The answer to whether Beowulf

The answer to whether Beowulf is sophisticated or crude lies in establishing its historical origins. Therefore, it is important to examine the author, perhaps more so than the text. However, an examination of both reveals that author and text are anything but crude. Beowulf, the oldest surviving English epic, dates between the eighth and tenth centuries. Despite the 200-year span when the work could have been written, its subject matter relates to events that took place centuries before.In fact, the epic poem artistically captures the events of England’s Germanic origins. According to Norton Anthology editors, the poet, not only documented some historical facts but also succeeded in â€Å"reviving the heroic language style, and pagan world of ancient Germanic oral poetry, a world that was already remote to his contemporaries† (Norton Anthology Vol. 1, 29). The author, conjectured to be a Christian, manages to describe a pagan world, outside his everyday experience, thro ugh Christian allusions.Moreover, he does so by transcending language barriers. His text was composed in a dialect known as Marcia, while his references must have taken any number of while his references must have taken any number of lingual identities/backgrounds. In terms of its relative meaning Norton’s Anthology editors allege the text to be â€Å"†¦a remarkable and difficult work even in its own day† (Norton Anthology Vol. 1, 29), more so now given the limited information on Germanic oral epics.Secondly, as evidence of its sophistication, Beowulf is prolific with recognizable epic conventions, examples of Christian-pagan sympathy, and even creative linguistic ability. It is episodic and with only a brief history of the problems confronting the Danes, arguably begins in medias res. In fact, â€Å"†¦the poem turns on Beowulf’s three great fights against preternatural evil, which inhabits human society (Norton Anthology Vol. I, 30). The author succe ssfully develops a larger than life enemy for his hero to confront.He arguably aligns the hero Beowulf with a larger trajectory of magnanimous Christians, among them, the first and most notable, Jesus Christ. Still, epic conventions aside, the author employs rather sophisticated writing techniques. There is evidence he was a â€Å"wordsmith,† as the poem is prolific with â€Å"†¦hapax legomena – that is, words recorded only once in a language†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Norton Anthology Vol. I, 29). This suggests the writer was comfortable enough with linguistics to invent words, which more aptly captured his literary intent.In addition to his linguistic abilities, there is evidence the author of Beowulf knew how to manipulate poetic conventions. For example, his poem uses conventions common to oral poetry, like chiastic cyanghanedd in line 154 of the poem â€Å"nothing but war; how he would never,† which creates the consonant repetition of n/w/w/n (Norton Anthology Vo l. I, 35). Another example of the same technique is alternative cyanghanedd where he creates consonant repetition with line 126 of the poem, â€Å"then as dawn, brightened and the day broke,† d/b/d/b (Norton Anthology Vol.I, 35). Clearly the author is sophisticated enough a writer to emulate, in writing style, the ancient Germanic or Old English oral tradition of using certain patterns of consonants to remember lines. Finally, as further evidence of its sophistication Beowulf is written in such a manner that it allows readers to extrapolate meaning beyond the text. That is to say, figures like Beowulf’s three enemies could symbolize, in terms of Christian convention, Satan and/or his imps.In essence, these figures are non-corporeal and evidential of the author’s successful creation of figures, which transcend his age to have meaning for future Christian audiences. In addition, the author recreates in vivid detail, a world preceding his own and simultaneously lef t for future generations, a glimpse into the ancient Germanic world. Consequently, Beowulf is by no means crude when one considers the author of the work and its socio-historical background. Clearly, a sophisticated person, well read and educated on ancient German history and tradition and possessed of aesthetic ability wrote this poem.He deliberately sought to and succeeded in writing a timeless work, one that recreates a time centuries before his own while transcending, in terms of cultural relevance, any post-Christian age. In writing Beowulf, the author employs a number of techniques, which suggest a cosmopolitan viewpoint informed the work. Beowulf, complex and written by a refined author, is the antithesis of crude. Works Cited Anoymous. â€Å"Beowulf. † The Norton Anthology English Literature . Volume I. 7th edition. Ed. M. H. Abrams and Stephen Greenblatt. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2000. 29-99.

Will Doing a Master’s Get Me a better job?

Many students wrestle with the decision whether to take up Postgraduate study at the end of their Undergraduate degree. For some students this is to put off the thought of getting a ‘real-job’ for another year (which is a bad reason to do a Master’s!), but for others it is seen as a route to further develop their education, themselves, and – ultimately – their employability. But that invariably comes with a cost: another year of course fees, accommodation and bills, and remaining a poor student. So how do you know if Postgraduate study is for youToday we look at whether a Master’s is for you†¦Post-Graduate Study To Get a JobOne of the most commonly cited reasons that students give for pursuing Master’s courses is because they feel the qualifications will boost their salary. On first impressions, the statistics suggest that people with master’s qualifications are more likely to find work than those with undergraduate degrees – and they’re likely to earn a slightly higher wage. Data from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (Hesa) shows 86.6% of postgraduates were working in professional positions six months after graduating, compared with 64% of first degree graduates. Sounds great, right?A Master’s is not a Magic TicketHowever, students need to remember that there isn’t an explicit labour market for Master’s qualifications. This means that many master’s graduates – especially those with generalist rather than vocational qualifications – will still be competing against first degree graduates for jobs. If you’re studying a technical master’s – for example in a pharmaceutical or medical subject area – then it’s likely that this will enhance your employability above an undergraduate. However, if you’re doing a master’s of a more generic nature that’s not essential to the advertised job, employers will probably view you in the same way as other graduates.What does this mean?This would mean that those graduating with Master’s degrees need to highlight to employers that recruiting someone with an additional qualification will benefit their organisation. If you’ve done a more general master’s course that isn’t required by a prospective employer then you need to show what skills you’ve gained – research skills, lateral thinking and so on. You should show that you’re able to study something in-depth and do good critical analysis, a transferable skill in all walks of employment.Funding I ssuesFinding funding to study a Masters isn’t easy and for a lot of students, a lack of funding means that continuing university study isn’t an option. Some universities may have scholarship opportunities or offer discounts to students who move from undergraduate to postgraduate level. You don’t get a student loan either for Master’s Study – so you need to be sure it is definitely what you want before committing to it.How do I get the most out of my Master’s Degree?To get the most out of a Master’s degree you need to have a clear goal and an idea of what you want to get out of it. If you want to get into industry, then think strategically – make sure that you’re getting work experience or going on placements and that this links in with your studies. Put as much research into finding a postgrad course as you did when searching for an undergraduate course – and think about the end game. Ultimately its important for students not to embark on a postgraduate course just because they think that it will make them more employable. You will need to explain to employers what benefits their qualification will bring, but there is no denying that – if you a clear goal and reason for study – that enhancing your skills with a postgraduate degree will enhance your employability.

To what Extent was Imperial Germany the Main Reason for the Outbreak Literature review

To what Extent was Imperial Germany the Main Reason for the Outbreak of WWI - Literature review Example Austria-Hungary announced war on Russia as France and Great Britain declared war on Austria-Hungary six days later. Historians and academicians understand the origins of the First World War, or â€Å"the Great War† as it is known, as complex, intense and intricate. This write-up presents a literature review on the causes of World War 1 and particularly Imperial Germany’s role in it. The scale of the war was vast as European powers increased their military spending by more than 300% during the war. Overall, thirty-two nations participated in the war, twenty-eight of which were Allied and Associated Powers, whose principal belligerents were the British Empire, France, Italy, Russia, Serbia, and the United States of America. The Central Powers opposing them were Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, Germany, and the Ottoman Empire. 2. Causes of World War I One of the initial writings concerning the causes of war, the summarized revisionist history, â€Å"Origins of World War I†, by Sidney Bradshaw Fay discusses the Immediate and Underlying Causes of the war (Fay, 1966). Fay suggests five key reasons behind World War 1: the system of secret alliances, militarism, nationalism, economic imperialism and the newspaper press. Other academicians (Weikart, 1993) have also added social Darwinism to one of the underlying causes of War. Scholars, however, give different weightages to different causes, based on the importance they place on each of the above factors. Author S.R. Williamson takes on a pragmatist perspective by emphasizing that, in the period immediately leading up to World War I, there was a â€Å"militarization of attitudes† all across Europe (Samuel R. Williamson, 1988). â€Å"Militarism† and â€Å"imperialism† were key motivating forces in majority of the European countries to attack each other. Williamson, in his study, however singles out Austria-Hungry as the distruptive force amongst all other nations. The Austria-Hungry Em pire was on a verge of disintegration and hence was preparing a realiatory attack on Serbia for the assasination of the archduke. Historian N. Ferguson, in his book, The Pity of War, elaborates further on the â€Å"Imperialistic virtues† of Europe, and that all European powers were preparing for the war within the confines of their empires. A naval arms race was gaining momentum between Germany and Britain and both countries wanted to demonstrate their strength as world’s greatest imperial powers (Ferguson, 1999). Each European country was also facing fears and threats to their existence and to their expansion plans. The Austrians dreaded the collapse of their multi-racial Empire if they did not challenge the danger of Serb nationalism and Panslavism. The Germans feared the fall of their closest and only reliable ally, Austria that in turn would have weakened their stance in Europe. The Russians were threatened of a humilating defeat to Austria and their failure to pro tect Slavs. The French felt the threat of their German neighbours as Germany increased its might in population, economy and military strength. France's primary defence against the threat of German invasion was its alliance with Russia. This it was essential to protect. The British were vulnerable as well, as their global empire was exposed to hostile forces of Germany and Austria-Hungary with modern navy and war

Pfizer Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Pfizer - Research Paper Example The two principles that are covered for this submission is the Labor Principle 1: The elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation and the Environment Principle 2: Encourage the development and diffusion of environment friendly technologies. These two principles cover the aspects related to the internal human resources policies followed by the organizations (Pfizer in this case) and the way in which the company goes about encouraging newer technologies to enter the market that are environmentally friendly and â€Å"green† according to the principles laid down by the global compact. If we examine the first principle of ending discrimination at the workplace, we find that Pfizer has been proactively reaching out to its internal stakeholders i.e. its employees and educating them about the need to foster a workplace environment that is free from harassment and gender specific targeting. Towards this end, Pfizer has undertaken a series of initiatives that deal with these issues. Some of them include the institution of a strict workplace policy that prohibits discrimination on the basis of any factor be it gender, ethnicity, race or physical disabilities or lifestyle preferences. This has come in the form of a directive from top management with its implementation being tracked for success at all levels and grievance redressal mechanisms and anonymous complaint registration being made available to all the employees. As the following excerpt from the company’s website points out, â€Å"the education of employees has included executive memos, stories about the Global Compact on Pfizer’s online worldwide news service for employees, and a two-day global meeting of senior employees focused on stakeholder engagement. In addition, the company’s mandatory education for all employees on Pfizer’s Code of Ethics included segments on corporate citizenship, with reference to the Global

Henry Clay, In Defense of the American System, 1832 Essay

Henry Clay, In Defense of the American System, 1832 - Essay Example rs worked against tremendous odds in 1824, as those opposed to the American System predicted its doom on several counts like the destruction of the public revenue, inevitability of the enhancement of direct taxes, destruction of the navigation, misery of the commercial cities, sharp increase in the commodities of public consumption and blow to the export market with decline in international trade. All the predictions of the critics went haywire, and the American Economy passed through the phase of economic boom. 2. With economy regaining its original health and prosperity booming on all counts, America was facing the consequences arising out of that boom. The foes of the American System, being jealous of that great leap in economy, were on the scheme of subversion, and the vast amount of revenue produced created its own problems as every branch of American navigation had increased. Certain consequential actions relating to the progress of fulfillment of the benefits were considered necessary. One of the worst economic indicators of the economy was the enormous public debt of the country. Time was ripe to abolish the system to which the legislations owed so much to the public prosperity and the country looked forward to a period of redemption and consolidation of the economy. To get rid of the public debt as the interest liabilities were heavy was the first priority. The system had to break free of this economic serfdom. Opinion was divided about the liquidation of the public debt liability. Some argued that the public debt was the secondary concern and other projects and accomplishments needed to get priority. The Henry Clay argued â€Å"But the people of the United States have not coupled the payment of their public debt with the destruction of the protection of their industry, against foreign laws and foreign industry.† (Clay, 1832)The liquidation of the public debt was considered absolutely essential. The other economic indicators were establishment of a

Living with Physical disability Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Living with Physical disability - Essay Example riences when others make them go through the â€Å"rough and sometimes inadvertently hurtful process of recognizing what is wrong† with them (Hoagland, qtd. in McQuade and Atwan 138). This paper intends to discuss that physically disabled people are unable to perform their life activities in a normal way. I remember how my uncle had to go through hard time to get employment because he was handicapped. When he applied in a company for job, he did not get employment because they only employed fit persons. I still remember how much stress and depression he was in during those days since he was lagging behind in life because of something he could not help. After the government of America passed the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), he took a sigh of relief because then he could get a job on the basis of handicapped persons’ seat. One of the major responsibilities of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) is to make accommodations for disabled employees, under the title I of the Act. ADA makes sure that the disabled employees do not have to face discrimination by their seniors or co-workers when they are at the workplace. The emphasis is on the elimination of discrimination which may arise in â€Å"recruitment, hiring, promotions, training, pay, social activities, and other privileges of employment† (U.S. Department of Justice). Till now, my uncle is getting all privileges that facilitate him in his performance at the workplace. Family support is crucial. If the members of the family will not give emotional and physical support to the disabled person, he will get socially isolated and this will add to his depression, loneliness and negativism. Family must assist him in getting all possible treatments so that he may have a chance to lead a normal life and perform his life activities in normal way. If treatment is not possible, still emotional and moral support is must. In short, physically disabled persons are the ones who are in need of our

Governance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Governance - Essay Example According to laws and theory, the board of directors working in any nonprofit organization are in charge and responsible for the accountability of the organization’s policies. The individuals working in a nonprofit organization are motivated by the fact that they serve the members of the community. They feel satisfied for serving the community although they may not get as much compensation as the members of other profit organizations. IRS believes that the better the governance of the tax exempted firms the more their compliance will be increased (Schuster, 2011). The IRS has been interested in finding that how non-profit organizations (tax exempted) govern themselves. The theory behind the governance is that well governed organizations often comply with the tax laws, safeguard their assets and smoothly carry forward their charitable mission than the organizations with law control. In 2007, Good governance practiced for 501 (c) (3) was published by IRS which consisted of guide lines for the non-profit organization on how they may increase their accountability, their transparency policies, achieve regulatory compliance and can carry on with their status of tax exemption. IRS released several different materials regarding the topic of governance. Recently IRS is conducting a training session for the IRS personnel who are working in non-profit organizations (Nonprofit Governance and the IRS, 2010). The role of board members in non-profit organizations has been important. To meet the needs of the society and to work within the limited resources the board members must work towards strategies and leadership whose main focus is financial sustainability in the organization. It must be a difficult task for the board members to bring their organization to the speed of the current governance practices (Boards and Governance, 2013). The United States congress and IRS have shown interest in the regulation of the non-profit organizations. The IRS suggests that the acti vities of the tax exempted organizations must be in accordance with its tax exempted purpose. The board of directors of such organizations must be in charge of monitoring that whether or not the organization is working in accordance with the policies and purpose of its establishment. The statement written by the non-profit organization in its application for tax exemption must be clear. The board of director must act within their full capacity for achieving the goals of the tax exempting organizations. Any conflict that may prevail in the organization must be addressed by the board of directors. The boards of directors are the most valuable sources of the tax exempted organization according to the IRS. The policies of the tax exempted organization must be transparent so that it must be held accountable for its actions. The filing of the tax exempted organization with the IRS must be correct and accurate. There must be transparency in their mission of establishment. Certain filings o f the tax exempted organization must be stated on their official website for the purpose of review by the general public. IRS has shown interest in paying closer attention to the fund raising activities of the tax exempting organization. IRS has allocated the duty of the board of directors to regularly monitor all the fund raising

The challenges, benefits and trade-offs of expanding the reach of Essay

The challenges, benefits and trade-offs of expanding the reach of international law - Essay Example The essay will discuss what is done normatively, touching upon individual rights and responsibilities at the institutional level. Benefits A number of things have evolved normatively and also at the institutional level to incorporate individual responsibilities and rights in international law. This has led to the significant advancements and benefits for individuals. Firstly, the individual rights are recognized in a more formal and appropriate capacity, as it is evident within the context of the Universal Declaration of The Human Rights. It identifies the people’s dignity and also the equal and inseparable rights of individuals, such as freedom of belief and speech. These rights should be protected by the rule of law. It became adopted in 1948 by the General Assembly of the United Nations. It indicated that member-countries had to publicize the Declaration text, disseminate, display, and have it revised principally in all educational institutions, without distinctions based o n the status of the political mood of nations or territories. This has enabled the education of individuals about their rights on a global scale (Diehl, 2009). The fact that there is the documentation of the rights and they have become codified provided people with confidence to step forward and seek protection when their rights are violated. For example, the Geneva Convention and its two added protocols regulate the behaviour in an armed conflict. It is now common for soldiers globally to treat each and every person injured in combat with the same respect and dignity even if he or she is an enemy. The more people become aware of their fundamental human rights, the easier it is to take steps in cases of abuse. Citizens who have their rights violated with no action taken by their government will become aware that justice is possible within the framework of the International Law (Sharon, 2010). Not only is the International Law efficient or effective but it also is a departure point, and it contains extensive potentials. In different instances, individuals seek compensation for injuries and are able to help other sufferers in the future. There are other instances where individuals do not have their government on their behalf. For example, when the 16 year old Michael Dominiques sentenced to death for committing murder in the state of Nevada lost his appeal in 2000 at the Supreme Court, he took it forward to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. His state had failed to protect the third article of the United Nations Charter, the right to life. He had the opportunity of taking the law into his own hands and claiming that the application of the death penalty would violate the United States treaty and the customary international law refusing the execution of juveniles. Based on the fact that the execution of criminal offenders under the age of 18 was considered an issue of jus cogens in international customary law, the sitting judge concluded that executing a minor would be a grave and irreparable violation. Dominique’s life was spared due to the international law. Also, with the help of Roper versus Simmons case, by 2005 America changed its stance and proclaimed that the death penalty for minors would be considered

History of Asia since 1600 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

History of Asia since 1600 - Essay Example Although, the exaggerated interest in nationalism in 30’s led to the rise of fascist and Nazi ideas, it also provoked the anti colonial liberation movements in Asia (Smith 95). The current essay will examine the peculiarities and the differences of the nationalistic movements in Eastern, Southern, and South-Eastern Asia at the end of the 19th and the beginning of 20th century. At the beginning of the 20th century, the countries of the South and Eastern Asia were completely dependent on England, France, and the Netherlands as their mother countries. For maintaining these areas, there were established specific methods of governing, from protectorate to politically powerless territories. The World War I gave a push to the creation of national economies, and, consequently, to the formation of the national capital and the working class. Transformation of the existing structures of the society caused the emergence of new conflicts between the labor and the capital, between the national capital and the capital of metropolis, and the decline of traditional elites. On the new basis, the national liberation movement began to develop. The newly formed national political parties sought to overcome the backwardness with the help of gaining national independence and modernization. In India, it was Indian peasantry that formed a major force in the national liberation movement in the interwar period. To involve a broad amount of population into this movement, it was needed to take into account socio-psychological characteristics of the Indian peasantry and urban workers, yesterday’s peasants. Prominent role in the organization of mass non-violent campaign of the resistance to the colonial regime in the 20 - 40’s of the 20th century belonged to Mahatma Gandhi. He was the one to shape India national ideology. Thanks to Gandhi, the idea of the absolute independence of India was put forward. In this respect, Indian

Position Paper Outline & References Page due Essay Example for Free

Position Paper Outline References Page due Essay After you have read your assigned reading for this week, choose a topic that has at least two clear points of view that can each be defended in an academic and verifiable manner. It is best to check with your professor to make sure your topic is appropriate. Once you have decided on your topic and the point of view you want to build upon, write an outline for your position essay. While the final draft of this paper is not due until the end of Week 8, you will submit an outline and references page to your professor this week. Please note that you will also be required to submit a draft to your professor in Week 6 and to our peer review in Week 7. Refer to this weeks lecture for detailed requirements and guidelines on how to write an outline for a position essay. Successful Outline Requirements: Follow the sample format in this week’s lecture to create an outline appropriate in scope for a 5-page persuasive paper (in addition to the title page and reference page) with no less than 3 academic sources included. NOTE: please avoid topics that are focused on religious, moral, or overly emotional debates. You must clearly state your topic (which should be debatable in nature), draft an introduction paragraph, with a complete and persuasive thesis statement, and outline three main points that you will discuss in your paper, followed by two sub-points for each main point. Remember to include both viewpoints/sides of the topic. A possible conclusion paragraph should also be drafted. Outlines should not exceed one page, unless discussed and approved with your professor. Provide APA references for three academic sources that you plan to use to support your position. Be typed and submitted as a Microsoft Word 2010 document (.docx), double-spaced, 12-point Times New Roman font After reading â€Å"TV Watching: The Top Environmental Hazard for Children† by Todd Huffman, note your initial reactions to the essay. In one paragraph, record your strongest reaction to the essay and explain why you think you may have reacted that way. From what perspective are you reacting, that of a parent or that of a child? What factors outside of the essay might have influenced your reaction? Your assignment this week is to write a draft of your rhetorical analysis. First, read this weeks lecture. Then go to the search engine of your choice and search for this phrase: vintage ads. Include the quotation marks to search for exactly that phrase. Tell us about the ad you chose: name the product and the year the ad was published. Remember that the goal of advertising is to make you spend your money on products and services. Does the ad motivate you to buy the product or service? How does the ad use ethos, pathos, or logos to make you desire the product? †¢Ethos relies on the credibility or the authority of the ad itself (Im not a doctor, but I play one on TV.); †¢Pathos is an appeal to your emotions (Coke adds life.); †¢Logos is an appeal to your intellect (Ads that show great gas mileage numbers for a car appeal to your intelligence—they imply that you have the brains to buy the most efficient vehicle.). What elements create ethos, pathos, or logos in the ad that you chose? Discuss 2-3 elements that work to create the rhetorical appeal (ethos, logos, pathos) that you detect. Some elements you might analyze are †¢ The use of colors †¢ The appearance of people in the ad or their expressions †¢ The way the product is photographed or displayed †¢ Words used in the ad Here is some advice. In your discussion: 1) Avoid summarizing the ad—lets not look at the ad and describe it. Keep in mind that this is not a description paper. 2) Avoid talking about your experience with the product or service depicted in the ad. Keep in mind that this is not a testimonial paper. Make sure that you are writing about how the ad makes you want to spend your money on a product or service. Ethos, pathos, logos By working on this now, you will write material that you can use in your draft to turn in this week.

Examining Islam Around The World Religion Essay

Examining Islam Around The World Religion Essay Islam is defined as submission and peace to God. Worldwide there are more than 1 billion Muslims less than one fifth is Arab. Islam is the major religion of much of Asia, and Indonesia as well with the worlds most abundant Muslim population. Today Islam is a very sensitive and controversial topic; there are a lot of misconceptions and conceptions about its belief, values and goals. In this research paper l will examine the teachings of Islam and how they are interpreted and or practiced in different countries and cultures, including the United States, Great Britain, the Middle East, India and Pakistan, and other country of Asia. How Islam is understood in each countrys culture and how is it contrasted with Christianity and Judaism? How do these understandings impact the ways that Muslims and non-Muslims interact and communicate with one another. Religion is one of the moving forces behind many of the event and attitude that have shaped our world. During the centuries, countries and cities have been developed and destroyed; and battle have been fought, all to protect or make known one religion or another. Islam is the second largest religion in the world; without doubt Muslims differ in their personal engagement and practice between doctrinal and cultural attitude, and have different apprehension about the correct practice of Islam. It had remained fairly invisible to most Americans prior to the Arab oil embargo of 1973 and the Iranian Revolution of 1978-1979 with its taking and holding of US hostages (Simmons, Gwendolyn, Zoharah 2008). Of course, American interest in Islam has been further heightened by the horrific events of September 11, 2001, prior to which not much information about Muslims and Islam was available in US newspapers, on radio or television or on the bookshelves in the bookstores or public libraries (Simmons, Gwendolyn, Zoharah 2008). After 911, Medias, radios and books gave negative views of Islam to Americans which made life harder for Muslims over all. Majorities of Muslims living in the US are foreigners, Muslims in America who have been raised traditionally in Muslim cultures speak of the tension they experience trying to remain close to cultural, ethnic, linguistic and religious roots while attempting to expand a sense of belonging in their adopted home. American societal patterns are at odds with needs of Muslim life and practice: Schedules works do not easily permit for the five times Friday congregational or day salat prayers. Eating institutional facilities such as prisons, schools, military do not have set up for Muslim dietary practices. The cultural acceptance of sexual permissiveness and the allowance of alcohol in America and immodesty in clothing and comportment are seen as negative influences on the community faith, particularly on his younger people. The shariah law, however, continues to be held as the perfect pattern of life to be striven for, somehow, in the middle of contemporary American culture. On the other side of the world in Europe Muslims in Britain are extraordinarily well accommodated with one another. There are more various Muslims from more dissimilar parts of the globe and communities living together harmoniously in Great Britain than any other city in the world. An essential element of that unification among Muslims is the dexterity to project an apparent Muslim religious uniqueness on top and over any traditional identity or culture. The complication for the expansive society is that unlike, food, fashion, music, sport, drugs, humor, or the arts, religion is not shareable and inseparable. Is not to affirm Muslims do not have many things to talk over with, Humanists, Jews and Christians, on the opposite Muslims now have an essential place in religious discussion of issues in Great Britain. Invariably people define assimilation as the range to which culture has been shared and ingurgitated, from well known entertainment to tastes in narcotics. The belief of Islam h as become shareable in the confined sense that most people in Great Britain or England now know something about it therefore, conversion to Islam is not unusual, however people cannot take it as it please them because is not like a cultural or entertainment source. Therefore the only integration of Muslims into larger community is the magnitude to which obvious Muslim practice is welcome by the latter. Another interesting country where Islam is practiced is India and Pakistan. Muslims are about twelve percent of Pakistan and India population. However their influence on the Pakistanis and Indian society is much stronger. One of the main reasons is that, there are many Muslims rulers in different parts of Pakistan and India. Majorities of the Muslim rulers of Pakistan and India are invaders from the west. In general the Muslims of Pakistan and India like the Muslim world is splited into two major sects, Shia and Sunni. And just like in the Muslim world there is tension between these two sects. Each of the sects has many different schools in each place. There are also Muslims from both placed who affirm to be the descendants from the daughter of Prophet Muhammad and the men in these communities add the title Syed before their names, some other claim to be the descendants of the first Muslims and add the title Sheik. Asia is home of sixty five percent of the worlds Muslims population, and Indonesia, in Southeast, is the worlds largest Muslim country. Although the national slogan of Indonesia, (Unity in diversity), was intended to be a certainly national one, is no less applicable to the Southeast Asian Muslims community, as well as to Muslims all over the world. If questioned about the main elements of their faith and practice, most Muslims will point out the five basic duties of Islam. It consist of, the daily prayers or salat, the profession of faith or shahada, the hajj, the giving of alms or zakat and fasting in Ramadan or sawm. Despite for all that, there is an entire range of calendar rites and celebrations of passage combined with Islam, also to mention the clear acts of piety that some believers perform before carrying out basic actions, like call upon Gods name prior to washing ones face and limbs also before prayer or eating. Again, these acts are split across Islamic pace and time. On the other side, many distinctions among adherent of dissimilar theological and cultural traditions remain essential. though the global society of the faithful come together in Mecca for the don then the hajj the identical costume of two unsewn also known as ihram, they frequently travel as a group in narrow managed groups of fellow countrymen and linguistic communities with tags displaying their national flags. At the same time, there are many distinguishing local practices that are felt to be completely Islamic in the Southeastern of Asia, although these, on occasion, have been disapproved by Muslims of differing cultural backgrounds by virtue of their lack in displacement from, their individual histories. Local practices contain the visitation of the burial place of the saints of Java or the use of drums in place of the call to prayer. Other examples of distinct Southeast Asian practices may be associated to the harness of the sarung a common practice with non Muslims and Muslims all over the Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean, the somewhat late circumcision of young males frequently celebrated as a major event in village, the use of shadow puppets which is believed by some local communities to have been invented by one of the saint Muslin to make clear Islam in the local dialect. Even if such habits are viewed sideways or regionally apparent elsewhere, if not argued honestly, such practices are nevertheless seen as ways of correlating to a belief that is global and equal. Christians, Jews and Muslim worship the same God. These three are monotheistic religions, with many common, texts, beliefs and doctrines. Muslims respect the same prophets as Christians and Jewish, including, Abraham, Noah, Jesus, Moses and Jesus. In reality, Muslims consider Islam to have been present from the time of Abraham, with Judaism and Christianity being central forms of the last religion confessed to Muhammad. Jews and Christian are specifically guarded in the Quran as Peoples of the Book, because Islam considers both the Torah and New Testament and to be revelations from God, though inaccurate in the process of human communication. An example of a difference in apprehension, Islam does not admit that Jesus is the son of God; this acknowledgement would disprove the Islamic belief in the uniqueness of Gods deity. Like Judaism, Islam has powerful constitutional tradition that describes the rules by which believers of the religious community should live. Part of these rules includes dietary restriction against eating pork which is very similar.

TV Violence :: essays research papers

The average American child watches an average of three to four hours of television daily. Over a year’s time that add up to about 12,000 violent acts witnessed on television (Television†¦Children). After a child has witnessed a violent program, they tend to act different. Parents need to be able to distinguish between dramatic or imaginative play and imitation. During dramatic play children create new and varied roles which represent different experiences in their lives. However, during imitative play children simply repeat stereotyped roles from the screen, often repeating scripts or sound bites from the television. In drama play language may be made up, use codes, and special names. Numerous studies have been done in the last thirty years about the problems with viewing programs that contain violence. The majority of research done has been on television/cartoon violence; focusing on how viewing violence causes aggressive behavior in the viewer (The Effects†¦Violence). One study, done by Athena Huston, Ph.D., used 100 preschool children. Half of them were males and the other half females. The little children were observed before and after they viewed violent and non-violent shows. The group that viewed the violence were more likely to hit out at their playmates, argue, disobey class rules, and were less willing to wait for things and turns than the group that viewed non-violent material (Violence and Television). It seems that children who view large amounts of violence on television are likely to become desensitized to all kinds of violence-televised or real, and more likely to behave in aggressive or harmful ways towards others (Violence on Television). Ch ildren become physiologically aroused and express impulses during and after seeing it on television. For example, the Power Rangers, Batman, and many other cartoons show fighting is good. The characters â€Å"beat up† the bad guys and get praised for doing so. While the child is watching he/she sometimes acts out what is being seen. No one dies in these shows, however, the wrong idea about fighting and violence is being taught to our kids (Television Violence). A study investigated the effects of the â€Å"Mighty Morphin Power Rangers† on aggression. It found that young children in a group who watched a televised episode committed seven times more aggressive acts in a two minute play period than did a control group (Television†¦Children:Boyatizis,1995). As children grow they are able to distinguish between fantasy and reality. This usually happens around the age of seven or eight.

New Roots for Agricultural Technology Essay -- Agriculture Farm Farmin

New Roots for Agricultural Technology "There was once a town in the heart of America where all life seemed to live in harmony with its surroundings." So begins the excerpt in Pojman from Rachel Carson's Silent Spring. Carson asks us to envision the human ecological harmony that may be the ultimate fantasy of most environmentalists. This allows us to refresh our vision and strengthen our inspiration to fight for this ideal, as she then describes the possibilities of destruction which may await this community. Her imagery reminds us why our struggle for a better life is important, ethical and justified. The writers of the articles that follow dismiss this envisioning as "lyrical hysteria" (Ray and Guzzo) and try to persuade us that our well-reasoned goals are emotional, unfounded preferences. They distract us with the uncertainty of statistical studies, without taking a deep look at the roots of the misdirected technologies that are modern agriculture. Carson, on the other hand, like Japanese ex-microbiologist and farmer M asanobu Fukuoka, seeks more sophisticated analyses of the present need for technology like pesticides, and a truly better alternative. Fukuoka has well shown that natural farming is better than modern farming, not because it measures up in scientific tests of productivity (which it does), but because its basis is ethical, non-violent, and desirable for humans and our environment. Why are we faced with the painful tradeoffs between the harmful and useful effects of pesticides, rather than the question of why we depend on them so much in the first place? We need to question the culture that directs the science we use to develop our technology. Both Carson and Pimentel describe how scientific farming, that is... ...sion may be trying to prevent us from exploring the peoples' underlying motivation for action, as Fumento tries when he ridicules those "besiegers" who challenge modern science. In combating these simplified dialogues that silence innovation, I think our discussion of ethics is on the right track. We must approach the development and use of agricultural production technology with our well-reasoned decisions why working with nature is better than dominating it. There is more to ethical decisions than proving that Alar does not poison children. We must find a way to incorporate into the sciences that create our technologies the ethical intentions that drive parents to fight against agricultural chemicals. Work Cited: Boserup, Ester. 1966. The conditions of agricultural growth: economics of agrarian change under population pressure. Chicago, Aldine Pub. Co.

A Taste of Honey by Shelagh Delaney Essay -- English Literature

In writing A Taste of Honey, what impact did Shelagh Delaney hope to have upon her audience? What techniques did she use to achieve these aims? Shelagh Delaney wrote "A Taste of Honey" in 1958 when she was only 18. "A Taste of Honey" is a story about the relationship between a girl and her mother. The mother, Helen, who is a semi-whore, leaves her daughter, Jo, to get married to Peter. Jo has a relationship with a sailor and gets pregnant. The sailor then leaves for duty. Jo meets Geoff, they become friends and Geoff offers to help Jo bring up the baby. Helen returns after splitting up with Peter and wants Jo back. The audience that Shelagh Delaney was writing for consisted mainly of middle class and upper class people. Her audience were used to seeing productions about characters leading similar lives to their own. The stereotypical play was where the men worked and the women stayed at home, cleaning and cooking. "A Taste of Honey" did not have these qualities at all. Shelagh Delaney's aims were to shock her audience into seeing what the real world could be like. The audience of the time were relatively un-aware of the truth about working classes and their lives. This type of play was new to the theatrical stage, and could take time before the "working class" plays would be accepted and appreciated. The upper classes were mostly unaware that the lower classes were leading such different lives to themselves. Shelagh Delaney's play brought to light what the lower classes lives were like and the differences between the two classes. The plays of the time had very structured, clear story lines, with stereotypical happy families. Shelagh Delaney challenged these ideas about the ideal play along with man... ... "A Taste of Honey" was inspiration for many writers. The writers of "Soaps" like Coronation Street and Eastenders will have been greatly influenced by the new ideas that Shelagh Delaney had brought into theatre. Shelagh Delaney will have influenced these writers because she had written a play about a topic that hadn't been shown on television before and the producers were looking for new ideas. Shelagh Delaney's work only has a small relevance to today's audience. Most of the ideas and concepts in it are aimed to suit the audience of the 1950's/60's. The theatre audiences of today know that most modern working classes do not live as the characters do in "A Taste of Honey". In "A Taste of Honey" Shelagh Delaney shocked her audience by presenting them with situations that they were not used to. This effect created a well structured and enjoyable play.

Nursing and Early Childhood Education Essay

Since as long as I can remember I have wanted to be a doctor. I wanted to â€Å"fix† people when they were sick and make them feel better. I am also a very compassionate person and friends and family know they can always come to me if they have something going on. My main goal in life, if I never accomplish anything else, is to make a difference, for the better, in someone’s life. I think by being a nurse I have a good chance of completing my life goal. I started out wanting to be a doctor since I was about 5 years old. I was always in  Ã¢â‚¬Å"advanced† classes all throughout grade school and into high school. I even started college with majoring in chemical engineering with the pre-med option. I was not at all interested in chemical engineering but had been told it would look better on my application into medical school if I had a harder major. By the spring I had changed my mind and my major was now early childhood education. It was such a huge change that I basically only realized I had no idea what I wanted to do. I ended taking some time off school to work and figure things out with what I wanted to be  since I couldn’t keep saying I would when I grew up because it reality I was a grown up. I went to school one summer and got CLEET certified to be a security guard and never ended up actually working in that field because the interest just wasn’t there. Then two years ago I heard how easy it is to get a job if you have some kind of medical license or certificate and that you will always have a job since they are in such high demand. I then decided to go to school to be a certified nurse aide (CNA). I immediate got a job working in a nursing home after I got my CNA  license and realized it was true about how easy it was to find a job. I wasn’t to fond of the atmosphere in a nursing home but I loved my job. I loved being able to help those people with Andrea Whisman September 6, 2014 Intro to Nursing tasks they weren’t able to do themselves. That’s when I decided to go to nursing school instead of being a CNA for the rest of my life (It wasn’t a liveable wage by any means). I did a year of an associate program of nursing school and I still very much loved it but it was not a good school at all. That is when I found SNU and started looking into their program. As soon as I stepped onto campus I knew this is where I wanted to continue my journey. Part of me still wants to go to medical school and become a doctor but I also want to complete something first. I can’t keep running from being a grown up by not making a career choice. I plan to complete nursing school and take the extra classes I need to even apply to medical school that way I will still have my bachelor’s degree and can start working but if I do decide to apply to medical school I can.

Planned Change at the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority Essay

Planned Change at the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority In 2001 (SDCRAA) was created to be implemented in 2003 by the senior director of the aviation division in the port of San Diego, Thella Bowens. She was held responsible for the transition of operations from the airport authority to SDCRAA. Because Bowens had a good experience in the organization, this made her important in providing support to the operation in develops the transition plan as well as dealing with legal and regulatory issues. The group led by Thella Bowens understood the importance of SDCRAA quickly becoming a separate organization and suggested studying the existing strategic plan to gather the needed resources for this project. Bowens chartered the Airtport Transition Team to ensure the smooth and seamless transfer of operations and public services provided by the airport. In May 2002, seven employees were selected from the Aviation Division to improve members of the Airport Transition Team .The method was to get people with the ability to work within a process yet think outside of the box, to communicate well with others in a team, and influence directors without having formal authority. The plan phase also determined the when, where, and how of the plan. A â€Å"war room† was established for the team to and serves as a communication hub. The team named themselves the â€Å"Metamorphs† and many of its members came from different parts of the organization. SDCRAA had only one worker in 2002 which is Thella Browens she was dealing with regulatory issues at that time such as property transfer and the transitioning of workers. She also helped in passing the legislation which insured the employees their jobs. Furthermore, Browens renegotiated the union contract together with working beside an external counsel and state senators. The implementation process required a decision on the best way to bring about the change. The strategic plan evolved during the transition, had two important elements: human resources and communication plans. The human resources plan specified the transition of 145 budgeted Aviation Division employees to 52 vacancies plus the 90 othe r positions. The airport transition plan contained a special emphasis on the needs of the employee. Bowens included a number of change management education sessions for all employees.

Teenage Curfew

When it comes to having a curfew, opinions can be wide spread about what it right and what is wrong. I believe though, that it is a parent’s decision whether or not they let their child out. As long as your parents know where you are, you aren’t doing anything dangerous or illegal, and you always have somebody with you in case something happens, then you shouldn’t have to worry about a curfew or getting punished for something that is perfectly harmless. When you are out after dark, always make sure your parents know where you are. You don’t want to be somewhere without a way of contacting them. If they know where you are, then that makes the chances of them finding you a lot higher. Also, if they know where you are going, they have the option to tell you that no, you can’t go, or at least help you make choices about what you do when you get there. One other reason to make sure that your parents are aware of your location is so that they won’t have to worry about calling the police if they can’t seem to find you. It saves a lot of people a lot of trouble! As most teens would probably have to agree, if you aren’t doing anything illegal or dangerous, then why shouldn’t you be allowed out? When out after a certain time, yes, the police are out, but why should they be monitoring you if you aren’t doing anything against the law or dangerous? It makes you feel somewhat childish being watched all the time. You shouldn’t be getting punished for being out past a certain time because a lot of people may have late jobs or games that they are coming home from and it isn’t fair to penalize them for just coming home after a long day. No harm intended! Finally, when you are out past dark, always make sure you have a buddy with you. I mean, who doesn’t like company?! When you are alone, if you get hurt or get caught in a sticky situation, you might be incapable of calling for help. It’s always good to have someone with you so they can call for help if needed. Having a friend with you can also keep you from making wrong decisions. They can be a good second opinion on right and wrong, and keep you out of trouble. And we all know that the slammer is no fun place to be! These are just a few reasons that I have why you should be allowed out. If you aren’t doing anything dangerous or illegal, your parents know where you are, and you always have a friend with you, then your parents should be able to make the decision whether or not they want their child out after a certain time. You shouldn’t have to worry about being punished. After all, they police aren’t the ones who raised us. Thanks for taking the time to listen to my opinion about why teenagers should have to worry about a curfew.

Balanced Scorecard IKEA Essay

About the company IKEA is a Swedish company registered in the Netherlands that designs and sells ready-to-assemble furniture, appliances and home accessories. As of January 2008, the company is the world’s largest furniture retailer. Founded in Sweden in 1943 by 17-year-old Ingvar Kamprad, who was listed as one of the world’s richest people in 2013, the company’s name is an acronym that consists of the initials of, Ingvar Kamprad, Elmtaryd (the farm where he grew up), and Agunnaryd (his hometown in Smà ¥land, south Sweden). The company is known for its modern architectural designs for various types of appliances and furniture, and its interior design work is often associated with eco-friendly simplicity. In addition, the firm is known for its attention to cost control, operational details, and continuous product development, corporate attributes that allowed IKEA to lower its prices by an average of two to three percent over the decade to 2010 during a period of global expansion. IKEA is about much more than just products. It is about offering inspiration, home furnishing knowledge, new products and solutions people can relate to. Always at low prices. IKEA home furnishing gives people access to affordable solutions that solve their needs and improve everyday life at home. Simply put, IKEA home furnishing makes it possible to turn dreams into reality and create homes to love living in. A culture of hearts The IKEA culture is hard to describe but easy to embrace. It’s a culture of enthusiasm, togetherness and willpower, born from our roots in southern Sweden and inspired by the IKEA founder, Ingvar Kamprad. The IKEA culture humbly unites us in our work to create a better everyday life for the many people. It’s not an easy task – and maybe that’s why we and all other IKEA co-workers are so dedicated and so stubborn. We all share the same conviction that many, not few, shall be able to create the home they want  and dream of. And when you put your heart into your work, it’s then you really can make a difference. Over 150,000 people are involved in the creation of a better everyday life for the many people. Business plans †Maintaining a strong IKEA and expansion ideas are great motivators to work hard. But there is no culture is one of the most crucial substitute for the feeling of actually contributing to something bigger. factors behind the continued success of the IKEA Concept† Ingvar Kamprad IKEA founder The IKEA values Values cannot be invented – they can only emerge from one place: the heart. IKEA values are very much a product of our origin. Hard work, tough challenges, common sense, Swedish roots and limited resources have formed IKEA values. To keep the IKEA Concept successful, we work to keep our values close to our heart. The IKEA values convey the essence of the entire IKEA culture. Over the years we’ve learned that acting according to IKEA values not only brings us together – no matter what age, race or part of the world we live in – it helps us do business successfully. The IKEA product range Developing IKEA products can take place almost anywhere around the world – on a factory floor in Asia or on the drawing board in Älmhult, Sweden. And everybody involved works together to create a product range that is simple, easy to live with and affordable. Good design should be available for the many, not the few. That’s why all IKEA designers design every IKEA product starting with a functional need and a price. Then they use their creativity and knowledge and use low-cost raw materials and manufacturing processes to create functional products. Then large volumes are purchased to push prices down even further. Most IKEA products are also designed to be transported in flat packs and  assembled at the customer’s home. This also lowers the price by minimizing transportation and storage costs. By doing all this, the IKEA Concept uses design to make sure that IKEA products can be bought and enjoyed by as many people as possible. IKEA designers constantly seek new ways to improve people’s lives – without emptying their wallets. But how can good design and function be combined with good quality, all at a low price? It starts with focusing on what’s important. Will an expensive finish on the back of a shelf or under a table-top improve the function? Of course not. So IKEA designers do not do it, because a product is of no use to the many people if it is not affordable. Low prices with meaning Low prices are only valuable if they offer good function, quality and design. IKEA product development teams constantly ask themselves – does this product contribute to a better everyday life? Does it have a good, sustainable design? Is the function and quality suited for everyday life? And most crucial – is the price low enough to make this product accessible to many, not just the few? Touch. Try. Explore. Dream! The IKEA store is our meeting place. It is where the IKEA product range comes to life. Visitors can compare styles and prices and get inspired by realistic room settings. They are welcome to sit, lie down, open and close drawers and cabinets, and pretend to cook, sleep or watch TV. The IKEA store is designed to meet many people looking for something for their homes. It’s also a place where you actually can go from inspiration to involvement by getting inspiration from solutions in the store, searching, finding and choosing the products needed, picking them up, buying them, bringing them home, putting them together and enjoying them the same day. All the IKEA products in the store are supported by price and product information that makes it easy for visitors to serve themselves. Customer involvement contributes to low prices. An invitation for the whole year With hundreds of pages of ideas, inspiration, solutions and products, the IKEA catalogue shows how the IKEA product range contributes to a better  everyday life. It is filled with solutions that answer people’s dreams and needs, it is also complemented with digital content that gives users a richer experience and provides more in-depth home furnishing knowledge. Still, it shows only part of what is offered in IKEA stores. Improve and develop the IKEA Concept The IKEA Concept is a living concept. We develop and improve it together with IKEA retailers and other contributors. Together we work to stay in the forefront of global trends and changes in retailing. We listen to the needs based on real-life shop floor experience to get better insight into what the many people need in order to improve their life at home. All this helps us to ensure that the IKEA Concept remains successful in an ever-changing world. We constantly monitor how the IKEA Concept is implemented in every market to ensure it is creating the maximum impact. Monitoring helps us to understand the different challenges facing IKEA. This could range from market conditions to cultural factors affecting shopping behavior. Through monitoring we can find ways to improve the IKEA Concept and how it meets the many people. IKEA retailers share their experiences, knowledge, innovation and ideas. This helps the IKEA Concept to be a living and dynamic concept that continuously develops and expands. The key is working together. Online know-how, Publications, Training programmes We offer an online resource for IKEA know-how that includes solutions, news, training programmes, publications and much more. We provide manuals and guidelines for all parts of the business and specific know-how areas. We also publish a magazine for IKEA retailers filled with tips, tools and proven solutions from all over the IKEA world. We offer a range of training programmes for many aspects of the business. Market research We conduct regular market research and provide IKEA retailers with reports and tools that help them improve their business. For example, we measure how well IKEA retailers have positioned the IKEA Brand in each market and how satisfied customers are with their latest store visit. We also conduct  research that helps find ways to improve the IKEA product range, the IKEA catalogue and the IKEA website. And we gather and analyze insight into macro-economic factors and the competitive situation. The IKEA Concept Center We believe in learning by doing. We operate the IKEA Concept Center in Delft, the Netherlands, where shopping, learning, testing and supporting all come together. The idea is to give IKEA retailers the chance to learn about the IKEA Concept and its recent updates and benefit from all the competence of specialists in a hands-on environment. For most visitors, the main attraction of the IKEA Concept Center is the IKEA store. Like all IKEA stores in the world it offers inspiring solutions, low prices, tasty food and shopping that is fun and enjoyable. The IKEA Concept Center is also home to specialists who, in co-operation with the IKEA retailers, find and identify good ideas and solutions. New solutions are developed, documented and analyzed from a conceptual viewpoint. We provide systematic transfer of IKEA know-how. And communicate proven solutions to all IKEA retailers, so that each and every one can benefit from these in their business. Together, we work to keep the IKEA Concept successful. We offer more than 50 different training programmes and workshops to IKEA managers and specialists at the IKEA College. In addition, many training programmes are offered locally or as elearning programs. Every year thousands of students are educated on how to use proven systems, methods and solutions to maximize the possibilities of the IKEA Concept. Testing Just as all IKEA products are tested to ensure quality and to find ways to improve, we are always interested in improving the living IKEA Concept. We test lots of new and innovative ideas at the IKEA Concept Center. These could be ideas suggested by IKEA retailers or ones that we come up with ourselves. When we find solutions that work well we make the part of the IKEA Concept and document and describe them so that all IKEA retailers benefit. 2013 was exciting for IKEA retailing In a tough climate IKEA retailing continued to grow and expand. Retail sales ended at EUR 29.2 billion for the full year. The business climate in Europe continued to be challenging for IKEA retailers, while we see improvements in North America, Asia Pacific and the Middle East. As many developed economies strive to balance economics and social well being, we see that uncertainties will continue to dictate the business climate for some time. This affects people’s lives and living conditions and therefore we believe that the IKEA Concept is more needed than ever. The IKEA Concept gives everyone the possibility to improve their life at home IKEA products are becoming more accessible. This is about offering a wide range of good home furnishing products at low prices. It is about providing more and better services. And it is about creating a positive shopping experience in IKEA stores and online. Nine new IKEA stores opened, two of which are in new markets: Lithuania and Qatar. The re are also continued You do your part. We do our part. Together we, save money. improvements in sustainability efforts in various aspects of the IKEA Concept. One example is that by 2016, all the lighting sold at IKEA stores will be LED. The IKEA product range aims to help the many people live a more sustainable life at home, with solutions to help save energy, water and reduce waste. Most things remain to be done The first IKEA business was founded in 1943 and the IKEA Brand celebrated 70 years during 2013. Today more than 150,000 co-workers are working through-out the IKEA world. We saw more than 770 million visits to the IKEA stores and 1.2 billion visits to IKEA websites in the past year. Still we are just at the beginning. IKEA retailing is small in most markets and does not exist in others. People’s needs for good home furnishing products at low prices are bigger than ever and the IKEA Concept will continue to contribute  to a better life at home for the many people. A July 2013 media report speculated that IKEA is the world’s largest consumer of wood after a finding that the company uses 1% of the Earth’s wood supply. As of January 2014, IKEA owns and operates 349 stores in 43 countries. The Balanced Scorecard Value proposition IKEA’s value proposition is operational excellence because all IKEA designers design every IKEA product starting with a functional need and a price. Then they use their creativity and knowledge and use low-cost raw materials and manufacturing processes to create functional products. Then large volumes are purchased to push prices down even further. Mission Statement IKEA’s mission is to create a better everyday life for the many people, by offering a wide range of well-designed, functional home furnishing products at prices so low that as many people as possible will be able to afford them. It’s about creating homes to love. Critical success factors Financial -grow and expand -increase sales -enhance customer value -improve cost structure Customer -brand positioning -low cost product solutions -real life experience stores -rich content catalogs Internal Business Processes -minimizing storage and transportation costs -quality testing -product development -market research reports Learning and Growth -culture of hearts – e-learning programmes, training programmes and workshops -sharing experience, ideas, innovations, knowledge and know-how -market research reports -IKEA college

United states Today Economic Situation and its Credibility around the Essay

United states Today Economic Situation and its Credibility around the world - Essay Example However, while reading the comments section of every online news report, I realized that it was not just Americans who were keeping themselves informed of the latest developments on the matter but also foreigners as well. Aside from this, I also read several news reports in which officials from other countries also expressed views on the subject. As I encountered more of such articles, I began to realize that the highs and lows of the American economy do have profound impacts on other countries. Because of this, it is only expected that they have their own views of current economic conditions of the US. It is also apparent that while the US boasts of still being the most powerful nation on Earth, the cracks on its walls have shown and grown worse through the years as its economy continues to remain in deep crisis. This can be observed by the international community who could only express negative opinions on the matter. For more than a century, the US has long held the title as a dominant global superpower. The two most compelling factors regarding this matter are its economic superiority and military strength. In the 1900s, US dominance was ostensibly challenged by the Soviet Union. It was after World War II that the contest between the two superpowers became more intense. However, the Soviet economy was not match to that of the US. Apparently, while the Soviets continued to espouse a closed-door socialist economy, America was extending it market on a global scale. I find this action not as a reflection of the benevolence or generosity of the country’s big business but simply a result of the drive to accumulate more profits from less saturated markets abroad. To some extent, the economic superiority of the US then had managed to scale down the impression that it too was trying to domin ate the world with its military strength just as the Soviets did. From my point of view, this prompted the development of the concept that economic relations with America make other nations richer too even as it is also making infractions on the sovereignty of other countries through military intervention. When a superpower lavishes a poor country with imported products, it could hardly be considered as a bully by the people. This was definitely not the case with the Soviet Union, which only focused on asserting military superiority. The current economic crisis that the US is facing has proven to be disastrous not just to the average American citizens but also to many other countries in the world. This is naturally the result of several decades of dominance also of the country in the sphere of international trade and global economy, in general. Through all those years, especially after the World War II until recently, the US is a major trading partner of a good number of economicall y more backward countries. These had established relations with the US as their largest market of raw materials and, at the same time, supplier of capital goods and other high-value added finished products. With the crisis besetting the US economy though, it has become a less attractive market from the perspective of those countries that export their raw materials to it. Apparently, the crisis has also led to slower production of capital goods and finished products in the US, while countries like China and India are showing successes in coming up with commodities that are competing with those it had been manufacturing. If I were to be the an

Measuring Performance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Measuring Performance - Essay Example And, gross margin in 2011 was (26,978,000 / 57,400,000) = 0.47. (a) (ii) If, gross margin of a firm is higher in one year compared to previous year, then it can be said that the company has shown higher efficiency in converting its raw materials into revenues in that year compared to the last year. Thus, companies always want to make higher gross margin. But, it has been found that for Maldives Plc gross margin has declined from 2010 to 2011. It indicates that the company has been less efficient in converting its raw materials into revenues in 2011 compared to 2010. Thus, the performance of Maldives Plc has deteriorated in 2011 from 2010. Hence it can be said that, financial health of Maldives Plc was better in 2010 than in 2011. (Zairi, 1994) (b) (i) Issuing ordinary shares is a method of financing a company’s productive activities. Total number of ordinary shares that the Maldives Plc had in issue in 2010 was (14,300,000/ 2.86) = 5,000,000. Total number of ordinary shares th at the Maldives Plc had in issue in 2011 was (16,320,000/ 2.72) = 6,000,000. (b) (ii) A company finances its productive activities either through equity or trough debt. Equity financing implies issuing ordinary shares to public. On the other hand, debt financing implies taking loans from various organizations or individuals. Increasing in the volume of debt is not good for a company’s financial health as debt is huge liability for a company. (Spitzer, 2007) It is found that the number of ordinary shares issued by Maldives Plc has increased in 2011 from 2010. It implies that the company has put more stress on equity financing in 2011 than in 2011. However, in order to get clearer picture about the financing activities of Maldives, it is necessary to have information on long term and short term debt financing of Maldives Plc in 2011 and 2010. Although, it is not still clear from the number of ordinary shares in 2010 and 2011 whether the burden of debt has increased or decreased . The increase in the number of ordinary shares in 2011 will be a good indictor for the financial health of the company if it is coupled with decreased in debt financing. Hence, I would like to have more information on long term and short term debt of Maldives Plc in 2010 and 2011. (Spitzer, 2007) (c) (i) Price earning ratio of a company is generally measured by dividing the market price a stock in a particular year by earnings per share in that year. Here, the market prices of ordinary share issued by Maldives Plc in 2010 and 2011 had been ? 42.90 and ? 38.08 respectively. Now, earnings per ordinary share had been ? 2.86 and ? 2.72. Thus, price-earning ratio for 2010 was (42.90/2.86) = 15. And, price-earning ratio for 2011 was (38.08/2.72) = 14. (c) (ii) The price earning ratio for a stock in reality reflects the association between the market price of the ordinary shares issued by the company and the earnings per share issued by the company in a particular period. This ratio is ex tensively used determine profitability of a company. The market uses the information on profitability of a company to determine the price of the stock issued by that company. If profitability shows an increasing trend, then market also responds by increasing price per ordinary share. But, a downward trend in profitability acts as a bad signal regarding the performance of the company to the market. The market generally responds to a decline in profitability by

INDUSTRY ANALYSIS PROJECTS Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

INDUSTRY ANALYSIS PROJECTS - Research Paper Example of this paper is to demonstrate how industry structure and environmental forces affect the competitiveness, profitability, investment opportunities and choice of strategies for the office furniture industry. Major processes and products of the industry are also covered in the paper, its NAICS code, and the value chain starting from the major inputs to the end user. The key success factors (KSFs) are also discussed and their relevance to the growth of the industry. The Canadian office furniture manufacturing industry deals with a wide range of products ranging from cabinets, bookcases, desks, chairs, filing cabinets and desks. The industry also manufactures store and office fixtures, including cafeteria countertops (except bathroom and kitchen), partitions and furniture parts (IBIS World, 2015). Customers may order furniture that is customized or predesigned. The furniture may also be sold assembled or unassembled depending on the destination market and the customer demands. Major activities in the industry include manufacture of office furniture, manufacturing showcases, lockers, shelving, and partitions. Additionally, the industry deals with custom architecture woodwork and special wood fixtures. Manufacturing is done in line with the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). Canada is the second largest marketer of office furniture in the world and the leading exporter in the United States. The domestic production of furniture in Canadian markets has expanded over the years. The industry has greatly contributed to increased employment rates and is one of the factors helping to bridge the economic gap in the Canadian markets. The Canadian Office Furniture industry is classified under NAICS code 33721CA. Other related NAIC codes include 337110 for wood kitchen cabinet and countertops, 33712 for household and institutional furniture, and 337121 for household upholstered furniture. However, this paper deals specifically with office furniture under

Exam 3 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Exam 3 - Essay Example The given statement signifies that ‘Simon cannot be in Columbus and Akron,’ while the choice statement indicates that ‘the city cannot afford to build a new town hall and a highway.’ Both are very direct in their assumptions, and nonetheless were coincided with their likewise direct and logical conclusions that ‘Akron will not be toured by Simon’ and ‘a new town hall will not be built anytime soon’, respectively. Both arguments can be regarded as valid because their conclusions follow what their premises indicate; both also are logically true as claims are accurate and materially consistent with facts (Surhone, Timpledon, & Marseken, 2010). It should be noted, moreover, that the concluding sentences of the two arguments are congruous to their major and minor premises, which are needless to say, imperative in deciphering whether or not validity is present. Both categorical propositions, ultimately, are logically acceptable and sound as their construction or arrangement is more precise than the rest of the choice at hand. Reference Surhone, L. M., Timpledon, M. T. & Marseken, S. F. (2010). Syllogism. Saarbrucken: Betascript.

Common diseases in Colombia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Common diseases in Colombia - Essay Example   This is followed closely by vector borne diseases especially malaria, dengue and yellow fever. Statistics from CIA and CDC indicate that the most predominant of these diseases affecting both locals and travellers (Central Intelligence Agency, 2014). Risk factorsThe risk factors of this disease are the food and water borne diseases due to contaminated food and water. Personal hygiene and sanitation is not emphasized upon in this nation hence the reason they use contaminated water especially from the Pacific Ocean and their food is contaminated. How it is diagnosed Typhoid whose mortality rate reaches even 20% of those diagnosed is spread through food and water contamination. The sick patient experiences high fever that is not sustainable and tests of the blood cells indicate an increase in the white blood cells. The S. typhi bacteria are also analyzed in the urine test which is carried out after the first week of fever. Typhoid is treated using a dose of strong antibiotics such as levofloxacin which clears up the symptoms. Intravenous hydration and the use of antipyretics can also be employed. This is in addition to ensuring proper nutrition and close medical check-ups to monitor treatment. Education on lifestyle modificationIn order to prevent typhoid, eating of washed food and boiled water is important. Thoroughly cooking food as well as peeling fruits is also necessary. For the travellers, typhoid vaccine is recommended before travelling to this nation in addition to not eating food sold on the streets.

Research methods used in evidence based practice Essay

Research methods used in evidence based practice - Essay Example Other investigations concerning the problems of the nursing field, and ways to implement evidence-based practices in other areas are used to supplement this comparison. It is not in doubt that these procedures are effective, this article explores additional means to expand these practices more thoroughly throughout the clinical profession. Introduction In the interests of the nursing profession, the term evidence-based practice is a relatively recent development. The term represents the new framework for the medical field in general representing the logical culmination of scientific principles essential to the foundations of modern medicine. But the term itself was first described in the work of the evidence-based medicine working group in the early 1990s (Cullum et al. 2007). For all areas of human endeavor with any intersect with the material or biological sciences and evidentiary area approach is the fundamental precept that permits reliable scientific progress as an alternative t o superstitious or intuitive practices predating the advent of the scientific method. In addressing this theme a patient safety research article from Berland and colleagues (2012) will be subject to examination. The article itself focuses on a specific tasks relative to the healthcare profession, providing a direct analysis utilizing evidence-based practice. Primarily, this article will address the specific research findings of Berland and colleagues (2012) , who conducted a study on the experiences of homecare nurses in the area of patient safety. This is an example of evidence-based practices applied to resolve the specific issue of patient safety. Pursuant to an exploration of this article, additional background will be given on evidence-based medical practices in general. Before the modern movement towards evidence-based practice, similarly related terms such as evidence-based medicine (Beyea & Slattery, 2006) described the fundamental approach of utilizing scientific evidence a s the primary assumption needed to identify the most efficacious treatment strategies based on the objective appraisal of the physical facts pertaining to the case at hand. Qualitative Overview During any research project, executive decisions must be made concerning the best strategy by which to derive conclusions from the available information. There are two principle categories of data that are meaningful in terms of human interactions and endeavor: quantitative and qualitative. Quantitative information is primarily numerical, using ratio-level data that allows precision calculations often of physical phenomenon. It is essential for mechanistic processes involving functions or forces that can be duplicated or replicated. This stands in contrast to qualitative data. Qualitative data reflects findings relating to social interactions or behavioral motivations that do not immediately entail numerical representation. Qualitative findings often use ordinal or normative information in or der to draw behavioral conclusions. Many of the issues relevant to this article are dependent upon behavior and human interactions, such as questions of leadership and responsibility. These functions of behavior are not amenable to hard numerical data under most circumstances, and therefore a qualitative approach is most useful for the type of research included in this analysis. For the Berland study, the first line of the Methods

Travelling Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 2

Travelling - Essay Example Moscow and London both are quite famous for travelling. They provide various entertainment packages such as restaurants, galleries, museums, parks, clubs etc. before traveling it is essential to plan everything such as place to visit, expenditure, budget etc. selection of place is based on all these major factors. There are more restaurants in London as compared to Moscow. But these restaurants are very expensive, while the cost of living in Moscow is 39% cheaper as compared to London. This means that a standard of living in London will require $3000. But if a person travels to Moscow one will require just $1830. While the transport network of Moscow is far better than London. In London cinema and other entertainment center are 5% higher than that of Moscow. This shows that traveling to Moscow will be cheaper and beneficial for visitors as compared to London. Travelling provides many benefits to people. It helps to gain experiences and knowledge of various countries because while vis iting to the ancient and architectural places of a country such as Moscow, one can get more knowledge in relation to various systems and culture of a country. It is beneficial for both students as well as parents. They can not only be familiar of one’s culture but will also have a chance to learn new languages. People have many motives to travel such as to discover something new, for pleasure, to explore, for relaxation and to learn other cultures. Therefore, I think one should keep on travelling throughout his or life.

The Cooking animal Essay Example for Free

The Cooking animal Essay ?Michael Pollan’s article The Cooking Animal, describes the decline of home cooked meals and its effects. Cooking, he says, is what separates us from animals. It’s how we became civilized. By making us come together and share food, we learn about each other and ourselves. Although its importance, cooking is rapidly declining in modern times. What was once a daily ritual is now becoming a special occasion. Replacing cooking is convenient, yet horribly unhealthy, processed foods thus worsening the already increasing obesity problem. †The more time a nation devotes to food preparation at home, the lower its rate of obesity† (Pollan 583). Pollan explains the importance of home cooked meals and it’s correlation with obesity and how we have fallen in the trap of the corporations. He explains how the mass producers made hard to make meals cheap, processed, and convenient leaving us to be forever doomed unless we made dire changes. Pollen raises many thoughts and facts about the importance of home cooked meals, all of which I completely agree with. Cooking is what separates us from animals. When our ancestors learned the ability to cook the new nutrients allowed them to evolve differently. Cooking not only provided us with much better nutrients but provided us with the means of creating our culture. When we gather with other people and eat together, we share ourselves (Pollan 582). When I first read this article the above statements just clicked with me, it all just made so much sense. I knew that cooking is important but crediting it for mankind’s evolution was new to me. When I read this part of the article I couldn’t help but to imagine a group of Neanderthals eating around a fire, slowly creating their own culture. Cooking is very important to many great cultures and can tell us much about said cultures. My family are big advocates of our Mexican culture so food is definitely very important to us. I’ve eaten with American, Indian, Lebanese, Vietnamese, and Egyptian families all of which had their distinct differences in how they ate and how they interacted with each other on the dinner table. Home cooked meals are being neglected by America causing obesity to become more prominent. The iconic image of the American family gathered around the dinner table is becoming a rare one. Today’s American would much rather pick up a large order of fries than actually get the potatoes and make them yourself, and why not? The restaurants and super markets make it so cheap and easy that you would be a time wasting fool if you cooked it yourself at home. Pollen says that as the preparation time has gone down, calorie consumption has gone up. â€Å"As the amount of time Americans spend cooking has dropped by about half, the number of meals Americans eat in a day has climbed; since 1977, we’ve added approximately half a meal to our daily intake† (583). That’s no surprise considering what goes into the fast food and mass produced foods. I remember I saw a video on what McDonalds chicken nuggets look like before they fry them and I never wanted to eat one ever again. If the chicken looks like pink silly putty, maybe we shouldn’t be eat it regularly. Thankfully I grew up on my mothers cooking. She has a full time job, three kids, and manages to make the best food everyday. I’ve always believed that all my physical and athletic achievements have been greatly attributed by my diet. Apart from home cooked meals being generally far better nutritiously, they generally taste way better. Perhaps they taste better because theyre made with love? That’s up to the consumer to decide. Corporations that mass produce food have one motivation, profit. It’s their job to mass produce food the quickest and cheapest way to earn the most profit so obviously nutrition is going to be neglected. The marketing revolves around habits. If we form the habits of just relying on them for food we will not go back thus more profit for them. It makes me think of an evil villain who’s bent on destroying the human race or at least making us all fat and lazy because that’s what’s happening. We’re becoming lazy which means our children will be lazy and the ability to cook will vanish and it will all go downhill from there. In Pollen’s article, he asked Harry Balzer what we can one do to fix this problem and he said â€Å"Easy. You want Americans to eat less? I have the diet for you. It’s short, and it’s simple. Here’s my diet plan: Cook it yourself. That’s it. Eat anything you want — just as long as you’re willing to cook it yourself† (584). Cooking is something that has been around since the beginning and something that we cannot afford to loose. Cooking is what makes us human, what provides us with the right nutrients and what keeps us from falling into the industries trap. Michael Pollan’s The Cooking Animal reinforced my belief on the importance of home cooked meals and also expands it. Works Cited Pollan, Micheal. The Cooking Animal. The Bedford Guide for College Writers withReader. By X. J. Kennedy, Dorothy M. Kennedy, and Marcia F. Muth. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martins, 2011. 581-85. Print.

Descartes Meditation Essay Example for Free

Descartes Meditation Essay Descartes holds that you are more mind than body. Do you agree? What sort of priority does he intend? † In the Meditation Two: Concerning the Nature of the Human Mind, Descartes describes himself â€Å"as if I had suddenly fallen into a deep whirlpool† (pg. 492), expressing the need to work his way up and pick up where he left off the day before. He basically exclaims that he will put off all doubts and â€Å"suppose that everything is false (492)†. In this meditation he plays on the concept that the mind is greater than the body. In some respects’ I do agree with what Descartes is saying about dualism concept and how we are â€Å"thinking things (493)†. I believe the mind is more important in some manner than the body because the power the mind has to think, reason, create, dream, imagine, believe, memorize, react, desire, feel, and the ability to know and have endless ideas. Descartes agrees that he â€Å"doubts, understands, affirms, denies, wills, refuses, and that also imagines and senses (494). †In this section I do agree with Descartes on his view of this â€Å"thinking thing†. The mind is so incredible that we humans can’t grasp the intricate complexes that the mind has. When Descartes describes the wax example I was rather confused but after critiquing the concept I have come to realization that it does make sense. I think Descartes was desperate to find away, some way to describe the importance of the mind and using this illustration was a creative way to do so. So he describes this piece of wax how it’s hard and cold, malleable, has a slight honey flavor (494). Then he describes what happens to this wax when it goes through the different temperature cycles and how the structure of the wax changes etc. So we know that when the piece of wax is going through those physical changes it still remains to be the same piece. So seeing that we understand that the hard piece of wax and now melted piece of wax have the same properties’ must not just come from the senses because all of the sensible properties were changed. As Descartes describes that â€Å"the sense of smell, sight, touch or hearing has now changed; and yet the wax remains (495). † So from this one may think that the imagination is what this piece of wax is, but Descartes exclaims, â€Å"Therefore this insight is not achieved by the faculty of imagination. Instead he concludes that â€Å"I (Descartes) perceive it through the mind alone. † Learning this illustration is shows the importance of the mind and the corporeal body. That the body can take on many different changes, yet the mind is beauty behind everything. I can’t say that I agree with everything that Descartes is trying to express, but I do agree with the fact there are hard concepts to grasp and understand. We each have unique mind, and understanding the mind will take time and will take patience.

The Japan Airlines 123 Flights

The Japan Airlines 123 Flights This report documents the chain of events before, during and after the Japan Airlines 123 Flight, registered under JA8119. It evaluates the cause and effects of the factors before the fateful flight, and connects with the factors during the flight and after the flight, not forgetting, it also offers possible recommendations to improve the safety of the aviation industry. The main cause of the flights death, was very simple, just a very common tailstrike incident which was not repaired to specifications stated by the manufacturer themselves. It was further neglected after passing through a check by the maintenance engineer himself, which should have grounded the airplane. Instead, it went on to fly another 12319 cycles before its life ended on 12th August 1985. During the flights it has gone through, continous cycle loading had caused heavy metal fatigue on the repair and the pressure bulkhead itself. Time after time, it accumulated, the cracks finally nucleated together in the aft pressure bulkhead. It ruptured the tailfin, along with it the heart of the airplane, the Central Hydraulic Unit. It drained the plane of its blood which was the hydraulic fluids that control the primary systems. After losing control, and fighting with it for 32 minutes it crashed into two ridges of Mount Takamagahara in Ueno, Gunma Prefecture, 100 km from Tokyo. Based on research and findings, the aviation industry has improved so far, with the new Boeing maintenance procedures which include more stringent checks on repair patches, with new installation of relief valves. However, to us, it is not enough, we would recommend as well to include newer standards, such that to allow lesser temporary repairs to pass through inspection, filling up the empty space with more part replacements. It may take a longer time, but safety is maintained. Introduction Purpose This report is to document and shed more light on the timeline, chain of events occurring before and after the tragic flight of JA8119. It also includes the revision of aviation standards, and the proposal of ways to increase consumer safety in aviation. Background Information 15 years have passed, and many do not remember the tragic flight of JA8119 on Flight 123. It happened to be the most deadliest single-aircraft accident in aviation history. The final flight also occurred on 12th August 1985 which was the Obon holiday period where the Japanese return to their hometown for visiting their ancestors graves. The victim was a Boeing 747-SR46, which carried 524 passengers on board, for which only 4 survived. It suffered mechanical failures 12 minutes into the flight and 32 minutes later crashed into two ridges of Mount Takamagahara in Ueno, Gunma Prefecture, 100 kilometers from Tokyo. The crash site was on Osutaka Ridge near Mount Osutaka. Up to today, it still remains as the most tragic incident, due to its high number of casualties and the coincidence of the type of tradition also occurring during the period. Due to this, It raised worldwide awareness towards the dangers of aviation, causing the Flight Aviation Authority to revise its maintenance measures, and made the aircraft manufacturer Boeing, to revise its design on all of its infamous 747 platforms. Method of Investigation Information extracted from an episode from National Geographics Air Crash Investigations/May Day Series, Episode 2 Out of Control, reports on Aircraft Safety revisions, an actual blackbox recording of the actual incident, and various documents on the cause and effects of the crash. Scope of Investigation. It is broken down into 3 sections comprising generally the Pre-incident details, which would contain the tailstrike incident which occurred 7 years ago, leading to the analysis improper repairs done, followed by the lax attitude the ground crew took. The second section would the the Incident Details, which will document the chain of events which occurred in the rear pressure bulkhead, comprising of rivet failure, bulkhead failure, explosive decompression, leading to the hydraulic failure and the pilot faults. Followed on lastly by post incident details, documenting the refusal of US military base help from Tokyo, leading to the late rescue efforts which resulted in more deaths, and the lessons learnt from this incident. Lastly, Our own recommendation on what could be further done. Pre Incident Details 2.1 Tailstrike Incident A Boeing 747SR was arriving on 2nd June 1978 at Osaka Airport. The weather in the area was not optimistic at all, with rain that just ended, resulting in extreme heavy fog. The pilot, was in the skies during that period had just been approved to land. Due to low visibility, he could hardly see what was in front, and relied on his instruments as guiding points. By the time, the altitude meter read 100 feet, he had realized that he was too close to the runway. It caused him to deploy the flares very aggressively. It touched down, but due to the extended flares, it gained altitude and increased the angle of attack, which resulted it to land on its empennage on its second touchdown. This is known as a tailstrike incident. Figure 1 Extent of damage on the tail of JA8119 2.2 Botched Repair The tailstrike incident suffered by JA8119, resulted in issues that were not appealing at all. The rear bulkhead had various scratches, but on a closer look, there were cracks, and it was already unacceptable to be approved for flight purposes. However, they had to do a temporary repair on the bulkhead still, and they were not following prescribed steps to do so. Boeing stated in their manual for these procedures: A Continuous doubler plate on the bulkhead itself. Followed on with 3 rows of rivets on each side. This is to reinforce the bulkhead, such like what the objectives of a temporary repair should be. Instead, the licensed engineers of Boeing stationed at the airport did this: Two doubler plates cut out from a huge splice plate Two rows of rivets on one side, Single row of rivets on the other. (Wikipedia, 31 August 2010) Figure 2 The Actual Repair(National Geographic, 2007, Air Crash Investigation[Online],Season 3 Episode 3 Part 4 , Available from: Youtube.com [Accessed 23rd May 2010]) All of this was done by the engineers so that It would fit nicely. Which would later carry a serious consequence of servere failure during flight. 2.3 Metal Fatigue Metal fatigue, described as structural failure caused by consistent cycle loading, which would mean as stressing on part throughout a prolonged continous time. This is inevitably caused by the improvised procedures done by the engineers in Osaka Airport, as stated, in the previous factor. Figure 3 Leftovers of the rear bulkhead after shearing off during flight. (National Geographic, 2007, Air Crash Investigation[Online],Season 3 Episode 3 Part 4 , Available from: Youtube.com [Accessed 23rd May 2010]) Due to the nature of aircraft parts to go through consistent cycle loading, the doubler plate which was done as a patch repair to the rear pressure bulkhead, if done in correctly would result in extreme fatigue. This was exactly what happened. The loss of one row of rivets due to this procedure had caused them to take much higher stress than normal, such that having 2 rows with one row instead of 3 would distribute the load unevenly, causing the material to experience different rates of fatigue, as a result. This would be the main causing factor for the during flight incidents. Negligence of Ground Crew Usually, after a maintenance task has been completed, a senior engineer would do a check on it. This is where partly the fault had fell on. The senior engineer did a check on the splice plate repair on the rear bulkhead shortly after. In the beginning, the engineer did not approve of the repair due to the nature of the plate and the rivet placements, but looking at it as a temporary repair, he signed off declaring the plane of its worthiness. (JST Failure Knowledge Database, August 23, 2006) This would be catastrophic as no matter how minor a repair is, it should be done up to the best standards to avoid accidents. This was not the case. 3 Incident Details 3.1 Riveting Failure The cause of this was via the botched repair that was not done up to manufacturer standards. Figure 4 L18 Stiffener Joint (Dr. Yotarou Hatamura, 2005, JST Failure Knowledge Database[Online], Crash of Japan Airlines B-747 at Mt. Osutaka, Available from: http://shippai.jst.go.jp/en/) Refer to Figure 4, this diagram compares the actual repair with the directed repair specified by the manufacturer, Boeing. The first drawing, starting from the left, shows a full doubler plate with 3 rows of rivets intact along a full plate attached to the damaged portion, with a small smount of sealant near the L18 stiffener which do not penetrate the doubler plate. The second drawing, which is the actual repair done, was not up to standard in comparison with the first drawing. It shows a chopped splice plate, which was in two pieces, and riveted with 2 rows of rivets on the bottom, with 1 row on the top. The only major difference would be the higher amount of sealant near the L18 stiffener. Comparing it to the previous drawing, the sealant, penetrated through the splice repair. This increased the stresses taken by the fracture site and the rivets. As illustrated by the drawings, the arrows would mean stress concentration, which had reduced,from two arrows to one. This cause the str ess to be highly concentrated there, multiple-site cracks started to form near the fastener holes. This cause the rivets to be overloaded and finally failed. Aft Bulkhead Failure Once a repair is signed off as complete, it will never be looked at again. Such was the case for the JA8119 after 12319 fight cycles. During flight, the whole plane goes through cycle loading due to the difference in air pressure surrounding it, it may seem insignificant at earlier parts, but the accumulated hard pressure could cause something to fail without maintenance. In this case it was a botched repair. According to the FAA, the one doubler plate which was specified for the job (the FAA calls it a splice plate essentially a patch) was cut into two pieces parallel to the stress crack it was intended to reinforce, to make it fit. The unstable nature of this repair resulted in a 70% decrease in Fatigue Resistance. Due to that fact that it did not properly cover up the fracture of the aft bulkhead, did it worsen and let loose during flight. Figure 5 Aft Pressure Bulkhead of JA8119 on Display(Flight Global, 2010[Online], Available from http://www.flightglobal.com/assets/getAsset.aspx?ItemID=12345) Refer to Figure 5. The multiple-cracks that form on the bulkhead follows a similar pattern, which is that they started mostly from the fastener holes, as they tear considerably close to the rivets themselves. In the early years of the repair done, the cracks are small, but through 12300 cycles, they became bigger and eventually joined up. In the analysis report that was signed off, it was said that there were cracks from 30 of the 50 fastener holes of the area of repair, the total length of the cracks of the repair patch was 270mm. Only one reason could explain the huge extent of the cracks, majority of them had extended overtime and eventually joined together, causing catastrophic failures once they became concentrated. It would shatter the pressure bulkhead all together. Explosive Decompression Refer to Fig.5, under high altitude conditions, the aircraft cabin is pressurized to keep the correct amount of oxygen. It is necessary when an airliner reaches high altitudes, because the atmospheric pressure is too low to allow people to absorb sufficient oxygen, causing altitude sickness and eventually hypoxia.(Wikipedia, 24 July 2010) The air pressure difference in high altitudes can be very high, any decompression incident such as a small pinhole in the aircraft skin would produce a large hissing sound which could depressurized a whole cabin in five seconds. The lack of oxygen in the cabin will mean a 25% reduction in oxygen in our lungs, which will cause sluggish thinking, dimmed vision, loss of consciousness and ultimately death. Figure 6 Cabin Pressurisation Process(The Informer-Truth and Travel,2010[Online], Available from: http://informer.truth.travel/media/images/CabinAirGraphic.gif) The aft pressure bulkhead failure caused it to rip apart, allowing hypersonic air to rush into the tail fin which already caused explosive decompression. This eventually blew off a portion of the tail fin which further aggravated cabin decompression in the cabin, considering now that a huge hole had become a void. Hydraulic Failure Figure 7 Cause of loss of tail fin during flight (Dr. Yotarou Hatamura, 2005, JST Failure Knowledge Database[Online], Crash of Japan Airlines B-747 at Mt. Osutaka, Available from: http://shippai.jst.go.jp/en/Detail?fn=2id=CB1071008) Hydraulic lines are like the blood vessels of a human being, one snap in any of them, would mean death. As illustrated in Fig.6, the explosive decompression caused hypersonic air to rupture the tail fin and a part of the tail. Severed Hydraulic Lines It also shredded through one of the most important parts of the aircraft, the Central Hydraulic unit which controls the moving of hydraulic fluid to and fro the rudders on the vertical stabilizer and the horizontal stabilizer. Beside them were the important hydraulic lines which also went off along with the Central Hydraulic unit. Loss of Primary Controls Once the hydraulic lines were cut off, the fluid escaped through the openings, which within minutes, the pilot reported difficulties in handling moments before he lost full control, which would mean that the hydraulic lines are now empty. To salvage the situation, the pilots varied their thrust between the engines on the left and the right wing and also they tried putting down the landing gear and the flaps. (National Geographic, 2007, Air Crash Investigation[Online],Season 3 Episode 3 Part 2, Available from: Youtube.com[Accessed 23rd May 2010]) 3.5 Human Error Many were at fault, but we couldnt possibly absolve no one of all blame. They did not put on oxygen masks, no reason was stated why. There was a lot of chaos in the cabin as well. Due to this, they were probably in a state of Hypoxia as they did not do two things: Report fully on the situation. Tried to land in Nagoya Airport which is on a linear path. Refer to Fig 7. Unknowingly, they also allowed the plane to stall in its path, which aggravated its out of control, rising and diving in the skies. This was also an accident that was the first of its kind, which would mean there was no training available for situations like these. Any precautions they had learnt was irrevelant to what they had encountered. Figure 8 Map of JA8119 Flight Path(Christopher Kilroy,2008, Air Disasters[Online], Special Report: Japan Air Lines 123, Available from: Air Disasters.com) Post Incident 4.1 Late Rescue Rescue efforts came only after 14 hours. This was justified when crash victim and survivor, Yumi Ochiai stated:Many more survived the crash, as their screams died down through the night. (National Geographic, 2007, Air Crash Investigation[Online],Season 3 Episode 3 Part 3, Available from: Youtube.com[Accessed 23rd May 2010]) 4.1.1 Refusal of US Military Assistance Yokota US Military Air Base had sent a C-130 to scout. Which they had reported back to have seen the crash site. Shortly after, a US helicopter was sent to the crash site to assist in the rescue effort. Meanwhile, rescue teams have been assembled and were on their way to the site. 4.1.2 Inaccessibility of area As stated, it crashed into two ridges of Mount Takamagahara in Ueno, Gunma Prefecture, 100 kilometers from Tokyo. It was in a mountainous region where roads do not directly lead to the crash site itself at all, and most of the wreckage lay on a downhill slope which meant more caution was taken to access to the site, costing more and more time. Figure 9 Panel of JA8119 lying on a downslope.(Available from: http://otona.yomiuri.co.jp/history/anohi090812.htm) Inclusion of new procedures in guidebook. The FAA consequently issued the following airworthiness directives: AD 85-22-12 which required a one-time visual inspection of the aft side of the aft pressure bulkhead for evidence of repairs or damage. AD 86-08-02, requiring the addition of a structural cover for the opening within the empennage to provide access to the vertical fin of all B747 models. This is to prevent structural failure of the vertical fin in the event of failure of the aft pressure bulkhead. AD 87-12-04 to require installation of a hydraulic fuse in the number 4 hydraulic system on Boeing Model 747 series airplanes. AD 87-23-10 was effective December 10, 1987 and required inspection for damage and cracking of the aft pressure bulkhead on Boeing Model 747 airplanes. This AD was later superseded by AD 98-20-20 which added repetitive inspections AD 98-20-20 was, in turn, superseded by AD 2000-15-08, which requires that a one-time inspection to detect cracking of the upper segment of the bulkhead web be accomplished repetitively, and adds additional repetitive inspections to detect cracking of the upper and lower segments of the aft bulkhead web. (Aviation Safety Network, 11 October 2009) Relief valves were also fitted into the Boeing 747, so that in the case of any dismemberment of the aircraft will not lose all of its hydraulic fluid, still having a high percentage of control of the aircraft. Conclusion Overall, we can see a pattern which in the events happened, ranging from the tailstrike incident in 12th August 1985, which led to a botched repair which sealed the fate of the plane to its imminent death. Lastly, the negligence of the ground crew who did passed the repair even though it wasnt on specifications. Throughout the flight, the plane suffered mechanical difficulties 12 minutes into the flight due to the failing of the rivets, causing the rear pressure bulkhead to rupture, allowing hypersonic speed air into the tail of the plane, inevitably tearing off the top portion of its tail fin, along with it went the Central Hydraulic unit which was the heart of the airplane. They lost all control all together shortly after losing all the hydraulic fluid, and with the case of a depressurized cabin, they suffered from hypoxia which hampered their decision making. 32 minutes later it crashed into two ridges of Mount Takamagahara in Ueno, even though the pilots tried all sorts of manuve urs to salvage the plane from its fate. Rescue efforts were also hampered as the government rejected help from an US airbase for unknown reasons, even though they were already on site. The location also posed a problem, being inaccessible from any road, and being on a downhill slope slowed down emergency services. From this, we can see how serious a molehill can become a mountain in a matter of years. From scratches, they became cracks and tore through an important component. Maintenance was an issue here, as it was slack, even though Boeing had released new inspection and repair procedures 2-3 years after the tragic accident which included 522 lives, have we learnt? Maybe. China Airlines flight 611, crashed on 25th May 2002, which killed all passengers and the crew, coincidently bearing the same few causes such as botch repair, metal fatigue, riveting failure multiple-site damage. This happened 20 years after the procedures were implemented. In the world, there will always be a balance between evil and good, such like this case. It could have been them only the engineers not following procedures, the rest of the countries were. There is only one thing that we can do to prevent all these, is to learn from our mistakes and never to repeat them again. We can never stop these incidences, which i s why prevention is more than enough to keep the industry going until today. Recommendations Looking into the above information collected, the recommendations are: To include more stringent checks on the repair itself such as the creation of a small ultrasonic device to expose any gaps or cheating in the repair procedures Replace parts if damage is far too severe to be repaired. Rather than to do temporary repairs that could put lives at a small risk. Primary Controls to have failsafes as well, instead of having it in the hydraulic pipelines only. One example would be on the 4th of December 1987, Boeing requested fuses to be installed as a secondary safety measure in the primary control hydraulic lines in the case of another prevention measure.