Kelly Couch Essays (326 words) - Characters In Hamlet, Prince Hamlet

Kelly Couch 2/4/97 Per 1 Character Journal Hamlet The last couple days have been miserable for me. The sudden death of my father has complicated my whole life and is causing me much grief. As well, my girlfriend has apparently been forbidden to see me and I have no idea why. My mother is being a jerk. She has remarried after only 2 months of my fathers' horrible murder. He was the most wonderful man. He ruled fairly over all of Elsinore and his people were proud of him, but now he has been murdered. I WILL avenge his death though. My mom remarried Claudius, for a reason that only the gods know. My fathers' spirit says that he killed my father and that my mother was a sort of accomplice. This REALLY ticks me off! My own mother won't even explain why she married so fast, only that my father is dead and I should get over it. I am starting to hate the whole world. Polonius and Laertes told Ophilia that I couldn't see her anymore. I don't understand why. It makes no sense, why would they 'suddenly' care about our relations? It sure seems that EVERYONE is against me these days! I feel like committing suicide. But, before I get to that point, I must avenge my father. I am starting to plot how I will kill Claudius in my mind. I am not sure whether to make him suffer or just kind of blast him. My fathers' spirit has told me to leave my mother, Gertrude, to suffer until she dies. I sure hope that is a LONG time. She has helped to ruin the time that should be fun by allowing for my fathers death and remarriing so soon. I SHOULD be inhereting the throne. But no, my uncle is the new king and I must wait until he dies. Well, that won't be to long. I shall slay Claudius soon, avenging my father and me!

USS Yorktown (CV-10) in World War II

USS Yorktown (CV-10) in World War II USS Yorktown (CV-10) was an American Essex-class aircraft carrier that entered service during World War II. Originally dubbed USS Bonhomme Richard, the ship was renamed following the loss of USS Yorktown (CV-5) at the Battle of Midway in June 1942. The new Yorktown took part in the majority of the Allies island hopping campaign across the Pacific. Modernized after the war, it later served during the Vietnam War as an anti-submarine and sea-air rescue carrier. In 1968, Yorktown acted as the recovery vessel for the historic Apollo 8 mission to the Moon. Decommissioned in 1970, the carrier is presently a museum ship in Charleston, SC. Design Construction Designed in the 1920s and early 1930s, the U.S. Navys Lexington- and Yorktown-class aircraft carriers were constructed to conform to the restrictions set forth by the Washington Naval Treaty. This agreement placed limitations on the tonnage of various types of warships as well as capped each signatories’ overall tonnage. These types of restrictions were affirmed through the 1930 London Naval Treaty. As global tensions worsened, Japan and Italy left the agreement in 1936. With the collapse of the treaty system, the U.S. Navy began creating a design for a new, larger class of aircraft carrier and one which drew from the lessons learned from the Yorktown-class. The resulting design was longer and wider as well as included a deck-edge elevator system. This had been used previously on USS Wasp. In addition to carrying a larger air group, the new design possessed a greatly enhanced anti-aircraft armament. Dubbed the Essex-class, the lead ship, USS Essex (CV-9), was laid down in April 1941. This was followed by USS Bonhomme Richard (CV-10), an homage to John Paul Joness ship during the American Revolution on December 1. This second ship began to take shape at Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company. Six days after construction began, the United States entered World War II following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. USS Yorktown (CV-5) under attack during the Battle of Midway, June 1942. US Naval History and Heritage Command   With the loss of USS Yorktown (CV-5) at the Battle of Midway in June 1942, the name of the new carrier was changed to USS Yorktown (CV-10) to honor its predecessor. On January 21, 1943, Yorktown slid down the ways with First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt serving as sponsor. Eager to have the new carrier ready for combat operations, the U.S. Navy rushed its completion and the carrier was commissioned on April 15 with Captain Joseph J. Clark in command. USS Yorktown (CV-10) OverviewNation: United StatesType: Aircraft CarrierShipyard: Newport News Shipbuilding CompanyLaid Down: December 1, 1941Launched: January 21, 1943Commissioned: April 15, 1943Fate: Museum ShipSpecificationsDisplacement: 27,100 tonsLength: 872 ft.Beam: 147 ft., 6 in.Draft: 28 ft., 5 in.Propulsion: 8 Ãâ€" boilers, 4 Ãâ€" Westinghouse geared steam turbines, 4 Ãâ€" shaftsSpeed: 33 knotsRange: 20,000 nautical miles at 15 knotsComplement: 2,600 menArmament4 Ãâ€" twin 5 inch 38 caliber guns4 Ãâ€" single 5 inch 38 caliber guns8 Ãâ€" quadruple 40 mm 56 caliber guns46 Ãâ€" single 20 mm 78 caliber gunsAircraft90-100 aircraft Joining the Fight In late May, Yorktown sailed from Norfolk to conduct shakedown and training operations in the Caribbean. Returning to base in June, the carrier underwent minor repairs before practicing air operations until July 6. Departing the Chesapeake, Yorktown transited the Panama Canal before arriving at Pearl Harbor on July 24. Remaining in Hawaiian waters for the next four weeks, the carrier continued training before joining Task Force 15 for a raid on Marcus Island. The crew of the US Navy aircraft carrier USS Yorktown (CV-10) stands at attention as the National Ensign is raised, during commissioning ceremonies at the Norfolk Navy Yard, Virginia (USA), on 15 April 1943. Yorktown is freshly painted in Camouflage Measure 21. US Naval History and Heritage Command   Launching aircraft on August 31, the carriers planes pounded the island before TF 15 withdrew to Hawaii. Following a brief voyage to San Francisco, Yorktown mounted attacks on Wake Island in early October before joining Task Force 50 in November for the campaign in the Gilbert Islands. Arriving in the area on November 19, its aircraft provided support for Allied forces during the Battle of Tarawa as well as struck targets on Jaluit, Mili, and Makin. With the capture of Tarawa, Yorktown returned to Pearl Harbor after raiding Wotje and Kwajalein. Island Hopping On January 16, Yorktown returned to sea and sailed for the Marshall Islands as part of Task Force 58.1. Arriving, the carrier launched strikes against Maloelap on January 29 before shifting to Kwajalein the next day. On January 31, Yorktowns aircraft provided cover and support the V Amphibious Corps as it opened the Battle of Kwajalein. The carrier continued in this mission until February 4. Sailing from Majuro eight days later, Yorktown took part in Rear Admiral Marc Mitschers attack on Truk on February 17-18 before embarking on a series of raids in the Marianas (February 22) and Palau Islands (March 30-31). Returning to Majuro to replenish, Yorktown then moved south to aid General Douglas MacArthurs landings on the north coast of New Guinea. With the conclusion of these operations in late April, the carrier sailed for Pearl Harbor where it conducted training operations for much of May. Rejoining TF 58 in early June, Yorktown moved towards the Marianas to cover Allied landings on Saipan. On June 19, Yorktowns aircraft began the day by mounting raids on Guam before joining the opening stages of the Battle of the Philippine Sea. The following day, Yorktowns pilots succeeded in locating Admiral Jisaburo Ozawas fleet and commenced attacks on the carrier Zuikaku scoring some hits. As fighting continued through the day, American forces sank three enemy carriers and destroyed around 600 aircraft. In the wake of the victory, Yorktown resumed operations in the Marianas before raiding Iwo Jima, Yap, and Ulithi. At the end of July, the carrier, in need of an overhaul, departed the region and steamed for Puget Sound Navy Yard. Arriving on August 17, it spent the next two months in the yard. The US Navy aircraft carrier USS Yorktown (CV-10) during the Marcus Island raid on 31 August 1943. US Naval History and Heritage Command   Victory in the Pacific Sailing from Puget Sound, Yorktown arrived at Eniwetok, via Alameda, on October 31. Joining first Task Group 38.4, then TG 38.1, it attacked targets in the Philippines in support of the Allied invasion of Leyte. Retiring to Ulithi on November 24, Yorktown shifted to TF 38 and prepared for the invasion of Luzon. Striking targets on that island in December, it endured a severe typhoon that sank three destroyers. After replenishing at Ulithi late in the month, Yorktown sailed for raids on Formosa and the Philippines as troops prepared to land at Lingayen Gulf, Luzon. On January 12, the carriers planes conducted a highly successful raid on Saigon and Tourane Bay, Indochina. This was followed by attacks on Formosa, Canton, Hong Kong, and Okinawa. The following month, Yorktown began attacks on the Japanese home islands and then supported the invasion of Iwo Jima. After resuming strikes on Japan late in February, Yorktown withdrew to Ulithi on March 1. After two weeks of rest, Yorktown returned north and began operations against Japan on March 18. That afternoon a Japanese air attack succeeded in hitting the carriers signal bridge. The resulting explosion killed 5 and wounded 26 but had little effect on Yorktowns operations. Shifting south, the carrier began focusing its efforts against Okinawa. Remaining off the island following the landing of Allied forces, Yorktown aided in defeating Operation Ten-Go and sinking the battleship Yamato on April 7. S Supporting operations on Okinawa through early June, the carrier then departed for a series of attacks on Japan. For the next two months, Yorktown operated off the Japanese coast with its aircraft mounting their final raid against Tokyo on August 13. With the surrender of Japan, the carrier steamed offshore to provide cover for the occupation forces. Its aircraft also delivered food and supplies to Allied prisoners of war. Leaving Japan on October 1, Yorktown embarked passengers at Okinawa before steaming for San Francisco. Postwar Years For the remainder of 1945, Yorktown crisscrossed the Pacific returning American servicemen to the United States. Initially placed in reserve in June 1946, it was decommissioned the following January. It remained inactive until June 1952 when it was selected to undergo a SCB-27A modernization. This saw a radical redesign of the ships island and well as modifications to allow it operate jet aircraft. Completed in February 1953, Yorktown was re-commissioned and departed for the Far East. Operating in this region until 1955, it entered the yard at Puget Sound that March and had an angled flight deck installed. Resuming active service in October, Yorktown resumed duty in the western Pacific with the 7th Fleet. After two years of peacetime operations, the carriers designation was changed to antisubmarine warfare. Arriving at Puget Sound in September 1957, Yorktown underwent modifications to support this new role. The US Navy aircraft carrier USS Yorktown (CVS-10) at sea off Hawaii (USA), some time between 1961 and 1963.   US Naval History and Heritage Command Leaving the yard in early 1958, Yorktown commenced operating from Yokosuka, Japan. The following year, it helped deter Communist Chinese forces during the standoff at Quemoy and Matsu. The next five years saw the carrier conduct routine peacetime training and maneuvers on the West Coast and in the Far East. With the growing American involvement in the Vietnam War, Yorktown began operating with TF 77 on Yankee Station. Here it provided anti-submarine warfare and sea-air rescue support to its consorts. In January 1968, the carrier shifted to the Sea of Japan to as part of a contingency force following the North Korean capture of USS Pueblo. Remaining abroad until June, Yorktown then returned to Long Beach completing its final Far East tour. That November and December, Yorktown served as a filming platform for the film Tora! Tora! Tora! about the attack on Pearl Harbor. With the end of filming, the carrier steamed into the Pacific to recover Apollo 8 on December 27. Shifting to the Atlantic in early 1969, Yorktown began conducting training exercises and took part in NATO maneuvers. An aging vessel, the carrier arrived in Philadelphia the following year and was decommissioned on June 27. Struck from the Navy List a year later, Yorktown moved to Charleston, SC in 1975. There it became the centerpiece of the Patriots Point Naval Maritime Museum and where it remains today.

Why A High Read Ratio On Your Medium Blog Matters

Why A High Read Ratio On Your Medium Blog Matters Medium is a place where, according to their manifesto, you can write collaboratively and alongside many other quality writers. It  works simply, has a wonderful interface, is simple to use, looks pretty, and, despite all of that, I wrote a post a while back on why you should not blog at Medium. I have only  written 20 blog posts  on my Medium blog, neither a heavy user nor convinced that I should become one. But Medium grows in popularity, and one of the features that people tout is its unique approach to analytics.  Theyre much like the writing interface in that they are clear, understandable, and deceptively simple. They dont exactly track the stats youre used to seeing in a blog analytics package. What Does Your Medium Blog Measure? At the top of your dashboard in Medium, in 30-day segments, you can track three basic stats for all of your posts: views, reads, and recommendations. A chart gives you an overall view of how your content is performing. All of your stories are listed below this chart. Clicking on the post changes the bar graph to show that storys stats.  You can also see those same three stats, plus an extra one (read ratio), for each story that you write. Each story you write on medium has four stats for just that story. Sometimes the most viewed are the least read, which is more common than we realize on our own blogs. Views: This is the classic stat, and answers how many sets of eyeballs saw your story. It is, pure and simple, a measurement of who came in to take a peek. Reads: This stat is a bit different. In some ways, its similar to the idea of a bounce, but not exactly. A bounce is when someone visits your site, and then leaves without doing anything beyond that initial page that brought them in. Your bounce rate analytics dont really tell you if anyone read what you had on the page. It simply says they left after this one page. Medium measures whether or not someone actually read your article. So, your views and your reads will not always be the same number. Read Ratio: Medium uses an algorithm that calculates how many people actually read your post out of those that view it. Though it isnt clear on how this is measured, Medium has indicated that they want to use this in determining which posts get recommended or more visibility on their site. According to Ev Williams, founder at Medium, read ratio has an effect on how your post is ranked and found (emphasis added by me): It’s not a direct popularity ranking. It takes in a variety of factors, including whether or not a post seems to actually have been read (not just clicked on) and whether people click the â€Å"Recommend† button at the bottom of posts. The ratio of people who view it who read it and who read it and recommend it are important factors, not just the number. (This is an attempt to level of the playing field for those who don’t already have large followings and/or a penchant for writing click-bait headlines.) In other words, they want to promote posts that get read, and not just clicked on. A sexy headline might grab, but the content better hold em. Its an attempt to put an end to viral content that doesnt actually get read, and maybe an attempt to stop people from gaming the system. Sharing and recommendations are done at the bottom of a story in Medium. Recommendations: This stat shows how many people recommended (kind of like a share) the post on Medium. The number of people who recommend your post also plays into how it is ranked in Mediums system. The button to recommend a post is found at the bottom of the post (as are the social share buttons), where youd naturally click it if you had theoretically read the post.  This is in contrast to the popular idea that social sharing buttons should be at the top of your blog post or page. Again, Medium seems to be going against the current and wanting their system to be built on promoting the reading of posts, not mindless sharing. Why Does Reader Behavior Matter? Out of the four stats that Medium offers, the two that stand out as something different from traditional analytics is reads and read ratio. These two stats are putting a number on something that was previously difficult to measure: is anyone reading what Im writing? Proof That Your Content Is Valuable In some situations, the case can be made for not really worrying whether anyone is reading or not. There are times Im blogging more for myself and to achieve clarity of thought on particular ideas rather than whether or not someone is reading. Plus, as a writer, sometimes you need to be careful to not get too caught up in whether or not you are being 100% read.  These sentiments are fine for a personal or hobby blog. But what if you are a business investing time and money into content creation with a specific desired return?  It matters if anyone is reading. You need to know the investment isnt being wasted.  Your job might even require that you offer some proof that people are reading the content youre being paid to write. Clicks and shares are fine, but to be able to say that your content is read 90% of the time is quite a different matter. On @Medium, it matters if people actually read what you write. How about on your own blog?Leads To Better Writing The idea of measuring how much of your content is read should lead to better writing (if you care about people reading).  It used to be enough to measure clicks, hits, and shares (often based on click-bait headlines), but Medium has introduced an interesting new dynamic: it matters if people actually read what you are writing. When you have a number to work with, you have something you can measure and improve.  Typical blog stats dont exactly measure whether people read your posts or not, so that wasnt important for you. Instead, you likely focused on methods, such as headlines or social sharing, to get them to click and get hits because that was what you were able to measure. Medium has attempted to change this. The very nature of putting a number on readability makes it unsurprising that people are already asking about  how to get their read ratio up.  What gets your read ratio up? You cant control how much time people have to devote to reading, but you can control whether or not youre writing something worthwhile. On Medium, especially, shocking headlines and regurgitated content that others are writing wont fly. You might get the view, but you wont get the reads. What can you do to get people to read more of your story? Shocking headlines dont always work. Better Understanding Of Engagement How many times do you get comments to your blog post and you  know  the reader didnt fully read (if at all) the post? I know more than once Ive found myself absolutely confused by the comments people have left, and I wonder did they even read this post? Mediums measurement of reads, combined with a comment system that happens not at the bottom but as the post is read, helps you better understand the engagement you receive and perhaps weeds out the wacky comments of someone who has not read your post at all. Test Long And Short Content This is not exactly a stat associated directly with read ratio, but it is another aspect of how Medium is trying to tap into the actual reading behavior of people. In the story itself, Medium shows readers an estimate of how long a post will take to read. Medium shows you how long it will take to read a post. Blogger Matt Swanson talks about the benefits he gets as a reader in knowing how much time he will commit to what he is about to read, and what effects that information has on whether he even starts to read or not. Medium is, after all, catering to the readers experience and letting them know how much time they will have to invest to get the whole story is part of that. Lets use another example. On Hulu.com, Im told during the commercial break whether the commercial is 1 of 2, or maybe 1 of 4. What do I do when I see that? If its a set of four commercials, I have time to go to the kitchen and get something to drink, but if its only one or two commercials, I just stick around. While I have the option at any time to pause the show, you cant skip through commercials on Hulu and its easier to just let them play and skip them while leaving if I know theres enough time. All of that to say: I make decisions on what I will do with the content based on how much time it will take me to commit to it. So, when a reader sees that your post is only going to take about two minutes to read, or that it will take eight minutes to read, it will have some effect on the decisions readers make about your post. The effect will vary based on your readers, how you write, and if you are established as a thought leader.  Some of the very long articles written by established journalists or content sources get read despite estimated read times of more than 10 minutes. That might not work for you. Readers make decisions on what to do with content based on time they must commit to it.How this estimated read time impacts your views and read ratio would be a fascinating A/B test for each writer. Similar topics and titles, but as a longer version and shorter version. Look at your content in general and see if you find a correlation between read time and view/read ratio. There has been quite a bit of discussion lately about how Google search likes longer content, but with Medium–a site very much about the reader and promotion based on what is worth reading–high quality short content might be just as viable. Medium Wants Your Stories, Not Your Articles What does all of this talk about Medium have to do with you, a WordPress blogger using ? Its because these Medium stats indicate a possible trend on where content is going, and in some ways, its quite different from what youve been hearing you ought to do elsewhere. Traditionally, getting more readers is less popular than the idea of getting more traffic. Mediums approach flies in the face of that. Instead of a focus on traffic, Medium is focusing on readers. 1. Medium is basing discovery of your content on whether or not people have read it. Not hits, not sexy headlines.  Readability, not gimmicks or tricks, wins. 2. Do you notice how Medium, on its dashboard and elsewhere, does not refer to what you write as blog posts, or content? It calls them stories, and thats the key here. Medium wants your stories. Medium has visually stripped away anything that might get in the way of the story–no ads, and it uses a clear and simplified design.  Medium caters to readers, and readers like stories. Even readers who say I dont like fiction and stories actually want stories. Stories get read, and Medium is trying to find a way for you to track what gets read and reward that. All of the 25 Ways To Do This blog posts in the world cant hold a candle to the power of something told as a story. A great writer can turn nearly any piece of content into a story. In some ways, its an attempt to level the playing field and say that if you can tell a good story, if you can write well, youll be rewarded.  No tricks or gimmicks will get people to read to the end other than good writing. While your WordPress blog isnt in the walled garden of Medium, and you still have to use the old methods to get found by readers and search engines, it doesnt hurt to consider what Medium is trying to do and see if you cant incorporate a new goal in your writing: Write for readers. Getting read matters. Tell stories.

Why Did Vietminh and NLF Win the Vietnam War Essay

Why Did Vietminh and NLF Win the Vietnam War - Essay Example Unfortunately, the Vietnamese side of the conflict is persistently disregarded. Why and how the Vietminh and National Liberation won the Vietnam War remains obscured from the public. Nevertheless, the success of the Vietminh and the NLF during the Vietnam War can hardly be overestimated. The party and the Liberation Front greatly contributed to the success of the political and military operations against the United States. That the Communists won the Vietnam War was both remarkable and unbelievable: active propaganda, local support, sophisticated military strategies and the undisputable leadership capacity of Ho Chi Minh altogether laid the groundwork for advancing the victory of the Communists during the Vietnam War. It should be noted, that the fact of the Communist victory during the Vietnam War remains one of the most remarkable elements of modern history. Needless to say, before and even during the Vietnam conflict, the United States could not even suspect that the Vietnamese co mmunists would have a chance to outperform Americans, in all senses. Andrew Jon Rotter writes that â€Å"the most significant fact about the Vietnam conflict is not that the United States lost but that the Communists won† (180). In this sense, the most confusing is the fact that the main factors responsible for the Communists’ victory during the Vietnam War often remain beyond the scope of historical analyses. One possible reason is that, for many years, the United States did not want to shed light on the Vietnam War controversies that could affect its political image. It is also possible that more than one factor was responsible for the Communists’ victory, making the overall historical analysis extremely complicated. It is widely established that not the errors made by the United States in Vietnam but the actions made by Washington’s adversaries in Hanoi were at the heart of the Communists’ military and political achievements in Vietnam (Rotter 1 80). From the very beginning to the very end of the war, an interplay of factors created conditions needed to support Vietnam in its fight against the U.S. These factors included political propaganda, local support, effective military strategies, and the unprecedented authority and leadership of Ho Chi Minh. Historically, the Vietminh was created by one of the most outstanding Vietnamese leaders, Ho Chi Minh, in 1945 (Spartacus International). Later, in 1960, the National Liberation Front (NLF) was established (Moise). It is interesting, that the NLF was initially established with the goal of leading the guerilla against Vietnam’s Prime Minister Diem (Moise). South Vietnamese professionals, including artists, youth leaders and peasants, organized the NLF (Levy 19). At that time, the growing corruption in the country and the lack of positive political and economic changes raised the wave of public dissatisfaction with the prime minister’s actions and decisions. That was also the time when the NLF could not yet anticipate that it would play a crucial role in the Communists’ victory over the U.S. Political propaganda became one of the most important factors driving the NLF’s popularity and the public opposition to the actions of the U.S. in Vietnam. It is no secret that the NLF propagandists were well trained to work with the local population. Propaganda schools were scattered widely across the Southern regions of Vietnam, which helped to spread the NLF’s ideology against the United States (Friedman). The public messages sent to the local people were full of optimist about the future victory over the

Analytical report on a current 'people issue' in the business news Essay

Analytical report on a current 'people issue' in the business news event as a 'case study you are required to undertake an - Essay Example The two major areas of HRM chosen for the purpose are human resource management care for the employees in organisations; and resourcing the organisation. The article chosen is on a recent survey which was undertaken by the â€Å"WorldatWork† (HRM Guide, 2010). The article has been chosen to ensure that it highlights the major aspects of recruitment practices and other benefits that employees are liable to in an organisations. It tries to bring about a link between the theories and practices and identifies the gaps between the same. Lastly, it provides suitable and needful recommendations to be undertaken by organisations in removing the same. Description about the news article The news article which was published on July 02, 2010 brings forth the results of a survey which was conducted on a number of employers in the US over â€Å"paid time off work† (HRM Guide, 2010). Three fourth of the employers in USA responded by saying that it was necessary to offer programs of pa id time off in order to remain competitive in the labour market. They conducted the programs through traditional and non-traditional ways. There were 1036 numbers of respondents from the benefits and compensation departments in the large corporations in USA. Lenny Sanicola, a member of the WorldatWork said that â€Å"time is the new currency and employers remaining committed to providing paid time off as a key employee benefit and reward† (HRM Guide, 2010). The three programs which were used in by employers are the traditional method, the PTO Bank type method and the Unlimited Leave method. The first method was used by 54% of the US companies. Under this program, employees are given particular allotments for vacations, sick and personal days. The PTO Bank model were being used by 40% of the employers under which employees were given a particular numbers of days to be used as leave for individual purposes. The unlimited leave strategy was undertaken by only 1% of the organisat ions under which employees would be given as many leaves as they wanted. It was seen that majority of the companies in USA were losing numerous dollars in the form of productivity and payroll expenses. The reason was that they were failing to manage the employees’ time off effectively. Employers believed that this would be crucial for successful recruitment, selection and retention of candidates but most of them did not maximise on the value of this aspect in the benefits program. The survey on 421 companies showed that 11% of them provided the time-off programs equally among all the employees. This made it difficult for them to manage and administer. The reports showed that the time-off programs were important tools for increasing attractiveness of organisations as employers but it had become extremely complex. This had made their administration and management difficult. It is crucial that companies undertake such programs which would allow them to quantify and track the tim e-off that their employees take since the programs involved are as expensive as that involving health care benefits, or overtime and temporary labour. It is realised that employers are the first ones and directly responsible providers of welfare to the employees. It is their involvement with the welfare facilities which

Revenue and profit Essay Example for Free

Revenue and profit Essay Q1 – What is the difference between revenue and profit? A1 – Revenue is the total amount of money that a business takes in during a given period by selling goods and services. Profit is the amount of money a business earns above and beyond what it spends for salaries and other expenses, which is to use revenue to minus salaries and expenses. Q2 – What is the difference between standard of living and quality of life? A2 – The term of standard of living refers to the amount of goods and services people can buy with the money they have. Standard of living is the physical measurement of peoples living. Q3 – What is risk, and how is it related to profit? A3 – Risk is the chance an entrepreneur takes of losing time and money on a business that may not prove profitable. The more risk that business people take, the more profit that business people may have. Q4 – What do the terms stakeholders, outsourcing, and insourcing mean? A4 – Stakeholders refer to all the people who stand to gain or lose by the policies and activities of a business and whose concerns the business needs to address. Outsourcing means that contracting with other companies to do some or all of the function of a firm, like its production or accounting tasks. Insourcing means that the company internally do some or all of the functions of a firm, like its production or accounting tasks. Q5 – What are some of the advantages of working for others? A5 –Somebody else assumes the companys entrepreneurial risk and provides you with benefits., like paid vacation time and health insurance. The company you work for will provide the tools and technology to make your job more productive. Q6 – What benefits do you lose by being an entrepreneur, and what do you gain? A6 – As an entrepreneur, you do not receive any benefits such as paid vacation time, and you have to provide them to yourself. By being an entrepreneur, you will have freedom to make your own decisions, opportunity, and possible wealth. Q7 – What are the five factors of production? Which ones seem to be the most important for creating wealth? A7 – The five factors of production are land, labor, capital, entrepreneurship , and knowledge. The most important one is knowledge. Q8 – What are four ways the government can foster entrepreneurship? A8 – First, the government allow private ownership of businesses. Secondly, the government can further lessen the risks of entrepreneurship by passing laws that enable businesspeople to write enforceable contracts. Thirdly, the government can also establish a currency thats tradable in world markets. Finally, the government can help minimize corruption in business and in its own ranks. Q9 – Whats the difference between effectiveness, efficiency, and productivity? A9 – Effectiveness describes producing the desired result, and efficiency refers to produce goods and services using the least amount of resources. Productivity is the amount of output you generate given the amount of output. Q10 – What is empowerment? A10 – Empowerment defines that giving frontline workers the responsibility, authority, freedom, training, and equipment they need to respond quickly to customer requests. Q11 – What are some of the major issues affecting the economy today? A11 – First, the war and terrorism issue makes the government to spend more money on the military, and firms have to purchase more secure devices to ensure their customers security. Second, global changes create a need for continuous learning. Finally, the climate change of the world affects the way people use energy. People tend to save energy and to produce products that cause less harm to the environment. Q12 – What major factor caused people to move from farming to manufacturing and from manufacturing to the service sector? A12 – The using of technology and machines increases the productivity and eliminates many jobs in agricultural fields. Then, with the development of technology and machines, farms and industries need few and few farmers and workers. Therefore, more and more people tend to find jobs in service sectors. Q13 – What does the future look like for tomorrows college graduates? A13 – The service ear now seems to be coming to a close as a new era is beginning . We are in the midst of an information-based global revolution that will alter all sectors of the economy. Save your file as Chapter 1.doc and submit it through the appropriate Assignment Link in Blackboard.

Role of Management in Improving Workplace Safety and Health :: Workplace Health and Safety

The article â€Å"Role of Management in Improving Workplace Safety and Health† (Admin, 2011) points out the importance of keeping the workplace safety and explains the role of Human Resources managers in workplace safety and health maintenance. The Human Resources managers should be more proactive regarding workplace health and safety (Admin, 2011). Although the employers' responsibilities regarding workplace safety and health are both ethically and legally undeniable, â€Å"Role of Management in Improving Workplace Safety and Health† makes a critical error by placing those responsibilities entirely on the HR Department. Furthermore, it is not possible to be more proactive because the HR department is not specialized in workplace safety and needs to fulfill other functions within the company. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is a government agency that defines and regulates employer responsibility in creating and maintaining a safe and healthy en vironment for employees. Instead of inspecting, evaluating, and developing solutions by themselves, HR managers are responsible only for following OSHA rules and regulations and keep up with current trends proposed by OSHA. Training Program Development The article â€Å"Role of Management in Improving Workplace Safety and Health† claims HR managers should develop proper training programs to prevent injuries at work and defines the purpose of safety training programs as methods of improving the employees' performance abilities when it comes to preserving themselves from work-related risks (Admin, 2011). The systematical method of developing training programs is through identifying needs after inspections, accident reports, and discussions with the safety committee, followed by planning, implementation, and improvement evaluation (Admin, 2011). Although these are standard protocols in developing training programs, the article does not mention the people or institutions responsible for actual program development. The initial blame for low proactivity on the HR department and its impact on worker safety and health remains unmentioned from the introduction of the article, so it is only natural to assume that the HR department is responsible for carrying out training program development after reading that section. The HR department cannot develop training programs because OSHA and similar agencies specializing in workplace safety are responsible for developing trainings. Furthermore, the HR department cannot even perform the actual trainings because their employees are not authorized to train employees in workplace safety. The HR department is responsible only for providing training for the company's employees, so they can perform work in a safe manner in compliance with OSHA requirements (Michaels, 2010), and they cannot possibly be involved in safety training or safety training program development.

Five Year Strategic Plan for Move Essay

Riordan Manufacturing, Inc. has been able to make way into the global business arena with a strong footing. Riordan has established operating plants in San Jose, CA, Albany, GA, Pontiac, MI, and Hangzhou, China. In addition, the quantity of plastic fan parts manufactured in the Hangzhou plant has increased, adding significant shipping costs. This plant is currently incurring transportation and loading costs which include trucking to a harbor on the Qiantang River, loading the goods into shipping containers which are stacked onto barges bound for the Shanghai seaport. Riordan’s COO, Hugh McCauley, has envisioned a solution on how to minimize the cost of shipping which involves relocating this plant to Shanghai, China. The relocation will translate into great savings because of the advantage of using container shipping subsidiaries of the China Shipping Company, which utilize the seaport of Shanghai. Therefore, a plan has been made to complete this relocation process within the next five years. In light of this relocation strategy, the newly appointed CIO of Riordan, Maria Trinh, has come up with a list of important factors to be considered by the IT department during the entire relocation process. Those factors consist of setting up a migration committee, defining the scope of the migration process, and preparing a migration timeline. Migration Committee Setup Maria Trinh has selected several IT colleagues from Riordan’s US hubs who will travel with her to Hangzhou, China in order to finalize the make-up of the migration committee. Those individuals are: Gary Tucker (Network Administrator), Carlos Gonzales (Development Engineer), and Gilbert Lofaro (Program/Analyst). These key IT players will interview a pool of prospective candidates from the China plant in order to complete the committee. Dave Nanda has been put in charge of managing the project and will be the CIO’s liaison in China. As project manager, Dave is responsible for establishing a shared file storage area (electronic) for important files and setting up time reporting codes. In addition, Dave will plan the relocation and identify major milestones. Gary Tucker has been appointed as the IT lead; the identified migration coordinators are, Elizabeth Pyrek (Finance and Accounting Dept.), Joe Squires (Operations Dept.), Jose Guevara (Human Resources Dept.), Lonnie Godat (Transportation Dept.), and Lowell Bradford (Legal Counsel). The committee will setup a meeting with all leads, managers, and architects to develop an order of magnitude (OOM), estimate high-level time requirements, and identify hardware and software needed. Each group will work to identify additional tasks necessary to their work effort. Once the committee has been setup, Maria Trinh will come back to Riordan’s Headquarters in San Jose, CA. where she will remotely manage the entire process. She may travel to China as conditions warrant. Scope of the Migration Process In determining the scope of the migration, it is necessary to prepare a performance matrix, set expectations, identify major stakeholders, assign them their specific responsibilities through statements of work, and delineate procedural documents. The scope consists of maintaining the current business operations (business continuity), establishing the relocation timeframe, allocating human, financial, legal, and transportation resources, and defining the required space of the new location. Migration Timeline In order to carry out this migration, the requirement definitions establish a timeframe of five years starting on March 23, 2007. The same definitions also define the following phases: devise the moving plan, create the migration committee and define its scope, get an approved cost migration budget (first ninety days), acquire a leased line (T1), and implement WAN linkage between the corporate headquarters and the China hub (subsequent two hundred seventy days). Beginning the first and continuing until the third year, the following will be developed: communication logistics, surveying prospective locations in Shanghai, planning to run parallel Information Systems, planning for an IT staff recruiting process, ensuring business continuity, prioritizing the criticality of each department and Server, analyzing legal relocation issues and drafting a resolution plan, and setting the shipping logistics. From the third through the fifth year, the following must be accomplished: assessment of the new location’s infrastructure (by March 2011), staff recruiting for the Shanghai location, resolution of most legal issues, ensuring business continuity, and selection of the pilot network workgroup which will be migrated first. On the fifth year, the Shanghai location must be secured, the headcount of relocating employees must be known, and the hiring of new staff must be accomplished (by September 2011), Again, business continuity must continue, migration of the IT function must be initiated and completed (by October 2011), and IT maintenance and staff training must be accomplished. (This effort will be facilitated by Mari Carrillo, a Development Specialist) During the same period, information systems must be run in parallel (by January 2012) until the shutdown of the Hangzhou plant (by February 2012). In addition, the previously mentioned definitions include a contingency plan that encompasses the following: Crashing non-critical tasks if delays threaten to derail the project Adding qualified human resources as a last resort to avoid the project’s  failure Having qualified staff available to make substitutions if it becomes necessary Having the company’s information systems backed up daily off site Having a prospective hardware infrastructure readily available in the event that a catastrophe compels the company to restore their systems When planning the relocation of the Hangzhou, China facility, it is important to consider that the existing departments will still require the IT department’s services in order to conduct business. In fact, the IT department is more likely to see an increase in the number of calls for support during the various phases of the relocation. The potential for increased call volume could result from one or more factors such as a question related to the move, connectivity issues due to the move, or even the perception that the move has caused a problem, when it is not even related to the move. When considering the effects on the IT department’s workload, management must consider both direct and indirect causes that may increase the workload demands. Every department that will be relocating to the new facility will invariably require assistance from the IT department. The needs may be minor or significant, but if not anticipated, these â€Å"distractions† detract from the goal (to relocate) and affect the budgeted labor required for the move. In order to provide the best possible continuity of service before, during, and after the move, it is necessary to evaluate each department’s needs and the relationships between each department to provide maximum support. For the first year goals, the IT department will evaluate each supported department to determine the above factors in an effort to establish an estimated amount of labor required for each department. This survey will also help to establish the most logical path to pursue when transitioning  each department to the new location. Timing is a critical element in the transition. It may make more sense to move certain departments in phases, and other departments at one time or the â€Å"big bang† approach. For example, it may be wise to move the payroll/hr department all at once as you would want to have all the records at one location and available to that department. Since this area houses sensitive data, it would be wiser to move everything at the same time in order to more easily track and secure the data since it will be confined to one location. A final factor to consider is the very real potential for a significant turnover rate across all departments due to the new site being a considerable distance from the existing site. This high turnover rate will result in less experienced employees; these employees usually require more assistance from the IT department than seasoned employees do. A physical move may agitate business, but a robust and smooth business continuity plan should allow the business to proceed as normal with minimal disruptions. An analysis of all risks will need to be performed as well as plans to mitigate these risks should the circumstances arise. Before one can ensure a successful business continuity plan, a test must be run to work out any idiosyncrasies or items that may not have been considered. An in-depth analysis identified several immediate risks. Since the majority of the current IT personnel will be relocating to Shanghai, a plan will be in place to account for the temporary IT personnel shortage. Approximately six weeks prior to the move, the remaining staff members, from the Hangzhou office, will be known. It is estimated that 1/3 of the current staff will remain. Once this number has been finalized, hiring will occur to backfill these positions. While approximately 2/3 of the staff will be preparing for the move, the remaining 1/3 will be conducting training for the new staff. Another identified risk was equipment failure due to damage during shipping or because of improper reconfiguration. Members of the existing staff will  rotate an on-call position for the first month. This will alleviate performance problems due to configuration. If the equipment failure is due to damaged hardware, two vendors will have been pre-determined to contact for service or replacement parts. To minimize issues with equipment delivery, several confirmations with the shipping company will be completed. Portions of the hardware will be shipped separately. For example, the QA equipment will be shipped first, followed by the finance equipment, etc. Gradually moving components will allow each individualized system to stabilize itself. In order to safeguard data and information assets, two identical servers will be used. One housed in the new location will be a mirror of the original. Once it can be determined that the databases and information can be used from the mirrored server, the original will be disconnected and subsequently destroyed. One way to ensure a successful business recovery plan is to test it. While in the current location, a dry run will be performed. Throughout the week, several staged, but undisclosed failures will occur which will allow the business recovery plan to be challenged. Problems such as an unavailable database, slow response time and faulty hardware will be orchestrated to mimic the anticipated response. Once this testing is complete, department coordinators will further document ways to combat the lessons learned. When the time arrives to begin the physical move, some additional steps will be taken to ease the transition. First, the department coordinator will be migrated; the procedure changes, issues, resolutions, etc. will be documented. Second, migration activities and estimated time spent on each activity will be prepared so that users know what to expect before actual migration. Sufficient time will be allocated on each migrated employee’s calendar and expectations will be set. The actual migration will happen in stages, three groups will be identified by the department co-coordinator based on system, application, or function criticality. Less critical groups will be moved first, followed by more  critical, and thereafter by the most critical. Each employee’s backup will be identified. When an employee is moved, his backup would still be working from old location to cover for him. We will wait for at least two weeks of stable work from the employee at the new location before removing the backup employee. This will provide redundancy in case there are some issues at the new location; tasks can still be performed by the backup until those issues get resolved. Arrangements will be made with the current shipping company to accommodate our new shipping logistics. If the current shipping company is unable to do so, a replacement shipping company will be used. Each department coordinator will be assigned the task of making sure all disaster recovery documents are up-to-date and existing business recovery measures are intact prior to the move. The test exercise will bring to light any inconsistencies in these documents. Enhancements will be integrated into the existing document. The business continuity plan (BCP) is a living document which needs to be kept up-to-date to ensure its effectiveness. It should be updated at least once every quarter. Another important aspect of the BCP is auditing. It should be tested at least once every six months to ensure its validity. At anytime, there should only be one document with all of the changes and updates. â€Å"If the document is well constructed the organization should be able to use external resources that do not have intrinsic knowledge of your current network to recover your system. This can only be achieved once the BCP document has matured and it is recommended to attempt such a recovery† (Magalhaes, 2005). The IT Department’s Role During the Move The IT department must continue supporting all the departments, groups, and systems at same level as that provided prior to the move, including but not limited to the following: Application development Testing and Quality Assurance Help Desk Messaging or email Asset management (hardware and software) System Administrators, Network support System security IT Planning, Training current and new staff as needed Providing maintenance to the current and new IT infrastructure Specific Milestones for Years One, Three and Five There are 250 users at Hangzhou, China. As far as system hardware, most of the IT related systems become obsolete in five years. This is the very reason that most companies lease their hardware equipment. The assumption is being made that Riordan Manufacturing leases equipment and will have six months of parallel systems. Hence, for the duration of six months, Riordan can keep the old as well as the new systems. The company will lease the system at the new location and retire the system at the old location. This approach will save moving costs and allow a six-month period to make sure the new system is stable before retiring the old system. Running the old and new systems in parallel facilitates a back-out plan in case we have to revert to the old system in a worst-case scenario. This also helps with system availability and business continuity planning as discussed in the beginning of the migration plan. The project scope will be determined by identifying all the servers, personal computers (PCs), networking systems, and other infrastructure components  that need to be moved. The hardware inventory of the items in Hangzhou is listed below: Satellite base station, connection to HQ T1 to outside network PCs for Corp (12), Finance (8), MFG (8), MTLS(6), and QA (6) IP phones (40) 8 HP laser printers NAS Windows Servers (2) – Network, Exchange UNIX Server – ERP/ MRP IBM Blade Servers (2) UPS, Router, VOIP data router, Gateway/ switch, switches, hub Riordan will also need a temporary communication channel such as a wide area network (WAN) between Hangzhou and Shanghai during the relocation period. The following are the specific milestones for years one, three and five of the migration plan. Year One An IT budget will be developed for the five year migration plan by engaging all department heads, their leads and architects so that an estimation of the required effort can be accomplished. The IT infrastructure group will be responsible to make sure server and network equipment transitions are as smooth as possible. Estimated hours from each department as well as from the  infrastructure group will be used to determine the estimated costs in man-hours. The cost of moving the hardware, software, and other equipment will also be estimated. Total costs will be presented to management for approval so that work can be started. In this phase, IT personnel will be recruited and hired, or transferred as needed. In Shanghai, the WAN connection to HQ will be implemented. In addition, a T1 to the outside network and a temporary WAN connection to Hangzhou will be established for duration of the migration effort. Network equipment will be leased and a new WAN connection contract will be negotiated with a vendor. During this phase, risk logs and issue logs will be maintained and security concerns and issues will be evaluated. Also, a work breakdown structure will be developed to establish tasks which need to be accomplished to successfully complete the relocation. Year Three Time lines to move, setup, test the equipment, and engage the stakeholders at appropriate time will be developed. The time line will be shared with management and discussed in monthly meetings; monthly meeting minutes including the summary of items completed, list of items targeted next, and any issues encountered will be provided. A six-month period will be used to make sure the new system is stable and the old system can be retired. Year Five Migration of the â€Å"most† critical systems as well as miscellaneous and residual systems will occur during this phase. New IT personnel will also be recruited and hired during this time. Legal constraints will be resolved and business continuity will be ensured as discussed in the beginning of the migration plan. As discussed previously, a six-month time frame will be used to ensure the new system is stable in the new location and no one is using the old system.

Acids, Bases and Salts

A chemical substance (typically, a corrosive or sour-tasting liquid) that neutralizes alkalis, dissolves some metals, and turns litmus red. Ionic Dissociation: Dissociation in chemistry and biochemistry is a general process in which ionic compounds (complexes, or salts) separate or split into smaller particles, ions, or radicals, usually in a reversible manner. Strength of Acids: The strength of an  acid  refers to its ability or tendency to lose a proton. There are very few strong acids. A strong acid is one that completely ionizes in  water. In contrast a weak acid only partially dissociates.Examples of strong acids  are  hydrochloric acid  (HCl),  hydroiodic acid  (HI),  hydrobromic acid  (HBr),  perchloric acid  (HClO4),  nitric acid  (HNO3) and  sulfuric acid  (H2SO4). In water each of these essentially ionizes 100%. The stronger an acid is, the more easily it loses a proton, H+. Two key factors that contribute to the ease of deprotonation are the   polarity  of the H—A bond and the size of atom A, which determines the strength of the H—A bond. Acid strengths are also often discussed in terms of the stability of the conjugate base. Sulfonic acids, which are organic oxyacids, are a  class  of strong acids.A common example is toluenesulfonic acid  (tosylic acid). Unlike sulfuric acid itself, sulfonic acids can be solids. Superacids  are acids stronger than 100% sulfuric acid. Examples of superacids arefluoroantimonic acid,  magic acid  and  perchloric acid. Superacids can permanently protonate water to give ionic, crystalline  hydronium  Ã¢â‚¬Å"salts†. Basicity of an Acid: Basicity of an acid refers to the  number of replaceable hydrogen atoms  in one molecule of the acid. 3 common types of Basicity of an acid Monobasic Definition: 1 molecule produce  1 H+ ion  upon dissociation Example:  HCl, HNO3 Dissociation Equation: HCl(aq) –> H+(aq) + Cl-(aq)Dibasic Definition: 1 molecule produce  2 H+  ion upon dissociation Example:  H2SO4 Dissociation Equation: Figure it out yourself!! Tribasic Definition: 1 molecule produce  3 H+  ion upon dissociation Example:  H3PO4 Dissociation Equation: H3PO4(aq) –> 3H+(aq) + PO4 3-(aq) Alkali: An alkali is a base in an aqueous solution or a chemical compound which is water soluble and neutralizes or effervesces with acids and turns litmus blue; typically, a caustic or corrosive substance of this kind such as lime or soda. Examples of alkalis include NaOH (Sodium Hydroxide), NH3(Ammonia) and KOH (Potassium Hydroxide).Salt: Any chemical compound formed from the reaction of an acid with a base, with all or part of the hydrogen of the acid replaced by a metal or other cation. Bases: A  base  in  chemistry  is a substance that can accept  hydrogen ions  (protons) or more generally, donate electron pairs. A soluble base is referred to as an  alkali  if it contains and releases hydro xide  ions  (OH? )  quantitatively. The  Bronsted-Lowry theory  defines bases as  proton(hydrogen ion) acceptors, while the more general Lewis theory defines bases as  electron pair donors, allowing other  Lewis acids  than protons to be included.Bases can be  thought  of as the chemical opposite of  acids. A reaction between an acid and base is called  neutralization. Bases and acids are seen as opposites because the effect of an acid is to increase the  hydronium ion  (H3O+)  concentration  in water, whereas bases reduce this concentration. Bases and acids are typically  found  in  aqueous solution  forms. Aqueous solutions of bases react with aqueous solutions of acids to produce  water  and  salts   

The World Goes Bang Band BOOM essays

The World Goes Bang Band BOOM essays ~recited by Japanese Emperor in 1945 On August 6, 1945 at 8:15am history was made. The first atomic bomb called "Little Boy" was dropped in Hiroshima, Japan. Again on August 9 a second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, Japan. Hundreds of thousands of people died. With hundreds of thousands more injured. These days of radioactive heat rays of more then 3000 degrees Celsius instantly burning skin, bulldozing houses and even evaporating human existence was not needed to win war over Japan, nor should it have been. Causing a constant flow of deaths either instantaneously, or through untreatable radiation poison, these bombs were not needed. Creating cancer, leukemia, mental retardation, chromosomal "aberrations" and other lingering abnormalities, these bombs were not needed. Over 50 years later still having an operational 170 bed A-bomb hospital filled with continual suffering, these bombs were not needed. There is questions about this incident that have been asked around the globe for centuries, "Should the United States had dropped the Atomic bomb on Japan? Was it really necessary? Did they have to drop two? Did they have proper motives?" And more. A constant phrase comes up in all books, documents, and diaries regarding the decision to drop the A-bomb, that is that their main justification for using this weapon was, "to help save American lives in the Japanese war." However, what the US didn't consider was how the rest of the world including the American people, would accept use of this deathly device and if in fact their motive would actually be justified. Which most facts point to no. ~*~ Japan had officially gone to war shortly after they made their alliance with Germany in June 1941. This action caused the US, England, Netherlands, Philippines, and New Zealand to set an embargo on all goods for Japan leaving them without a drop of oil and other goods. At first this did not have much effect on the Japa...

Learning Mandarin Chinese

Learning Mandarin Chinese Mandarin Chinese is a difficult language to learn, especially given its unintuitive pronunciations and use of characters rather than an alphabet system. Learning Chinese can be a daunting idea, and often many beginner students dont know where to start. If you are feeling overwhelmed, this guide can give you the basic building blocks of Chinese grammar, introductory vocabulary, and pronunciation tips to help you build a foundation in Chinese. Be sure to click on hyperlinked text to access each lesson. The 4 Mandarin Tones Mandarin Chinese is a tonal language. Meaning, the way a syllable is pronounced in terms of sound and tone changes its meaning. For example, the syllable ma can mean horse, mother, scold, or hemp depending on which tone is used. Mastery of the four  Mandarin tones  is the essential first step to  learning this language. The  four Mandarin tones  are high and level, rising, falling then rising, and falling. You must be able to pronounce  and  understand the Mandarin Tones.   Once you have learned the tones, you can start learning new vocabulary and phrases while learning pinyin Romanization. Reading and writing Chinese characters is the last step. Mandarin Pronunciation Guide There are 37 unique sounds in Mandarin Chinese, which consist of 21 consonants and 16 vowels. Through a myriad of combinations, around 420 different syllables can be produced and are used in the Chinese language.   Lets take the Chinese word for often as an example. The character  Ã¥ ¸ ¸ is pronounced as chng, which is a combination of the sounds ch and ang.   The sound  chart in this guide has audio files of all 37 sounds along with their Pinyin spellings. Pinyin Romanization Pinyin  is a way to write Chinese using the Roman (Western) alphabet. It is the most common of many forms of  Romanization, and is used in most teaching materials particularly for Western students learning Chinese. Pinyin allows beginner  Mandarin  students to read and write Chinese without using Chinese characters. This allows students to concentrate on spoken Mandarin before tackling the formidable task of  learning Chinese characters.   Because pinyin has many pronunciations  which are unintuitive to English speakers, it is necessary to study the pinyin system to avoid pronunciation errors.   Introduction to PinyinPinyin Pronunciation Essential Vocabulary Of course, there is a seemingly endless of vocabulary words to learn. Ease yourself in by starting with some of the most commonly used, everyday Chinese words. In order to refer to people in a conversation, you will need to know Mandarin pronouns. This is the equivalent to terms like I, you, he, she, they, we.  Mandarin words for colors  is also elementary vocabulary that can be easily learned. As you see different colors in your everyday life, try and remember the Chinese word for it.   Understanding Mandarin numbers  is also a good place to start. After you have mastered reading, writing, and pronouncing numbers, learning  calendar terms  (such as days  in  the week and months) and how to  tell time  will be easier.   Conversation Topics As you progress in your mastery of Mandarin, you will be able to have conversations. These lessons will prepare you for conversing about particular topics. All conversations start with a greeting. Learn Mandarin greetings  to be able to say hello or good afternoon! In introducing yourself, common questions might be where are you from? or where do you live? This handy list of  Mandarin names for North American cities  can help you respond. Many social events and get-togethers happen at restaurants. Learning  food vocabulary  and  restaurant vocabulary  can be helpful so that you know what to order or how to ask for help if you need another pair of chopsticks. If you are traveling in a Chinese-speaking country, you may be staying in a hotel or have to deal with banking in terms of withdrawing money, exchanging money, and so on. These  hotel vocabulary  and  banking vocabulary  lessons can be a good addition. Mandarin Grammar Mandarin Chinese grammar is very different from English and other Western languages. The first step is learning basic  Mandarin sentence Structures. For a beginner-level Mandarin student, it is also important to know how to  ask questions in Chinese  because asking questions is the best way to learn about a language and a culture. Particularly helpful questions to know include how do you say X in Chinese? or what does this idiom mean?  Ã‚   An interesting difference between English and Chinese is the use of  Mandarin measure words. For instance, in English one would say a piece of paper or a loaf of bread. In these examples, piece and loaf are measure words for the nouns paper and bread. In Chinese, there are many more measure words. Reading and Writing Chinese Characters Chinese characters  are the hardest part of learning Mandarin. There are over 50,000 Chinese characters, and a dictionary will typically list 20,000 characters. An educated Chinese person will know around 8,000 characters. And to read a newspaper you must learn about 2,000 to read a newspaper. The point is, there are a lot of characters! While the only way to really learn characters is to memorize them, knowing character  radicals  can give you some hints too. Engaging with beginner-level  Chinese text and books  can be a great way to practice. If you want to practice by writing Chinese online, here is how you can  write Chinese characters using Windows XP.

Explain what is meant by the 'Biopsychosocial' perspective. Show how Essay

Explain what is meant by the 'Biopsychosocial' perspective. Show how this perspective is important in our understanding of psychological disorders - Essay Example The main aim is to define what is meant by BPS and how it is applied in the treatment of psychological disorders. To achieve this, I will be analyzing a disorder through the lens of BPS. The aim is not so much in determining the treatment of the disorder but to make the reader appreciate the use of BPS. The biopsychosocial (BPS) model in healthcare stresses the need for approaching illnesses and disorders holistically. Usually, medical professionals would usually limit themselves to understanding illnesses thru the lens of science especially that of biology. The model considers the health and disorders of human beings as the result not only of biological failure or invasion but also of psychological and social environment by which he is immersed. In treating disorders, beliefs, thoughts and emotions must also be taken into account. We can think of the human physiological systems including our genes to be rather open and flexible systems which respond to the demands place upon them as opposed to the encapsulated system view that is so pervasive in our society. BPS relies on the assumption that biological disorders could lead to psychological disorders. This is further amplified by social factors such as inappropriate environment and undesirable social interactions. The overall result is a dysfunctional and painful state of mind (Kirkpatrick, 1990). A biopsychosocial perspective in the treatment of alcoholism in wom... The wealth of literature of the topic helps us further to provide a more revealing discussion on the use of BPS. In the following passages, the reader will find that there are unique circumstances and challenges women alcoholics must deal with when compared to their biological counterpart. 2.3 Biological Factors There are certain biological realities that make women alcoholics at a worse position than men. To start with, women tend to be more affected physiologically by the consumption of alcohol. They may be drinking a little amount but that is already equivalent to a drinking spree by their male peers. In the study undertaken by Wilsnack, Wilsnack, and Miller-Strumhofel (1994) and Deal & Galaver (1994), it was found out that the biological makeup of women of having more fatty tissue causes this difference in physiological response. Since women have more fatty tissue and that alcohol does not dissolve well in this environment, the same amount of alcohol consumed by a man and woman will lead to higher blood pressure for the later. Deal and Galaver (1994, p. 190) was also able to show that women have lower levels of dehydrogenase - a very important enzyme in breaking down alcohol. This together with the fatty tissue differentials result to a higher blood alcohol concentration for women which also translates to higher risks for developing the liver illness called cirrhosis. There are many studies indicating that women are indeed more prone to cirrhosis than men and this includes that of Krasner, Davis, Portmann, & Williams (1977) and Peres, Gavallero, Brugera, Torres, & Robes (1986). Nixon (1994) was able to establish that in populations with alcoholic hepatitis, the women's condition were likely to deteriorate to