustrating problems.To circumvent these problems however, all IT companies use a Software Configuration Management tool to keep track of all the changes in the code. According to the definition of SCM, â€Å"Configuration management is the discipline of developing uniform descriptions of a complex product at discrete points in its lifecycle with a view to controlling systematically the manner in which the product evolves.†Ã‚   (K.Narayanaswamy and W. Scacchi, Maintaining configurations of evolving software systems, IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering March 1987, Vol. 13 No. 4, pp. 323-334.)   As the definition clearly explains, Software Configuration Management keeps a track of all the changes made to all components, recording the way they contribute to every release. It is a boon for parallel development, and also for the growth of sub projects within a project..SCM tools primarily create a different version of the entire system for every user, and isolate the changes made by a developer from the rest of the code until the differences are resolved. The code is merged to the main label only after all conflicting merge points are taken care of, and it is ensured that the present changes will not have any undesired adverse effect on any other part of the code. They keep a track of the history of the source code, isolate files relevant to a particular task and reproduce the past releases. This is essential because software development goes through evolutionary phases. Initially after it’s release to the customer, there come in the defect fixing and enhancement requests for the next release. Hence if a bug is found at any point, it needs to be fixed in all the older versions also. For this we need to keep an exact snapshot of the previous versions which is done by SCM tools. These tools control the entire software and the release. They also provide security by having an authentication mechanism to validate the user before granting access the code repository.The kind of SCM tools used depends on the company’s requirements and the compatibility of the SCM tool with its code base. There are may SCM tools available in the market, like ClearCase , Microsoft Visual Souce Safe, CVS, RCS, PVCS and Synergy to name a few. Out of them, probably the most widely used and acclaimed is IBM’s Clearcase Version control system.   The ClearCase Version control system supports parallel development and inbuilt Build Management. Its strategy works equally well for LAN based or geographically distributed development environ ments. ClearCase has an inbuilt utility called â€Å"Multisite† which is used to create a copy of an entire repository across geographical locations. In this case, apart from support for parallel development, there is also a periodic sync up to keep the changes up to date across locations You could also call this WAN based ClearCase support. The various components of the ClearCase version management system are:-Version Object Base:The ClearCase system creates a Version Object Base (VOB) which is read-only repository storing information about the directories and files under its control. This is also a globally accessible database which requires proper authentication to access it. It keeps a record and reports actions, and its history records provide reproducibility and traceability. It has powerful concepts of branching and merging, which are extremely useful for parallel development.View:In the ClearCase system, every user has a private workspace, which is derived from a part icular set of rules defined in his/her configuration specification. This private workspace is called a view. Every view has a private data storage, and is isolated from the activities in other views.   All views have access to the VOB, and the access to the versions transparently and automatically.Metadata:The data which is related to VOB objects, but distinct from the contents of these objects is called Metadata. It consists of Event records created whenever any change is made to the VOB object. It keeps track of who modifies what data when and where in the VOBs. This is done by permanently stored and logically assessed information related to a particular object. Metadata also comprises of Labels and Branches. Labels are user defined tags used to identify files and directories. Branches are also tags, but they are used for parallel development and can be merged back to the main stream using the merge utility.By default, all files in ClearCase are read-only and you would need to c heck-out the files to make any modifications in them.   Once the changes are made, the files are checked in and integrated with the VOB. In Windows operating system, ClearCase gets automatically integrated with Internet Explorer so the VOBS can be viewed just like any other directory.

Lynch essays

Lynch essays Mulholland Drive is a place where dreams and nightmares meet. What do an aspiring actress, a beautiful stranger, a frustrated film director, a sinister cowboy, a gritty assassin, and a scary sorcerer all have in common? They are all the key characters in master cult director David Lynchs newest thriller. The film is darkly beautiful, blending a mind-bending mystery with just the right amount of eroticism to keep viewers watching, salivating, and craving for more. Set in present day Los Angeles, the film begins by introducing Betty. Shes come all the way from Deep River, Ontario, in search of stardom and fame in Hollywood. Betty, being both young and naive, befriends a complete stranger who seeked shelter in her apartment after a car accident. The stranger cannot remember anything that happened to her before the car crash so she decides to go by the name of Rita, until she finds out her true identity. Meanwhile, Adam Kesher is in the process of casting the female lead role for his next picture. Everything seems to be within his control until a secret organization and a sinister cowboy begin pressuring him into casting the woman of their choice. As the film progresses, Betty and Rita find themselves in a passionate but dangerous love affair while Adam struggles with death threats and confusion. Soon enough, Betty, Rita, and Adam find themselves lost in a seedy, corruptive, and sometimes dreamlike world... otherwise known as Hollywood. First, I must comment on the acting and direction of this picture. Mulholland Drive is Australian actress Naomi Watts first American movie and what a breakout performance she gives! For three-quarters of the movie she flawlessly plays the young, wannabe actress lost in a world so foreign to her. Without giving away a surprising plot twist, lets just say that during the last half-hour of the film her character suddenly rockets into an oppos ...

Five Steps to Verifying Online Genealogy Sources

Five Steps to Verifying Online Genealogy Sources Many newcomers to genealogy research are thrilled when find that many of the names in their family tree are easily available online. Proud of their accomplishment, they then download all the data they can from these Internet sources, import it into their genealogy software and proudly start sharing their genealogy with others. Their research then makes its way into new genealogy databases and collections, further perpetuating the new family tree and amplifying any errors each time the source is copied. While it sounds great, there is one major problem with this scenario; namely that the family information that is freely published in many Internet databases and Web sites is often unsubstantiated and of questionable validity. While useful as a clue or a starting point for further research, the family tree data is sometimes more fiction than fact. Yet, people often treat the information they find as the gospel truth. Thats not to say that all online genealogy information is bad. Just the opposite. The Internet is a great resource for tracing family trees. The trick is to learn how to separate the good online data from the bad. Follow these five steps and you too can use Internet sources to track down reliable information about your ancestors. Step One: Search for the Source Whether its a personal Web page or a subscription genealogy database, all online data should include a list of sources. The key word here is should. You will find many resources that dont. Once you find a record of your great, great grandfather online, however, the first step is to try and locate the source of that information. Look for source citations and references- often noted as footnotes at the bottom of the page, or at the end (last page) of the publicationCheck for notes or commentsClick on the link to about this database when searching a public database (Ancestry.com, Genealogy.com and FamilySearch.com, for example, include sources for most of their databases)Email the contributor of the data, whether it be the compiler of a database or the author of a personal family tree, and politely ask for their source information. Many researchers are wary of publishing source citations online (afraid that others will steal the credit to their hard-earned research), but may be willing to share them with you privately. Step Two: Track Down the Referenced Source Unless the Web site or database includes digital images of the actual source, the next step is to track down the cited source for yourself. If the source of the information is a genealogy or history book, then you may find a library in the associated location has a copy and is willing to provide photocopies for a small fee.If the source is a microfilm record, then its a good bet that the Family History Library has it. To search the FHLs online catalog, click on Library, then Family History Library Catalog. Use place search for the town or county to bring up the librarys records for that locality. Listed records can then be borrowed and viewed through your local Family History Center.If the source is an online database or Web site, then go back to Step #1 and see if you can track down a listed source for that sites information. Step Three: Search for a Possible Source When the database, Web site or contributor doesnt provide the source, its time to turn sleuth. Ask yourself what type of record might have supplied the information you have found. If its an exact date of birth, then the source is most likely a birth certificate or tombstone inscription. If it is an approximate year of birth, then it may have come from a census record or marriage record. Even without a reference, the online data may provide enough clues to time period and/or location to help you find the source yourself. Step Four: Evaluate the Source and Information It Provides While there are a growing number of Internet databases which provide access to scanned images of original documents, the vast majority of genealogy information on the Web comes from derivative sources - records which have been derived (copied, abstracted, transcribed, or summarized) from previously existing, original sources. Understanding the difference between these different types of sources will help you best assess how to verify the information that you find. How close to the original record is your information source? If it is a photocopy, digital copy or microfilm copy of the original source, then it is likely to be a valid representation. Compiled records- including abstracts, transcriptions, indexes, and published family histories- are more likely to have missing information or transcription errors. Information from these types of derivative sources should be further traced back to the original source.Does the data come from primary information? This information, created at or close to the time of the event by someone with personal knowledge of the event (i.e. a birth date provided by the family doctor for the birth certificate), is generally more likely to be accurate. Secondary information, by contrast, is created a significant amount of time after an event occurred, or by a person who was not present at the event (i.e. a birth date listed on a death certificate by the daughter of the deceased). Primary information usually carries m ore weight than secondary information. Step Five: Resolve Conflicts Youve found a birthdate online, checked out the original source and everything looks good. Yet, the date conflicts with other sources youve found for your ancestor. Does this mean that the new data is unreliable? Not necessarily. It just means that you now need to reevaluate each piece of evidence in terms of its likelihood to be accurate, the reason it was created in the first place, and its corroboration with other evidence. How many steps is the data from the original source? A database on Ancestry.com that is derived from a published book, which itself was compiled from original records means that the database on Ancestry is two steps away from the original source. Each additional step increases the likelihood of errors.When was the event recorded? Information recorded closer to the time of the event is more likely to be accurate.Did any time elapse between the event and the creation of the record that relates its details? Family bible entries may have been made at one sitting, rather than at the time of the actual events. A tombstone may have been placed on the grave of an ancestor years after her death. A delayed birth record may have been issued dozens of years after the actual birth.Does the document appear altered in any way? Different handwriting may mean that information was added after the fact. Digital photos may have been edited. Its not a normal occurrence, but it does happen.What do others say about the source? If it is a published book or database rather than an original record, use an Internet search engine to see if anyone else has used or commented on that particular source. This is an especially good way to pinpoint sources which have a large number of errors or inconsistencies. Happy hunting!

Examine the structure, keywords, and power words used to write rsums Essay - 2

Examine the structure, keywords, and power words used to write rsums and cover letters - Essay Example There may be a dozen people who can fill any given position, so you must make sure that your rà ©sumà © stands out through individualized formatting, and personal touches of your own. Your rà ©sumà © must stand out or it might never get noticed in the first place. But it is important that these do not conflict with readability, because, as mentioned before, you need all of the information to fly off of the page. If the information is not incredibly accessible, no one will bother to give your rà ©sumà © enough time to crack the code and find out what is going on with it – they’ll just move to the next one in the stack. The problem is that a common â€Å"do† that goes along with these two themes also in some ways conflicts with them. One of the major issues is keywords and power words. Rà ©sumà © builders are often told to mirror the language that the job offer has to ensure that the recruiting officer does not have to work very hard to understand how perfe ctly you might fit the job. The problem is that rà ©sumà © builders are also perpetually told not to let their rà ©sumà © blend in or look â€Å"standard.† One can assume that everyone will be mirroring the language of the job description, and this might make one seem like part of the pack rather than a standout. This is a hard situation to deal with. One of the interesting ideas that I had previously heard but did not see mirrored on any website was to include a â€Å"skills/things that people do not usually put on rà ©sumà ©s† that can make you you: things like winning your workplace’s football pool 10 years in a row or the fact that you are a marathon runner. This keeps the individuality there while still being allowed to mirror language There is one definite rà ©sumà © don’t: don’t make your rà ©sumà © too long. Some positions require highly detailed of skills

The theory, and methods used in the application of 'Crime pPrevention Research Paper

The theory, and methods used in the application of 'Crime pPrevention through Environmental Design principles' (CPTED) - Research Paper Example Canada, Australia, US, UK and their states2 etc. have made effective and efficient endeavors for preventing the crimes. Queensland, too, introduced guidelines for adopting such an approach for preventing crimes namely, 'Crime Prevention through Environmental Design' (CPTED, also pronounced as sep-ted) Guidelines3 on November 27, 2007. CPTED is a set of design principles or approach to discourage crimes4 (Deutsch, 2011). Its basic, underlying, thought of action is to anticipate the thought process of potential criminals or offenders5 (Wortley, 1998, pp. 173-88). Its aim is to create such an environment such that every possible criminal doesn’t even think of pursuing crimes or in other words doesn’t get a chance to make a crime. The society has to play a vital role in CPTED to come realized and to be really fruitful in action. This is to reiterate that its aim is not to punish or taking lawful actions against criminals after pursuing crimes, but to prevent the ‘poss ible’ crimes prior to its ‘likely’ happening. Theory CPTED is a scientific approach6 (Clarke & Felson, eds., 2004, pp. 329-30). Jeffery7 (1971) have contributed a lot in the theoretical field of CPTED alongwith coining this term for the first time.

Cost, Budgets and Strategic Decision Making in Management Accounting Assignment

Cost, Budgets and Strategic Decision Making in Management Accounting - Assignment Example The projected next period’s revenues are normally grounded on the prior accounting periods’ actual revenue trends. Second, the production facility budget is prepared. The production budget is grounded on the projected next accounting period’s revenues. If the next accounting period’s expected revenues is 50 cars and the last month’s unsold cars is 15 cars, then the production budget will be to produce only the remaining 35 cars [50 cars revenue – 15 unsold cars from the prior accounting period = 35 cars] (Warren, 2015). Third, the direct materials budget and labor budget are prepared (Warren, 2015). The direct materials are used as part of the finished product. If each car needs 2 cans of paint and there are 17 cans of paint remaining from the prior accounting period, the company must purchase 53 paint cans ([35 cars x 2 cans per car] – 17 cans from prior accounting period = 53 new can purchases). If one can costs  £ 5, then the budget for the next accounting period includes  £ 265 (53 cans of paint x  £5 per can). The labor costs must be included in the budget (Warren, 2015). The labor cost is the salary of the workers directly making the products, the car painters. Furthermore, the factory overhead budget is computed (Kinney, 2012). The factory overhead is composed of all other costs that do not fall under direct materials or direct labor classification. This includes the indirect materials figures and indirect labor amounts. The other amounts include the factory Janitors’ salaries, electricity payments, water payments, and telephone amounts. Next, the selling and administration expense budget is prepared (Bromwich, 2009). The selling expense budget includes the amounts allocated to sell the finished products, including the cars. The selling expense budget includes the sales department’s salaries and commissions, advertising, and other sales department expenses. The

Analyse article Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Analyse article - Essay Example Schaper further argues that in a competitive market environment effective and efficient firms survive while the inefficient businesses collapse. Considering the remarks by the president of Toyota Company, the business may have faced serious competition from other vehicle manufacturers in Australia such as Elfin Sports Cars Pty Ltd, Ford Performance Vehicles, and GM Holden Ltd as well as competition in the export markets of other countries that offer favorable vehicle manufacturing conditions. Another factor that contributed to the decision by Toyota Company is high cost of production attributed to the high labor costs (BBC News Business 10 February 2014). Under normal circumstances, the cost of production in an organization is usually lower giving enough room for profit realization when products are sold. However, the Toyota Company based in Australia experienced reduction in profits and eventually loses in the production of vehicles due to the increased production cost. The company tried to solve the problem of increased labor costs through proposed changes in employee contracts that would have resulted in removal of additional allowances and changes in overtime (BBC News Business 10 February 2014) but the implementation was blocked in a Federal Court. The other critical factor that contributed to the decision by Toyota Company is lack of government support. According to Ch et al., government policies have both positive and negative impacts on businesses operating in the country in question (2011, p.941). In the case of Toyota Company, the impacts of policy changes by Australian government left the company with negative business effects. To begin with, a national commission recommended to the government that subsidies that were initially given to the car manufacturing industry should be stopped and that the companies should device ways of cutting down the production cost (BBC News Business 10 February 2014). Secondly, the proposed changes on employee

The Arguments for and Against the Right to Have an Abortion Assignment

The Arguments for and Against the Right to Have an Abortion - Assignment Example Roe v Wade was both seen as a victory and defeat. As the Texas law prohibiting abortion was put under debate and ended with women having the right to choose for themselves (Lively & Weaver, 2006). Because the debate over this controversial legislation has been the foundation of many platforms for politicians, the public has continued to be depressed by this conflict of ideas. There are a number of different reasons why people will come down on the side of making abortion illegal. In Texas, where the Roe v Wade controversy began, the state was justifying the restriction of abortions based on the idea that a fetus is a person and therefore the life interests had to be protected under the due process clause, which is in the 14th amendment. Justice Harry Blackmun, who wrote for the majority did not accept this promise. Although a fetus may be a life under some religious and moral codes, the majority decided that it could not be considered a fetus in a constitutional framework. Blackmun believed that the rights given under due process of the 14th amendment should be extended to women as well. And therefore this conflict came down on the side of women rather than the fetus (Hall & Clark, 2002). In 2005, the number of abortions in the United States was approximately 19.4 per 1000 women. Of that percentage, 3.2 per 1000 were given to women under the age of 15. The right to have an abortion has had a significant effect on the plight of women is not well supported in the United States in terms of providing for and giving care to children when they are left without a partner. The welfare system is not set up to help women raise children, but rather to try and get them out working in conflict with the act of raising children. One strong argument for the legalization of abortion is that the state does not provide enough support, and society has a negative attitude towards women were trying to raise children but do not have the economic  means to do so on their own.

Etruscan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Etruscan - Essay Example This paper also notes the important contributions of the Etruscans to the enhancement of the Roman culture. The Etruscans have complex burial ceremonies. This may mean that they had strong beliefs that a part of the soul remained with the body or the body is important for the life after death. They also performed cremation and ashes are kept in decorated urns. ("Mysterious Etruscans") As a sign of the Etruscans' strong belief about death, they decorated tombs and urns to make them look like huts or houses. By doing this, they believed that the lives of the dead would be prolonged ("Columbia Encyclopedia"). Aside from this, the Etruscans also used burial ceremonies as a common subject of their paintings and other art works. Experts observed that banquets are the usual theme in Etruscan art. They think that this may have double meaning since the banquet is a basic part of funerals. The Etruscan funeral ceremonies involved the festive banquet which included the relatives of the deceased. At this banquet, the Etruscans believed that the spirit of the one who died would attend. ("Mysterious Etruscans") Unlike most civilizations in the ancient times, gender inequality seemed to not have been very notable in the Etruscan culture (Hooker). ... They also raise all the babies that are born regardless of who the actual father is. ("Mysterious Etruscans") The Etruscans' attitude towards gender roles or the equality of men and women is manifested in their art. For instance, paintings featured lavish receptions wherein both men and women were entertained by musicians and dancers while being waited upon by servants. Other art forms also have both men and women as the main theme like the terra cotta sarcophagus lid figures of a man and woman, husband and wife, enjoying a leisurely moment together. ("Mysterious Etruscans") "Romanisation" of the Etruscans Etruria was attacked by Rome beginning 498 BCE and lasted until 264 BCE when Etruria was completely conquered. Unlike its other conquests, Rome was more considerate for the Etruscans. This may be attributed to the fact that the Roman civilization was substantially influenced by the Etruscan culture as would be discussed in the following section. ("Mysterious Etruscans") With the entry of the Roman conquerors, the Etruscan language and religion were gradually eroded. The long process of "romanisation" wiped the Etruscan culture off the ancient world. ("Mysterious Etruscans") Etruscans' Contribution to the Roman Culture As emphasized, the Etruscans have greatly influenced the Romans. In terms of art, the Etruscan art is mainly comprised of sculpture in clay and metal, fresco tomb painting and fine pottery exhibiting local elements and reflects Etruscan religious beliefs ("MSN Encarta"). This type of art was highly influential on the Roman Art ("Encyclopedia Britannica"). The Etruscans also inspired renowned artists like Alberto Giacometti with their

The Arguments for and Against the Right to Have an Abortion Assignment

The Arguments for and Against the Right to Have an Abortion - Assignment Example Roe v Wade was both seen as a victory and defeat. As the Texas law prohibiting abortion was put under debate and ended with women having the right to choose for themselves (Lively & Weaver, 2006). Because the debate over this controversial legislation has been the foundation of many platforms for politicians, the public has continued to be depressed by this conflict of ideas. There are a number of different reasons why people will come down on the side of making abortion illegal. In Texas, where the Roe v Wade controversy began, the state was justifying the restriction of abortions based on the idea that a fetus is a person and therefore the life interests had to be protected under the due process clause, which is in the 14th amendment. Justice Harry Blackmun, who wrote for the majority did not accept this promise. Although a fetus may be a life under some religious and moral codes, the majority decided that it could not be considered a fetus in a constitutional framework. Blackmun believed that the rights given under due process of the 14th amendment should be extended to women as well. And therefore this conflict came down on the side of women rather than the fetus (Hall & Clark, 2002). In 2005, the number of abortions in the United States was approximately 19.4 per 1000 women. Of that percentage, 3.2 per 1000 were given to women under the age of 15. The right to have an abortion has had a significant effect on the plight of women is not well supported in the United States in terms of providing for and giving care to children when they are left without a partner. The welfare system is not set up to help women raise children, but rather to try and get them out working in conflict with the act of raising children. One strong argument for the legalization of abortion is that the state does not provide enough support, and society has a negative attitude towards women were trying to raise children but do not have the economic  means to do so on their own.

Business Strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 3

Business Strategy - Essay Example Comparing this definition with one of the contemporary definitions presented by Hitt, Ireland and Hoskisson (2007) which says â€Å"a strategy is an integrated and coordinated set of commitments and actions designed to exploit core competencies and gain a competitive advantage† shows that the focus of definitions has changed drastically. Previously business goals and policies were the center of attention while defining strategy whereas now the focus has been shifted towards competition and strategy is used not only as a way to achieve the goals and objectives of a company but also to gain competitive advantage. These are just two definitions hence presenting only the half truth about the strategy; a lot more come to fore when theories and perspectives on strategy are studied in detail. Work in the field of strategic management is immense; upon searching literature, works of Michael Porter and Henry Mintzberg seems to be quite prominent in refining the concept of strategy. ... that strategy may be deliberate or emergent based on the decisions and actions in question Porter suggest that strategy is the use of efficient tools to add value to the processes which may help sustain the market position and remain competitive (Heracleous 2003). Studying in detail the concept of strategy as presented by the two authors reveals that Porter’s work has been much focused on the surface where a particular activity suggests taking a particular step; this means using a particular tool to identify a particular course of action that can help select a best strategy at a given point in time. On the other hand, Mintzberg’s work is much more process-focused which suggests how strategies emerge over a period of time. Heracleous (2003) while comparing the work of both Porter and Mintzberg stated that Mintzberg emphasized â€Å"the creative and synthetic† aspects of the strategy whereas Porter emphasized its â€Å"convergent and analytical† aspects (p.4 7). Porter’s work on strategy management is much focused on tools and frameworks to formulate strategy where process is focused and strategy is developed to decide on a future course of action. Enders et al (2006) in their work combined different perspectives on strategy, perspectives that mainly focus on deliberate strategy formulation, and come up with a value process framework. In their work, mainly Porter’s theories on strategy were focused. Following figure shows the value process framework as structured from Porter’s work on strategy thinking and planning. Figure I – Value Process Framework integrating different Strategy Frameworks (Source: Enders et al 2006, p. 12) Besides Porter, Mintzberg has also presented different views on strategy. The two authors have presented two different concepts. This

Legacies of colonialism in the world today Essay Example for Free

Legacies of colonialism in the world today Essay The colonization of one country by another is rampant throughout history. One country invades and subdues another, extending its sovereignty over the said country or territory for various reasons. Mainly, it is to use the resources of the invaded territory in order to enrich and strengthen itself. As early as the 16th Century, various empires were colonizing nations and territories all over the world. The Portuguese, French, Japanese, British and Spanish were all out to enlarge their territories and empires. When the age of colonialism was finally over, many of the colonized people found that there way of life had changed. Their colonizers had left legacies, both good and bad. Three area’s were the legacy of colonization is felt strongly are economic development, civilization development and cultural transformation. 2. 0 Economic Development Prior to colonization, the indigenous people of any country traded mostly with the surrounding peoples. Most of it was a barter trade that was aimed at making sure there was an even distribution of resources among the people. When the colonizers invaded the countries, they came in search of what resources they could use to enrich their own country, often at the expense of the natives. They looked at agriculture, what crops would easily grow in the region based on the climate of the colony that would satisfy the demands of the people in their home country. They also looked at the natural resources and minerals available in the said colony. In so doing, the colonizers dominated trade, trade routes and even products that could be traded. In the 15th Century Portuguese ships were exploring Africa, Asia and the America’s. Henry the Navigator was pursuing trade in gold and slaves on the West African coast, Bartolomeu Dias was discovering the Cape of Good Hope on the Southern tip of Africa, and Vasco da Gama reached India (Portuguese Empire). Islands like Madagascar, discovered by Trista da Cunha, did not escape. In all these places they established trading posts and fortresses, moving aggressively in their quest to dominate. They took over the ports and controlled trade in the bordering oceans. Brazil, discovered in the year 1500 by Pedro Alvares Cabral, become Portugal’s most important colony. The Portuguese were able to get gold, sugar cane, coffee, precious stones as well as other cash crops from Brazil (Portuguese Empire). 2. 1 Trade in Brazil The economic backbone of present day Brazil is still agriculture, mining and manufacturing. Having discovered the importance of their natural resource during the error of colonization, Brazil’s economy has been doing very well with a GDP per capita of US$ 10,300 estimated in the year 2008 (Central Intelligence Agency, 2009) With the rise of the sugar industry in Brazil established by the Portuguese, it became apparent that there was a great need for labour to ensure that the crop received the needed attention. This gave rise to a new form of international trade with a new product, African slaves. Diagram 1 – Slave Trade Routes Source: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill http://www. unc. edu/wrc/maps/08-Map. png Using their connections in Africa, Portuguese slave traders imported slaves by the millions to meet the demand for labour in the sugar plantations (Portuguese colonization). It is important to note though, that slave trade had began way before the need ever arose in Brazil, by the year 1470, the capital of Portugal, Lisbon, was already a major slave port. The rise of coffee plantations in the 19th century further increased the demand for slaves. There were other advantages to Portugal in businesses that were associated with the slave trade. These included the trade of Portuguese commodities that were traded and exchanged for slaves as well as goods produced by the slaves. In this period the Portuguese imported approximately three and a half million slaves (Slave routes, 2009). Due to this importation of slaves as well as the immigration into Brazil of other cultures, native Brazilians today are a minority. Of the approximately 180 Million Brazilians, 55% are Europeans mainly from Portugal, 38% are of mixed African and European descent, 6% are African and 1% are classified as other, which includes Amerindian (Brazil demographic profile). 2. 2 Introduction of new cash crops and plants. When the Portuguese came to Brazil they started the plantation method that had worked very well so far in their African colonies. This plantation method continued even after they left and is still in effect in Brazil today. Seeing as it is the world’s largest producer of coffee, sugar cane, orange juice frozen concentrate and tropical fruit, it is easy to understand why they have kept the plantation method all these years. Additionally, Brazil is also the world’s largest producer of beef, with 170 million head of cattle. Among the other cash crops produced by Brazil are soybeans, cotton, tobacco, cocoa, corn as well as forest products (US Department of State, 2009). Many plants were introduced to Brazil by the Portuguese when they came to colonize. Mangoes were among them, introduced to Brazil in the 1700’s (Tropical fruits). They also introduced rice and coffee, which was introduced in the 1600s and became the major cash crop of Brazil by the 1800s. Additionally, they brought sugarcane from South East Asia in the late 16th Century. Furthermore, the dende palm tree, whose oil is used in making most Brazilian foods was also introduced from Africa in the early 17th century and with it came hot peppers as well. Another plant introduced to Brazil by the Portuguese is okra, used in many Brazilian dishes today (Hamilton, 2005). It is therefore clear that Brazil owes much to their Portuguese colonizers who taught them how to farm by introducing the plantation method, introduced many plants and cash crops that are now the backbone of the Brazilian economy, and brought racial diversity to the country that in turn has created links to many parts of the world. 3. 0 Civilization Development Civilization development is tied in with human development. In many of the colonized territories, though the people had empires already in place, they were not literate, did not written laws or medical facilities. The colonizers brought these aspects to the colonized territories. However, in the process of bringing in their civilized ways, they erased much of the indigenous culture found there. 3. 1 French West Africa Much of West Africa was colonized by the French with a port set up in Senegal in 1659. By the early 1900s, countries like Mali, Benin, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Niger and Guinea were under French rule. They were French subjects and were used in forced labor as well as imprisonment in a bid by the French to expand and maintain their interests. Agriculture was the main economic sector and they farmed cotton and peanuts where the climate allowed. They encouraged migration by the natives to areas where these plantations existed by touting them as wage-earning areas (Ali-Dinar). This is a legacy that has remained and pervaded all of Africa, with people in the countryside migrating to the cities in search of jobs. This has led to the creation of issues related to urban cities such as the creation of slums as low income housing, vices like prostitution as well as high crime rates. By the year 1960 all French West African countries were independent (Ali-Dinar). Diagram 2 – French West Africa Source: Earlham College http://www. earlham. edu/%7Emodelun/images/gif/west-africa. gif 3. 2 Legacy in Government in Senegal Prior to the French Colonization of Senegal, the Wolof Empire was ruling. It was ruled by a King who also doubled up as a religious ruler. The Portuguese, who had already been in Senegal before the French, had a mutually beneficial trade partnership with these people before the French came on the scene. (Wolof Empire, 2009). After they were colonized, the Senegalese people took a new form of Government that was introduced by the French. Even after the French were gone, that same form of government remained. Along with it, laws that had been laid down by the French stayed as well. In so doing, the traditional rulership of the Senegalese people was erased and the new form, which was very French, took over. The constitution, created in 1963, backs up a civilian government that has an executive branch, a judiciary that is independent and a National Assembly. In addition to these, the Senate, which is also legislative, was formed in 1999 (Diajayette). The president has the power to elect his Prime minister and together they elect the Council of Ministers who serve as the cabinet. The National assembly is made up of 140 members while the Senate is made up of 60. Of the 60 in the Senate, 45 are elected to office by local government officials and members of the National assembly, 12 are presidential elections, and Senegalese citizens in the Diaspora have the privilege of electing 3. Senegal is divided into 10 regions that are ruled by a governor. In regards to the Judiciary, Senegal has four courts above the level of tribunals and lower courts. These are the Council of State, the High Court, the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Council (Profile-Senegal). In addition to taking on French law and government as the basis of the countries executive, legislative and judicial system, the Senegalese also took on the French education system. Prior to colonization, there were no formal schools of any kind. Today the system includes primary, secondary and tertiary education. Senegal has six national languages and one official language, French (Bruhn, 1984). French is also the language of instruction in tertiary institutions although the Senegalese are undertaking English lessons as well. 3. 3 Formal Education in Senegal Along with the introduction to formal education that opened the Senegalese up to the rest of the world, there was an introduction to medicine. Whereas previously the sick would visit a witch doctor or a medicine man, now they have access to modern medicine. It is important to note that as the colonizers traveled, they brought with them diseases that the natives had no immunity against. As such, many of them died from these diseases since they did not have a cure for the same. This went a long way in causing the defeat of the natives, especially in the America’s where a small pox outbreak would kill almost whole colonies. The diseases brought by the colonizers included chicken pox, typhus, dysentery, measles, scarlet fever, typhoid fever, cholera and dysentery (Eddins). The legacies of colonialism in government, education and medicine have been beneficial and far reaching.

HRM contributions to an organisation

HRM contributions to an organisation Human Resource Management (HRM) is the function within an organization that focuses on recruitment of, management of, and providing direction for the people who work in the organization. Human Resource Management is the organizational function that deals with issues related to people such as compensation, hiring, performance management, organization development, safety, wellness, benefits, employee motivation, communication, administration, and training (http://humanresources.about.com) In a short way to say about HRM is putting the right people to the right task and vice-versa to get the maximum output for an organization in a process. The people/workforce is represents one of its most potent and valuable resources in any organizations. In this assignment I am going to discuss Human Resource Management (HRM) how (HRM) contribute the Three HR policies across two diverse organisations. How an organisation ¿Ã‚ ½s structureand culture contribute to HR performance Evaluate HR policy in a given organisation. Organisations. Asda ASDA is a British supermarket. Asda provide a service to their consumers. There service consists of providing their customers with food, clothing, toys, electrical appliances and general merchandise. They also have a mobile network, called Asda Mobile. Their main rivals in this sector are Tescos, Marks and Spencers, Morrisons and Sainsbury. Asad have more than 143,126 employees. (www.asda.com.uk). Sainsburys Sainsburys PLC is a major retailing supermarket based in England. Sainsburys provide a service to there consumers. There service consists of providing there customers with domestic grocery and in many store electrical appliances such as television, DVD players and many other electrical appliances. There main rivals in this sector are Tescos, Marks and Spencers, Asda and Morrison ¿Ã‚ ½s. Sainsburys have more then 758 stores including local Sainsburys. Task 1 Three HR policies of Asda and Sainsburys 1. Recruitment and selection 2. Training and development 3. Employee ¿Ã‚ ½s relation 1. Recruitment and selection: Recruitment is defined as  ¿Ã‚ ½practices and activities carried out by the organisation with the primary purpose of identifying and attracting potential employees ¿Ã‚ ½ (Barber, 1998). At Asda, the objective of recruitment and selection is to attract and recruit the right person, with the attitude while maximally utilising the available resource at its disposal. Asda has a policy set to bring in the best candidates to fit a particular post. The process described is applied in my organization and this process begins with the identification of a vacancy to the process where the actual person fit for the job is found. Sainsbury has a policy set to bring in the best candidates to fit a particular post. The process described by of Atkinson J (1984) is applied in my organization and this process begins with the identification of a vacancy to the process where the actual person fit for the job is found,i.e defining requirement, attracting potential employees, interviewing and selecting the appropriate person for the job Objectives of recruitment and selection Asda The process of achieving this objective at Asda human resource planning this has to do with describing the job available, person specification and contractual matter. To obtain the quantity and quality of employees required to achieve the objectives of the organization which is being the leading retailer in the UK and Putting customers first in all and behaving with integrity in meeting customers day to day food and service needs.Ensuring that the best candidate is chosen for the job as this will lead to company ¿Ã‚ ½s objectives being met as profits will increase. In my organization, they have been able to employ the right kind of people needed to achieve the set objectives as they have an effective and planned style of recruitment which starts from recognizing the need to fill a vacancy with an identified job analyses, job description and person specification and this leads them to communicating and contacting the internal and external labour who may be interested. Internal because sometimes they promote existing staff to fill the vacancy depending on the availability of the skills and attribute required. Sainsbury ¿Ã‚ ½s To obtain the quantity and quality of employees required to achieve the objectives of the organization which is being the leading small format food retailer in the UK and Putting customers first in all and behaving with integrity in meeting customers day to day food and service needs. Ensuring that the best candidate is chosen for the job as this will lead to company ¿Ã‚ ½s objectives being met as profits will increase. Getting the recruitment process right. Very important as the HRM is responsible for this. Money will be lost if the process is done wrong or badly. In my organization, they have been able to employ the right kind of people needed to achieve the set objectives as they have an effective and planned style of recruitment which starts from recognizing the need to fill a vacancy with an identified job analyses, job description and person specification and this leads them to communicating and contacting the internal and external labour who may be interested. Internal because sometimes they promote existing staff to fill the vacancy depending on the availability of the skills and attribute required. From those that have applied a selection is made base on the ones most likely to fulfil the requirement of Sainsbury especially with regards to customer relations and this includes reviewing the applications, interviewing among others. for Sainsbury interview tools has helped them to place candidate at ease, because it is face to face , it is interactive and allows them to assess the appearance, inter personal and communication skills. This has enabled them to select employees that have the technical competence and ability to perform certain task, have the potential for training, development and promotion. Because they are customer focused, these process has helped them to identify candidates that are sociable, who can work harmoniously and fit into the cultural and social structure of Sainsbury bearing in mind the importance of compliance with all the legal requirements relating to employment and equal opportunity. They have also been able to archive there set objective through effe ctive recruitment and selection process . 2. Training and development Once a worker joins an organisation, then it would be useful to train and develop the person in order to maximise his/her human recourse potential. They note that due to the ever increasing competition among present day organisation, companies need to have more sophisticated employees. (Gray and Smiltzer, 1989). Objective of training and development Asda In Asda organization, training and development is a manpower strategy linked to the overall strategy, this is done by determining the training needs of the employees thru appraisal, analyses of job e moral requirement and corporate analysis. In Asda the purpose each training is identified and clears, it is usually in-house or thru external arrangements. This trainings are effective because at the end of the training, usually they would distribute end of course questionnaires which measures the reaction of the trainees, interviews are conducted, observations of improvement on job performance made and career development. This you can also see in the enthusiastic spirit among the staff. By training the staff, they are equipped for the task ahead which is giving improved quality service and these means the achievement of target, goals and objectives measured in terms of output, productivity, quality . Sainsbury To update the knowledge of the employee on current legislation To improve skills and qualifications To increase confidence and competence To motivate employees this encourages higher productivity To improve health and safety. 3. Employee ¿Ã‚ ½s relation Employee relation is a modern terms alternative user former industrial relation in present time. The culture of organisation is important aspect of employment relation which contributes to the success of an organisation. It is also a mix of beliefs, values, mission, approaches to thinking and understanding. (Daniels, 2006) Objective of Employee ¿Ã‚ ½s relation Employees and industrial relation focus on the moral and motivation of employee ¿Ã‚ ½s communicating and consulting with staff building up a strong relationship with employee ¿Ã‚ ½s representative to make sure that employees are aware that of all decision. Asda In Asda we have strong relation between employee and management. It is the responsibility of HRM department of Asda to make sure the contribution of employees in decision making. Asda is also providing a supervisor to correct the performance of employees. Information that provided to employees is to promote a better understanding of management goals and policies. Sainsbury ¿Ã‚ ½s Give feedback on the employees work Make salary and promotion decisions as fair as possible Give employees an opportunity to participate in decisions affecting them Allow for career development and training To improve the efficiency of the organization by ensuring that individual employees are performing to the best of their ability and developing their potential for improvement. Task 2 Organisation ¿Ã‚ ½s structure and culture contribute to HR performance and evaluate referring to two theoretical models. 1. Organisation ¿Ã‚ ½s structure and culture impact on the management of HR. 2. Models of HRM. TWO HUMAN RESOURCES (HRM) MODELS Two HMR models partial used In Sainsbury 1. The Harvard Framework Model 2. The matching Model of HRM The Harvard Framework Model The other founding fathers of HRM were the Harvard School of Beer et al (1984) who developed what Boxall (1992) calls the Harvard Framework .This framework is based on the belief that the problems of historical personnel management can only be solved when general develop a view point of how they wish to see employees involved and developed by the enterprise and of what HRM policies and practices may achieve those goals .Without either a central philosophy or a strategic vision which can be provided only by general managers.HRM is likely to remain set of independent activities , each guided by its own practice tradition. As also explained earlier we can see that Sainsbury survival and growth have mainly been dependent on the fact that the Harvard Framework is partially followed where in Managers across Sainsbury are being given responsibilities for selecting, motivating, developing and evaluating employees. All managers are therefore taking on human resource responsibilities. Employees are the most important resources in Sainsbury, particularly in creating a competitive edge Managers across Sainsbury are being given responsibilities for selecting, motivating, developing and evaluating employees. All managers are therefore taking on human resource responsibilities. Has Employees are the most important resources in Sainsbury, particularly in creating a competitive edge. The matching Model of HRM One of the first explicit statements of the HRM concept was made by Michigan School (Fombrun et al, 1984).They held that HR systems and the organization structure should be managed in a way that is congruent with the organizational strategy (hence the name matching model). They further explained that there is a further human resource cycle, which consists of four generic processes or functions that are performed in all organizations. The first and the most important among them is Selection  ¿Ã‚ ½matching available human resources to jobs is one among them that has been a key to the success of Sainsbury the reason being that as explained earlier that the Recruitment process are of two kinds external and Internal recruitment and according to the Matching Model Which is largely applied in Sainsbury the Recruitment is done internally by using Internal Job posting and no doubt has been a very successful thing ,has the individuals who are selected already have a hands on experience with the post that they have applied for as they do get trained skills required to fulfill that role by doing multitasking by carrying on doing their work and also learning the skills required for the new job that they are applying for out of their own interest voluntarily. Task 3 Evaluate HR policy in a given organisation. 1. Critically analyse at least three HR policies in an organisation . 2. Recommendations for improvement 1. Critical Evaluation Sainsbury require the assistance of staff to carry out the daily activities related to the nature of the organization. The people are all-important members of staff to Sainsbury and fulfil a key role in its operation. Sainsbury would not be successful without all the sophisticated technology but for human beings are responsible for setting up correctly, pressing the right buttons and repairing it if it malfunctions. Once inside Sainsbury staff performs various duties in connection with their roles and Sainsbury expects their work to be of a satisfactory standard, completed within a timescale and to be cost effective. Training is provided to help employees improve their levels of efficiency and this is rewarded with promotion or a bonus in recognition of their efforts. None of this would occur if the managers had not selected potential workers in a careful way. The skills required can be identified and matched against the abilities of people looking for work. If Sainsbury takes on sta ffs who are unsuitable, it can cause a number of problems, e.g.  ¿Ã‚ ½ Poor productivity levels,  ¿Ã‚ ½ Bad feeling among staff  ¿Ã‚ ½ Dissatisfaction about the job  ¿Ã‚ ½ High level of absenteeism  ¿Ã‚ ½ Customer complaints  ¿Ã‚ ½ Dismissal or resignation  ¿Ã‚ ½ The search for a replacement. In order to avoid issues as above Sainsbury use several methods of evaluating Human Resource Performance. Critical Incident File The use of the critical Incident file is very essential in Sainsbury has staffing time plays a key role in the proper functioning of the store/restaurant , however critical Incident files of different colours are used by managers to make certain entries for different reasons , for example if an employee gets an appreciation from the customer an entry is made under his or her name in a green file and if an employee is late the entry is made in a yellow file and if there is a NCNS (No call no show ) an entry is made in a red file and all the data is gather for the performance appraisal period and used to rate the employee. Balance Score Card In Sainsbury information contained in a balance score card is displayed on the notice board on a daily basis, it shows the sales that have been made not only the previous day but up to details of sales made in the previous shift as well whether it be morning, afternoon or night shift, this actually motivates the employees again to perform to their best in their respected and delivery the best. Year on year achievements and opportunities and related information is also shared on a Intranet which is called has Sainsbury Our lounge and also through emails. Gap Buster In our Sainsbury have something called has a Gab Buster which is like a mystery shopper activity when compared to other organisation where in a mystery shopper can do anything question the employees satisfaction by acting has a friend , can monitor weather the Managers are treating the till members and crew members in the correct manner and not pressuring them and also basic things like cleanliness and quality as well and feed back is provided on basis of points to the store/restaurant. Reward Management Even though the overall objective of the reward management is to support the attainment of Sainsbury strategic goals it ¿Ã‚ ½s indeed helpful in motivating the employees themselves ,at Sainsbury an array of rewards are given for example employees of the month , employee of the quarter , employee of the year act which gives rise to a healthy competition and also team work. Employee Retention Sainsbury largely spoken has one of the most changeling places to work in when compared to other companies is very less on attrition due the only reason of the existence of a good Human Resource Management system, Employees at Sainsbury surprising get a month ¿Ã‚ ½s paid off ,employees have outings like visits to amusement parks ect that they can participate in which is sponsored by the company with consent of the Human Resources Management team Large area and scope of development in various sectors like finance , procurement , logistics , management and also human resource is available for employees in the form of IJPs. 2. Suggestions to Improve: Career goals of the employees could be achieved by Motivating staff by showing them what they are working for and letting them know their competence ¿Ã‚ ½s and opportunity areas. Performance appraisal if done on a quarterly basis would make room for the improvement of the employee and speed up the improvement process. More Interaction between the Human Resource Management team and the Line Mangers would result in solving issues relating to staffing More One on Ones with the employees by the Human Resource Manager could make the organization more transparent and conducive. Surprise Visits of the Human Resource Managers in the disguise of customers would help them get the actual picture about the functioning of the store. More IJP to be rolled out and employees within if promoted could reduce attrition rate. Equal opportunities to be provided to employees regardless of different ethnic back grounds would increase in sprouting up of cross cultural and Innovative ideas which could help in problem solving. Training if provided keeping in mind the latest technological aspects would result in employee ¿Ã‚ ½s skill improvement. Rewards Management system if would offer various attractive benefits would possible attract the best employees of other organizations to Join Sainsbury. Human Resource Management should have a person in the organisation who will be in the disguise of a crew member recording the positive and not so positive activities of each individual employee of the organisation which would have immediate and positive effectives if escalated back to the Human Resource Management team in the Head Office. Conclusion Human resources Management is concerned with getting the right people, using them well and developing them in order to meet Sainsbury goals. In order meet Sainsbury aims successfully; it is necessary to identify the means of using people in the most effective way and to identify any problems that are likely to occur for example recruiting the best people and then coming with solutions. After completing this unit and also reading books related to Human Resource Management I have learnt that Human Resource Management play a very crucial and vital role in the actual existences of any organization be it large of small, it ¿Ã‚ ½s a psychological boundary with policies and procedure nicely linked with human development, reasonable requirements ,motivational and emotional support to employees , however with the learning ¿Ã‚ ½s that I have gained and achieved to conclude with an Innovate thought I feel that Human Resource Management should be called has Valuable Resource Management.

Free College Admissions Essays: I Can Make a Difference through Social Work :: College Admissions Essays

Social Work: I Can Make a Difference I am applying to (Name of School) for the Masters of Social Work program. My career goal is to work with underprivileged adolescents, especially those with a history of behavioral and emotional problems. I have significant background in this area; in addition to a full-time position with a recruitment firm, I am a relief counselor for this target group in a residential treatment setting. I want to complement this practical experience with specialized training in order to best serve these individuals. My desire for this profession springs from the troubles of my childhood. In my youth, I was a ward of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts--in essence, a foster child. Both of my birth parents abused me physically and emotionally, prompting the courts to permanently remove me from their power. I subsequently moved through a succession of foster homes and adolescent shelters. My high school years were therefore highly traumatic; I could not have survived them without the aid of the counselors and social workers that were so kind to me. Yet my problems did not end at the emotional level. I constantly battled financial difficulties in order to graduate high school and embark on a college career. I was essentially paying my way through college on minimum wage--a monumental task. My first two years of college proved quite difficult because of this. But I persevered, and achieved an overall G.P.A. of 3.5 during my final two years at school. I also dedicated much time to campus activities, in which I held a number of leadership positions. Today, I work with an international recruitment firm that allows me to travel through the United States and Europe. This has given me a sense of accomplishment and maturity, yet I feel a deep void in my life. I need to give back to the community that helped me so much. I know what it is like to be on the " receiving end" of social work--I was the one who stayed with foster families after the social workers had gone home. I am thus in a unique position to understand the conflicts within the hearts of troubled adolescents. I comprehend, for instance, the importance of such issues as trust.

Face and Social Media Essay

#1: Product – not just another knock-off Competing only on price was not what XiaoMi has chosen as their core strategy. Surely, their phones and tablets are cheaper than Apple’s and Samsung’s but, by far, not the cheapest ones in the market. There are cheaper smartphones that flood China, however all of them have a major flow – poor quality. Essentially, those devices are reverse-engineered versions of Samsung models built from cheaper materials. By coming up with a good quality phone at lower price range was the key strategic move that put XiaoMi firmly on the map. The phone has a robust case, high quality screen and a reasonable battery. It doesn’t break easily, unlike cheaper copycats that start having issues after just a few months of use. By building it’s own Android-based OS called MIUI, XiaoMi phones got new exciting features not found on standard Android devices as well as plenty of customization options. #2: Price – pay less now, pay more later XiaoMi has also realized that selling cheaper phones near their actual cost was not a sustainable long term strategy, so they decided to go with the Amazon’s model – just cover the cost of the devices and make money from selling content. Although, XiaoMi is often compared to Apple, especially considering the fact that their founder, Lei Jun, resembles Steve Jobs in his style and charisma, it is clear that XiaoMi’s true inspiration comes from Amazon. Also, XiaoMi mostly sells online which further reduces cost of sales and overheads related to brick and mortar stores or dealing with distributors and retailers. XiaoMi has also managed to harness the power of social media by not only broadcasting their messages and announcements but by actively engaging with their customers. Engineers are routinely encouraged to speak directly to consumers and use gathered feedback to refine software. #3: Place – gain strength at home first Although there are rumors of XiaoMi’s inevitable coming to North American and European markets, the company seems to stay focused on China with 97% of the shipments locally. It has been mentioned that their next target will be in South East Asia and, most likely, other BRIC countries. Recently, ex-Google executive, Hugo Barra, who himself hails from Brazil, has become new XiaoMi’s international face. It seems that the company is not in a rush to  go to more developed markets dominated by Apple and Samsung and prefers staying focused in its home base where the market is still booming. Perhaps, potential IP related troubles stemming from frequent accusations of possible infringements, also play role in choosing to stay away from US and EU for now. #4: Promotion – the power of word of mouth OK, this one got to be my favorite so I have to break it down. First of all, early on, they have pioneered flash style sales which were done with little or no advertising. Flash sales basically mean selling limited quantities during limited periods. They always create anticipation and urgency – great factors to win consumers’ minds and hearts. Needless to say, the units were sold quickly and talked over a lot all over China’s vibrant social media. Word of mouth marketing worked very well for XiaoMi and they continue to take full advantage of it. #5: Promotion – active use of social media XiaoMi has also managed to harness the power of social media by not only broadcasting their messages and announcements but by actively engaging with their customers. Engineers are routinely encouraged to speak directly to consumers and use gathered feedback to refine software. #6: Promotion – dedicated brand advocates Through its active role in social media, XiaoMi has also succeeded in building a dedicated fan base. Those Mi-fans are very active in social media and are, in some ways, similar to those hardcore Apple advocates that we are all familiar with. Mi-fans are always present at XiaoMi’s product launches where they are known for loud cheering and applauding. #7: Promotion – CEO as the face of the brand Last but not least, XiaoMi’s charismatic boss, Lei Jun, does a great job in making his brand look cool and current. He has put a face to a brand, something that traditional executives in China wouldn’t feel comfortable doing. Lei Jen’s similarity to Steve Jobs in the ways he talks about the brand is not a coincidence – the late Apple’s founder still holds an almost iconic image among Chinese.

Moons of Our Solar System

â€Å"Genetically modified (GM) foods are food items that have had their DNA changed through genetic engineering. † (Mavis 2008). As the population of the world has continued to grow, the supply pressure of food has become more and more significant. With the development of Genetically Modified biotechnology, GM Foods have been come into our daily lives. Though GM foods can help to improve the quality of life, there are risks to complete trust in GM foods. What’s more important, a part of consumers still have doubts about the understanding towards GM food. The question† What attitudes does consumers have on purchasing genetically modified food? † is meaningful because that the issue about GM foods is becoming increasingly controversial. The controversies towards GM foods generally focus on environmental ethics, food security, poverty alleviation and environmental conservation. As customers are divided on their relative importance, some supporters claim that the GM technology can solve the problem of food crisis and poverty. They also consider that GM foods are beneficial to environment such as they can protect soil and water. However, opponents think that GM foods should have some potential threat to human health and they violate the rules of nature by mixing genes among different species. The purpose of this research is to gain a deep understand about the consumers’ attitudes towards purchasing GM foods and find out if most of consumers can accept GM foods. (Hutchison, 2004) Literature review In the last few years, many articles on the consumers’ attitudes toward GM food have appeared. There is a concise review of existing literature that evaluates consumers’ attitudes as following. Most of the information on European attitudes comes from a journal by Bredahl, Grunert, and Scholderer (2003). The article focuses on posted and answered four questions on European consumers’ attitudes towards the use of GM food. These four questions are: (1) how negative are consumer attitudes to the event â€Å"GM technology applied in food production†? (2) How do these negative attitudes affect the preference of consumer for GM products? (3) How deeply does these attitudes rooted in customers’ opinion? 4) Will the new information and experience change the customers’ attitudes? Bredahl, Grunert, and Scholderer (2003) believe that these four questions are central for understanding the consumers’ attitudes about GM food. The article use some tables to evaluate the consumers’ attitudes about genetic modification in food production in seven European countries which are the UK, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Norway , Italy and Sweden. The data shows that most of the customer have negative attitude towards GM food, the average support for GM foods is quite low. The national differences can also be showed through the table: the attitude is most positive in Italy, and is most negative in Germany and the Scandinavian countries, while Finland and the UK in a middle position. And the article also showed some other surveys to support this result, for example, the Eurobarometer surveys, which is a most well know one, have also shown that most of consumers do not like GM foods (Frewer & Shepherd, 1995 and Durant, Bauer & Gaskell, 1998European Commission, 1997, European Commission, 2000,) For the question how these negative attitudes affect the preference of consumer for GM foods, Bredahl, Grunert, and Scholderer (2003) have design a research about yoghurt. In general, consumers prefer the low-Fat yoghurt, but the yoghurt will become non-attractive consistency if they produced based on skimmed milk. Though using additives can improve this problem, many consumers don’t like additives. However, by using GM technology, the yoghurt can be enough consistency, fat-free and no additives. It provided a good basis for the consumer preferences. In the research, consumers inspected the three products which are normal yoghurt, additives yoghurt and labeled GM yoghurt and rank them according to preference. And they must explain the reason for the ranking. The result showed that most of consumer rank GM yoghurt to last choice. And the common reasons are that the GM technology is not familiar and not trustworthy, they don’t know if the product is healthy, and it harms nature. The conclusion is explicit: the attitude to GM food has a strong influence on the preference of consumers. The third question and the last question were researched in another study. Respondents were asked to take part in a taste test of eight cheeses. Two weeks later, they participated in another taste test which only provides two kinds of cheese. One cheese was the same taste as the one which obtain the highest preference in the first test and it was labeled â€Å"produced with genetically modified technology†; the other one was the some taste as the one which obtain a medium preference in the first test. The results showed that when the most popular cheese labeled genetically modified technology, the preference was reduced. So, the study shows the attitude on GM food is deeply rooted in consumers’ opinion and is not easily to change by experience. There are also some other important researches about consumers’ attitudes towards GM food. Hamstra (1995) evaluate the acceptance of consumers toward GM food through three studies of Dutch consumers. Product characteristics and consumer characteristics are included in these studies. In the first study, consumers participated in a face-to-face interview about their attitudes and willingness to buy nine different GM foods (Hamstra, 1991). Means-end chain theory was used in the second study to further research these aspects in some focus group discussions (Hamstra, 1993). The third study used the sample of consumers to evaluate the model which developed in the second study (Hamstra, 1995). As a result, the studies showed that perceived benefits have a greater impact on consumers’ attitudes than perceived risks and there is no link between attitudes and knowledge of the genetically modified technology. Kutznesof and Ritson (1996) investigated Irish and British consumers’ attitudes through focus group discussions. The results divided the consumers’ attitudes towards genetically modified foods into three types: â€Å"triers†, â€Å"undecided consumers† and â€Å"refusers'†. A large number of consumers were classified into the second group, and the rest of consumers were equally classified as refusing or accepting genetically modified foods. Through the research, Kutznesof and Ritson (1996) found that there are some factors can increase the acceptability of genetically modified foods such as perceived consumer-related benefits, price consciousness, increased product quality (especially the taste), and increased purity of products. They also found that the acceptability of consumers depends on the types of genetically modified foods: the genetically modified technology used on vegetables, fruits and dairy products can be more acceptable than eggs and meat. Some studies have analyzed consumers’ attitudes towards GM foods at a more broadly level. The attitudes of consumers have been proved to be more positive towards applying genetically modified technology to plants than to human genetic material or animals. Frewer, Hedderley, Howard & Shepherd, 1997) The study which completed by Cook and Moore (2002) indentifies the relative importance, nature and strength of influences on New Zealand consumers’ intentions towards purchasing genetically modified foods. The study used four methods to evaluate the consumers’ attitudes which are focus groups, the questionnaire, statistical methods and distribution. Results delivered questionnaires to 289 consumers and received 266. The respondents contain 171 females and 95 males. In the received questionnaires, 159 respondents had an intention or strong intention not to purchase GM foods, 27 respondents had an purchasing or a strong purchasing intention and 80 respondents had no intention to purchase GM foods. Through the analysis with â€Å"Ordered logit analysis† and â€Å"Marginal effects for the extended model† which related to self-identity, attitude, SN and PBC, Cook and Moore (2002) found that self-identity, attitude, SN and PBC can provide a positively influence on consumers’ attitude towards purchasing GM food. Males may more easily to feel in control over purchasing the food than females, on the contrary, females may easily to feel in control over not purchasing the genetically modified food. In addition, other related research shown that the New Zealand public may be slightly less against with purchasing GM food. A national survey about farmers’ attitudes found that 49% farmers not willing to purchase GM food and 12% farmers had positive attitudes to purchase (Cook et al. , 2000). Sallie and Michael, B (2004) choice modeling methods to analyze in what conditions the Australian consumers are willing to purchase GM food, and they also discuss these preferences in the report. The results of the report suggest that if there has a discount on the consumers’ favorite food, they will have an intention to purchase the genetically modified foods. The report also showed that genetically modified technology which used on animals seems to be more unacceptable to respondents than that use on plants, especially among female respondents. In addition, another condition which can influence the consumers’ attitudes for a certain type of food is age of the consumer; the results found that older people generally more accept of genetically modified technology than younger people. In conclusion, the above literature shows that most consumers have the negative attitudes towards purchasing genetically modified foods, and these negative attitudes are not easy to change that can affect the preference of consumers. Furthermore, some conditions such as age and sex of consumers, the species that be applied with GM technology and the discount of genetically modified foods can also effect the consumers’ attitudes. Methodology: The main method of this research is questionnaire which contains online questionnaire and a paper-based survey questionnaire. And the responds assumed to be truthfully. The online questionnaire will be designed on the official websites of large-scale supermarkets. And the links of questionnaire should also be sent to the email of the consumers who are the VIP or the regular consumer of these supermarkets. In addition, the questionnaire will not exceed 8 minutes. The questionnaire should contain open-ended questions and close-ended questions. The sample open-ended questions should be â€Å"Do you have a positive attitude or negative attitude towards purchasing genetically modified foods? Why? † and â€Å"How you access the knowledge about genetically modified technology†. On the other hand, the close-ended question must contain the sex and the age level of the respondents, the questions should be designed like â€Å"I have a intention to purchase foods produced using genetically modified technology (very strongly disagree, disagree, agree or very strongly agree)† â€Å"what do you think your family members’ or friends’ opinion would be when you purchasing genetically modified foods? (Extremely unfavorable, unfavorable, favorable or extremely favorable)† â€Å"Do you think your family members’ or friends’ opinion will change your attitudes towards purchasing genetically modified foods? Very strongly disagree, disagree, agree, or very strongly agree)†. These three questions are very important to understand the consumers’ attitudes towards purchasing genetically modified foods. The advantage of online questionnaire is that it is a less expensive way to investigate more people, and it can also invest igate the people who are at a far distance. Furthermore, the questionnaire can be quickly done and anonymity ensures more valuable responses. But there are also some drawbacks about online questionnaire that must be foreseen. For example, in general, the responds to online questionnaire are from younger people and the response rate should be limited because that not everyone can access to the website. All these conditions should be considered on the result of research. The paper-based survey questionnaire will be sent to the consumers in supermarkets. In order to attract the consumers, the people who accept investigate can get a small gift as an incentive that can increase the participate rate. The age of participate range should between twenties and sixties. And the details of paper questionnaire may be same as the online questionnaire. The drawback of paper-based survey is that poor handwriting may be appeared on the space of open-ended question and some of them cannot be identified accurately. Secondary research is also needed in order to assist the evaluation about results of questionnaire survey. The secondary sources can be found in three areas: sales report of a well-known company which produces genetically modified foods, customer database of this company and primary data. Newspapers, previous research reports, journal content, and government statistics could provide the primary data to secondary. The limitations of secondary research should also be considered during the process of research. For example, some secondary data may not be helpful to the research evaluation because that some data can be vague and general. On the other hand, the source of data must be checked in order to ensure the data is accurate. Moreover, the data maybe out of date. At last, the results of questionnaire and secondary research should be collect together to evaluate the respondents’ attitudes toward purchasing genetically modified foods and calculate if most of consumers can accept GM food. Conclusion: There should be two results of this research; one result is that most of consumers can accept genetically modified foods. It means as genetically modified technology becoming increasingly more oriented lifestyle, the consumers are increasingly familiar with the technology about genetically modified foods, more and more people can trust in GM food. The other result is that most of consumers cannot accept genetically modified foods, and the questionnaire can affect the reasons. It means people still have doubts about the safety and technology of genetically modified food. Genetically modified food is new technology products, though it still exist some problems, but with the development of science and technology, it will be more and more perfect. As long as follow the certain rules, life will be more superior with the healthy and orderly development of GM technology.