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Wednesday, October 30, 2019

See instructions below Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

See instructions below - Term Paper Example strategy. The strategy will build on the company’s controlling positions in the market and in turn put them in a great position that will enable them improve profits over time. There are several important factors in the retail business that determine the success or failure of any business. Among them is advertising, product, distribution, pricing, and so on. Even so, pricing remains salient of these factors since it is the only one that generates revenue for the business. Most managers focused on product marketing considered all the other marketing aspects but gave pricing afterthought throughout the strategizing process. Currently, a lot of firms have adopted the guide throughout their pricing process and have seen incredible optimization of the whole marketing process bringing in profits and maintaining a competitive advantage. Wal-Mart, Target, and Amazon are some of the most successful firms in the world. Actually, all top in their specific line of business. Amazon retails goods throughout the world through the internet while Wal-Mart chain is the most successful retailer in the world. Both are household names. The three firms have taken advantage of p ricing as a strategy to increase sales and boost their revenue. As will be discussed later in the paper, pricing is an imperative factor in marketing and has colossal impacts on sale of goods and services. Even if a company adopts the other marketing strategies (advertising, product, and distribution) efficiently, ineffective pricing can have detrimental effects on the financial status of a company. While most firms know that this is the case, research shows that pricing as a strategy is continually being poorly adopted. Researchers and economists such as Thomas T. Nagle have, as a result, sought to create a universal guide where business men and company executives can borrow ideas from if they want to execute

Monday, October 28, 2019

King Arthur Essay Example for Free

King Arthur Essay While significant attention is given to the potential historical origins of King Arthur, the Arthur who lingers in pop consciousness is the product of the romantic imaginings of literature and poetry. It is frequently asserted that he is a product of a medieval zeitgeist, which needed a heroic figure to represent the values of its culture. Arthur is a rather complex hero in the wake of the Greek heroes that preceded him, a medieval modern who stands in stark contrast to his classically antiquated predecessors. The tales identify Arthur as the bastard child of the lady Igraine. Merlin used his skills to help Uther Pendragon come to her under the guise of Igraine’s husband the Duke of Cornwall, and Arthur was the fruit of that adulterous union. Merlin takes Arthur and raises him, and when he reached manhood he becomes King of Britain. Arthur’s ascension is detailed as having begun with an embrace with his destiny by obtaining the sword Excalibur. Depending on how the tale is told, he either obtains it by pulling it from a stone or anvil, or it is given to him by the Lady of the Lake. Either way, this dramatically proves his worth despite numerous challengers to the throne. As King, Arthur takes a wife and assembles a gallery of knights who convene around a round table and go on quests in search of the legendary Holy Grail, as well as unifying the various geographical and political factions of Britain as one kingdom, governed under the utopia capital of Camelot. However, despite his desire for peace and prosperity for Britain, the foibles and flaws of his peers continue to disappoint him. Eventually he faces his own mortality, when he is challenged by his own son Mordred for the right to rule, despite his desire for a peaceable settlement. Mordred is defeated but Arthur is fatally wounded and dies. Arthur exemplifies a hero who struggles with duality. Despite the mythic stature accorded to him, his ability to command respect, his strength of courage and his fair-minded sense of justice makes him an exemplar of pure Christianity: liberal in disposition and democratic in temperament, but he is also rather arrogant and inflexible. His crusades also place him in a position in which he frequently neglects his responsibilities as a leader, despite having fought for the right to rule among petty bickering would-be monarchs. The Queen he romanced is left neglected during his adventures, and she betrays him through adultery. His cunning and courage is remarkable, but is witness only abroad never to be put to good use within the kingdom. The Greek heroes are significantly darker, which sets them apart from the rather romantic and idealist tone of Arthur’s mythical self-journey. Consider for example, Achilles: Like Arthur, he was born of an arranged union. Zeus was afraid of a prophecy which told that a child of Thetis would overthrow him, and thus provided for her to conceive with a half-mortal child. Whereas Arthur’s parentage was largely a design of Merlin’s to obtain a new protà ©gà © to raise, while Achilles’ parentage was a political one, insofar as the machinations of gods can be political. Additionally, Achilles’ alienation from humanity is more pronounced, because he is literally ‘less than human’ in his partial divinity, though this divinity makes him cruel rather than virtuous, a far cry from Arthur. The superhuman Beowulf is also comparable to Arthur. While he is able to defeat monstrous opponents in single combat, he parallels Arthur as a monarch whose grim demeanor softens as he ages, and concludes his life with a confrontation with his own mortality. He emerges victorious but fatally wounded, ready to embrace death with the same kind of acceptance that Arthur does.

Saturday, October 26, 2019

Hindu Custom of Marriage :: Exploratory Essays Research Papers

Hindu Custom of Marriage Hinduism began in Ancient India thousands of years ago. Hindu customs differ greatly from the ones we practice in the western world. This paper discusses the Hindu custom of marriage and the expectations of those to be wed. Men are expected to marry in order to carry on the family lineage. Women are encouraged to marry to help relieve their financial burden from their parents (Sullivan 135). A wedding occurs after a man has finished his studies, attained the permission of his teacher, bathed, and performed the ritual for homecoming. The father of the girl dresses and adorns his daughter, and receives 2-4 cows and bulls (O'Flaherty 101). The man and his wife to be walk around a fire seven times while they affirm their marriage vows to the accompanied verses from the Veda (Sullivan 135). The Lawbook of Manu contains a list of characteristics a wife should not have. She should not come from a family that has abandoned the rituals, a family with no boys, one that does not chant the Veda. Some more characteristics that are not acceptable are women with hairy bodies, who have consumption, weak digestion, bad memories, and also leprosy. Women that are redheads, have extra limbs, are sickly, bald, talk too much, are sallow, too fat or too thin, too tall or too dwarfish, past their prime, or lacking a limb or fond of quarreling are also not acceptable for marriage. An offensive name can determine a woman's worth. Bad names include ones that have to do with a constellation, tree, or river, low caste names, names of mountains, and birds or snakes. Slave names and fearsome names are also to be avoided. Women with these types of names are not to be married according to the characteristics that must be met for a woman to be acceptable for marriage. A woman fit for marriage should have complete limbs, a pleasant name, should walk like a swan or elephant, have fine hair on her body and on her head, delicate limbs, and should not have big teeth. A man should take a wife of the same class (O'Flaherty 101-102), but if a marriage does take place across caste boundaries, then it is almost always the woman marrying into a higher caste (Fuller 14).   Marriages are often arranged while the girl is only a child. The Manava Dharma Sastra and other legal texts "envision that a man of thirty marry a girl of twelve" (Sullivan 135).

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Political Maharashtra

Politics of Maharashtra After India's independence, most of Maharashtra's political history was dominated by the Indian National Congress party. Maharashtra became a bastion of the Congress party producing stalwarts such as Yashwantrao Chavan, Vasantdada Patil, Shankarrao Chavan, Vasantrao Naik, Vilasrao Deshmukh and Sharad Pawar. The party enjoyed near unchallenged dominance of the political landscape until 1995 when the Shiv Sena and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) secured an overwhelming majority in the state to form a coalition.After a split in the Congress party, former chief minister Sharad Pawar formed the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), but formed a coalition with the Congress to keep out the BJP-SS combine. Prithviraj Chavan of Congress party is the current Chief Minister of Maharashtra. Maharashtra, 1960-1971 Establishment of the State : In 1956 the Bombay State ceded Kannada-speaking territory to Mysore, but gained Marathwada (Aurangabad Division) from Hyderabad State a nd Vidarbha (Amravati and Nagpur Divisions) from Madhya Pradesh & Berar.In 1960, Bombay State was split into the States of Gujarat and Maharashtra. Administration : From 1962 to 1979 Maharashtra was administrated by an Indian National Congress (INC) led government Annals : 1960 : Bombay State split into Gujarat and Maharashtra; Bombay capital of Maharashtra, Marathi provincial language 1960 : Nagpur Pact; Nagpur (Vidarbha) elevated to second capital of Maharashtra; legislative assembly meets here for two weeks in December every year 1961 : communal violence in Nagpur (BBoY 1962) 962 : state election; INC formed government 1966 : communal incidents in Maharashtra (BBoY 1967) 1966 : Shiv Sena (SHS), Maharashtra Hindu party, founded 1967 : state election; INC formed government 1968 : Hindu-Muslim riots in Aurangabad and Nagpur (BBoY 1969) 1969 : India's first nuclear power station at Tarapur became operational (BBoY 1970) Social History : In 1961 the population of Maharashtra was 39. 9 million, in 1971 50. 3 million. The Statesman's Yearbook, based on the census of 1971, gives the literacy rate for Maharashtra in 1971 as 39. %; in 1961 80. 2 % of the population were Hindus, 7. 6 % Muslims, 7 % Buddhists. Government, Politics and Judiciary Maharashtra is one of the most advanced states in India, the second most populated state and the third largest state in India. The government, politics and judiciary of Maharashtra is quite similar to those of the other states. The state of Maharashtra is governed by the Governor and the Chief Minister. The Governor is the nominal head of the state and the Chief Minister is the Head of the government.He is the head of the political party which has the maximum number of seats in the State Legislative Assembly. The State Legislative Assembly is also known as the Vidhan Sabha and it is situated in the capital city of Maharashtra, Mumbai. The Chief Minister has all the executive powers which he can execute taking the advice of his c ouncil of ministers. The government of Maharashtra is aided by a bicameral parliament, the lower house and the upper house – the Vidhan Sabha and the Vidhan Parishad.At present the Chief Minister of Maharashtra is Vilasrao Deshmukh from the Congress Party. The political party which holds the maximum number of seats in the Vidhan Sabha at present is the NCP which had formed the government with a coalition with the Congress. The state of Maharashtra has been nominated 19 seats in the Rajya Sabha and 48 in the Lok Sabha. Commissions : The four commissions of the government of Maharashtra are the State Election Commission, Maharashtra Public Service Commission, Union Public Service Commission, and Staff Selection Commission.These commissions have been formed to fulfill certain special responsibilities such as conducting exams which are related to government jobs. The State Election Commission: has the responsibility of taking care of the election chores in the state. There is a s tate election commissioner who is appointed on the basis of certain qualifications. Maharashtra Public Service Commission: the MPSC consists of examinations which are scheduled for the posts of Judges of the Co – Operative courts, Assistant Director, Special District Social Welfare Officer, Medical Officer.This commission fixes the dates of the examinations, the syllabus for the examination, the schedule for the interview and other details in connection with the examinations. Union Public Service Commission: the most important function of the Union Public Service Commission is the recruitment of services through written examinations and interviews, advising the state government on the recruitment of personnel, disciplinary functions, other miscellaneous functions regarding pensions and reimbursements of legal expenses. Staff Selection Commission: he function of the Staff Selection Commission of the Maharashtra government is to select staff of the Group B and technical staff o f the Group C in the Ministries or Departments, Government of India offices, Election Commission and the Central Vigilance Commission. The Commission is responsible for formulation of policies which might assist in conducting the examination smoothly. Government Departments : Maharashtra government is dedicated towards serving the citizens and for that purpose it has delegated the responsibility to the various departments of the government.Each department takes care of the different needs of the inhabitants. Apart from the government departments, the government of Maharashtra is assisted by the Boards and Corporations in the fulfillment of its duty. The Government Departments and their functions are: Agriculture Department Co-operation Department Directorate of Medical Education and Research (DMER) Directorate of Technical Education, Maharashtra Directorate of Vocational Education and Training (DVET) Employment and Self Employment Department, Maharashtra Finance Department, Maharash traFood, Civil Supplies and Consumer Protection Department Forest Department Home Department Irrigation Department Public Works Department (PWD) Vidhan Sabha : The Vidhan Sabha of Maharashtra is the lower house or the House of the People. The total strength of the House is 289 members and the term of office for the members is five years. Under unusual conditions the House may be dissolved. It consists of members who are directly elected by the people of Maharashtra. There are certain qualifications required to be the member of the Vidhan Sabha which are: To be a citizen of IndiaTo be not less than 25 years of age To be mentally sound and not bankrupt To have an affidavit of not having any criminal procedures against him. Mumbai High Court : The highest body of the Maharashtra judiciary is the Bombay High Court under which there are the Subordinate Courts which serve the districts and the City Civil Courts. The Bombay High Court can exercise original jurisdiction over the state of Ma harashtra, Goa, Daman and Diu. It has benches in the cities of Bombay, Aurangabad, Nagpur and Panaji in Goa. The Bombay High Court can exercise both original and appellate jurisdiction in Bombay.The Bombay High Court can have maximum of 64 judges. The judiciary of the state of Maharashtra offers legal aid services in all its benches. The Lokayuktas and the Upa – Lokayuktas form the subordinate courts of Maharashtra. the benches of the Bombay High Court in the cities also serve as the subordinate courts in the state. Other than that there is the Maharashtra State Legal Services and Authority department which provides all the necessary information about the important names and contact numbers related to the judiciary services. Maharashtra Politics : Current ScenarioIndia is the biggest democratic country in the world. Indian democracy provides the right of vote to its citizens to elect the government of their choice after every period of five years. However, some times unfortun ately the situation rises when the ruling government looses majority in the house and vote of non-confidence is passed by the opponent party, and if the ruling party is not able to win the vote of non-confidence the house has to under go the mid-term elections. This situation may rise at the Lok Sabha in centre or at Vidhan Sabha or State Assembly in state.The major political parties dominating Indian Politics from the last few decades have been Indian National Congress and Bhartiya Janta Party besides them there are various regional parties at state level which play an influencing role in the political scenario. These parties however do not have their threshold in whole country but they have their impact on the politics at state level. These parties are the ruling parties in some of the states and in some states they act as an alliance of the party in rule. The politics of Maharashtra is not an exception to it where apart from the two major political parties i. e. , Indian

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Strengths, Weaknesses of One of the Perspectives of Psychology

Stephanie Graham Psy-201 October 7, 2012 â€Å"What Are The Strengths And Weaknesses Of One Of The Perspectives Of Psychology† Behaviorism is one point of view in psychology directed to a scientific study of the behaviors of man and animal, and is insisted that the cause of our actions and personality lies in our environment, rather than our biology. Behaviorism, also referred to as behavioral psychology, is a theory of learning based upon the idea that all behaviors are acquired through conditioning.Conditioning occurs through interaction with the environment. Behaviorist believe that our responses to environmental stimuli shape our behavior. There are two types of conditioning, classical conditioning and operant conditioning. Classical conditioning was studied by the Russian psychologist Ivan Pavlov, he demonstrated that dogs could learn to associate a neutral stimulus, such as the sound of a bell, with an automatic behavior, such as reflexively salivating to food. He believ ed he had discovered the mechanism by which all behaviors were learned. B. F.Skinner investigated operant conditioning of voluntary and involuntary behavior is a form of learning in which an individuals behavior is modified through its consequences, positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement and punishment. He called his approach to psychology â€Å"radical behaviorism,† where everything a person does, says, and feels constitutes behavior. Even if the behavior is unobservable it can be subjected to experimental analysis. Skinner demonstrated that our social environment is filled with reinforcing and punishing consequences that shape our behavior.For example many people don't enjoy getting up early to go to work every day, but they do it to get the reward: a paycheck. They are being rewarded for good behavior. If some one didn't show up to work, or not call in that person may be fired and not receive a paycheck. This would be a punishment for their behavior. Growing up my parents would tell me that hard work gets good results. Getting straight A's on my report card I received some incentives. If I didn't get into any trouble I received more incentives as well.But if got a bad grade on a homework assignment or test they would take away incentives or any rewards. Without knowing it I grew up on the operant conditioning and adapted it to my daily life where hard work just seemed natural and has some incentives. Weaknesses: Behaviorism examines human and nonhuman beings from the point of view of the behavior they demonstrate. Behaviorism is the understanding of behavior of people and animals in their every movement, emotional response/ reaction, the way they think.Environment plays a great role in the life of people, but it is hard to interpret the behavior of people only focusing on the environmental factor. In some ways behaviorism neglects the individualism of every person making a general behavioral pattern for everybody. A weakness is in Skinners op erant conditioning theory, is the fact that it does not always work. A person can be pretending they stopped the behavior just to receive the reward. If you give a person a reward for good behavior, that person will expect a reward every time.Strengths: One main strength of the behaviorist approach is that it focuses only on behavior that can be observed and manipulated in a controlled environment. Behaviorism tends to predict the behavior in certain circumstances. So having the possibility to predict would give a person the ability to control behavior, avoiding any unnecessary reactions. People are more aware of how to control behavior which has become very important in parenting, and useful when helping kids reactions adapt more socially with others.Behaviorism has helped bring the â€Å"desired outcome† with the help of reinforcement, and punishment. It is a simple concept of behavior using the principals such as classical and operant conditioning. Pavlov's approach aims t o study behavior that is observable and directly measurable. Behaviorism has a tremendous contribution to the development of psychology. As in every perspective approach, study, or theory has its advantages, disadvantages, strengths and weaknesses. What works for one person may not work for another.But it is just as important in helping people. Skinner and Pavlov both had great techniques in trying to recognize, predict, and control behaviors. Both have their strengths and weaknesses. You could say the Pavlov's theories were groundbreaking in a sense however even under favorable conditions however a person and especially an animal cannot be expected to do the exact same thing every time regardless of a like result. Variable change always has to be accounted for. Such as lack of interest or tiredness.Skinner was on a better tract in my opinion with the rewarding/punishment of behavior. Some issues could arise there as well such as the interpretation of rewards by the individual and j ust like Pavlov you would have to change them or interest would be lost after eventually. Depending on circumstances both seem very applicable on a case by case basis both having their strengths and weaknesses both very valid points but must be determined by what is to be achieved and who it is being done on.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Airplanes - How Man Conquered Flight essays

Airplanes - How Man Conquered Flight essays Airplanes, engine-driven vehicles that fly through the air, have evolved in less than a century into one of the most important inventions in history. Every day, airplanes commute people and goods great distances. Over the last 100 years, they have been developed and perfected from simple gliders to sea planes, commercial planes, space shuttles, and military aircrafts, which have helped America win wars. But how did these aircrafts come to be, and how have they helped America become what it is today? It all started before the end of the 18th century. Few people had applied themselves to the study of flight. One was Leonardo da Vinci, during the 15th century. Leonardo was preoccupied chiefly with bird flight and with flapping-wing machines, called ornithopters. His aeronautical work lay unknown until late in the 19th century, when it became a source of inspiration to engineers. Apart from Leonardos efforts, three devices important to aviation had been invented in Europe in the Middle Ages and had reached a high stage of development by Leonardos time: the windmill, an early propeller, the kite, an early airplane wing, and the model helicopter. Between 1799 and 1809 English baronet Sir George Cayley created the concept of the modern airplane. Cayley abandoned the ornithopter tradition, in which both lift and thrust are provided by the wings, and designed airplanes with rigid wings to provide lift, and with separate propelling devices to provide thrust. Cayley laid the foundations of aerodynamics. He demonstrated, both with models and with full-sized gliders, the use of the inclined plane to provide lift, pitch, and roll stability. In 1853, in his third full-sized machine, Cayley sent his coachman on the first gliding flight in history. In 1890 French engineer Clement Ader built a steam-powered airplane and made the first actual flight of a piloted, heavier-than-air craft. However, the flight was not sustained, and the ...

Monday, October 21, 2019

ROSE FOR EMILY-PSYCHOLOGICAL INTERPRETATION essays

ROSE FOR EMILY-PSYCHOLOGICAL INTERPRETATION essays William Faulkner (1897-1962) is known in the world of literature as the "historian of the negative" and narrator of the dark. In other words, Faulkner was obsessed with the dark side of human mind and in his in-depth psychological exploration of such areas; he would produce stories that were often violent and negative. While his celebrated contemporary, Ernest Hemingway would also focus on psychoanalysis of characters; his stories were closer to reality unlike Faulkner's who believed in shocking his readers and taking them by complete surprise. Most of his works have a sinister air about them as if the author is foreshadowing a really dark and appalling ending. In this paper, we shall study three different pieces of writing by William Faulkner to comment on the writer's style and explain the use of common themes and devices. Faulkner has been associated with thrilling mysteries where he would bring out something evil in the characters. His fascination with the darker side of human mind is evident from his works including his most famous short story, A Rose for Emily. Here Emily stood for twisted human psyche, which leads to bizarre happenings. The author's style is mysterious as if he is trying to hide something all the time, only to take his readers by complete surprise in the end. Faulkner would often keep his work deceptively simple just to maximize the impact of the last twist in the plot. This is exactly what happens in A Rose for Emily where Emily is shown as a simple mysterious woman who didn't like intrusion or interference in her life. However her unusual existence is quite intriguing and give birth to various stories about her. The author in all his works tries to create an unreal world with the help of weird characters, whose actions cannot be justified by anyone but themselves and who are real enemies of natural order'. In Rose for Emily, it is Emily who suppresses her d...

Sunday, October 20, 2019

Sample - User Manual for Snapchat

Sample - User Manual for Snapchat This report outlines the initial proposal for the Snapchat user manual. This report should cover some of the broad and basic information that first-time users of the Snapchat application need to know. This report shall also cover the unique stylistic components that the author shall use in his final report- which would be the actual Snapchat user manual. The purpose of this report then is to guide the author in planning and writing what to write, how to write the contents, and where to place them in the actual manual. Needs Assessment The focus of the project would be on the application Snapchat. Snapchat is a social media application that allows users to share videos called snaps. This is, in fact, a new trend in the digital arena because as of the moment it is the process of sharing photos that is most prevalent. What Snapchat is all about, however, is the process of sharing videos. It is important to note, however, that users may also take and share photos, drawings, and texts and then send them to a controlled list of people (i.e. the recipients). Essentially, Snapchat is a messaging tool that has a high level of multimedia sharing capability. Considering all of these features, it can be said that Snapchat is virtually intended to be used (and can actually be used) by everyone; from businessmen to casual and professional photographers and graphic and video artists. Students may also take advantage of the enhanced sharing capability of Snapchat. What is unique with Snapchat, however, is the fact that it enable s the users to specify how long the snaps (i.e. the sent videos and photographs) can be viewed by their recipients and actually stay in the company’s servers- after which the developers of the app claim that it would already be deleted. Additional Research One of the latest features that Snapchat users can enjoy is the Snapchat Lenses. With lenses, users can take snaps using real-time special effects, sounds, and filters. This way, they would not have to edit their snaps. Whenever there are updates, new filters (e.g. rewind, slow-motion, force touch) and effects may get released so it would be best to frequently update the version of Snapchat installed on the smartphone or a tablet computer. Audience Analysis The intended audience for the Snapchat user manual would be all of the potential users of the application. Some of the specific examples include: Business men Professional and casual photographers Professional and casual graphic artists Students and teachers Government agencies, departments, and organizations For-profit and non-profit organizations Researchers The application user manual that will be published shall cater to all the users’ needs. No separate version of the user manual will be released for a particular group or audience. The target audience for the user manual would be those who have basic to intermediate smartphone and internet navigation skills; those who actually own a smart phone or a tablet computer equipped with a decent camera capable of taking pictures and recording videos- because these are the main hardware requirements for an individual to utilize Snapchat. Suggested Table of Contents About the Manual Acknowledgement Table of Contents Glossary Introduction Wiki Section Wiki Contents Basics Intermediates Advanced Using Snapchat How to take a picture How to take a video How to create a text message How to organize a list of recipients How to send texts, pictures, videos How to store your contents Snapchat Terms, Policies, and Conditions How to Install and Uninstall the Application Setting up and Account Troubleshooting Frequently Asked Questions Participating in the Snapchat users’ community and forum Frequently Asked Questions The most basic information about Snapchat shall be placed within a consolidated FAQ section. The purpose of the FAQ section would be to enable the users to get started in using the Snapchat application. This may contain instructions on how to install the application, where the download links may be obtained, and how to set up the application on their device after installation. This can be presented within any section of the user manual. In any case, the most important component would be the content. This section has to be simple and easy to understand. Design Layout The purpose of the Snapchat user manual is to get the users started on how to use the application. The focus of the writing process should then be on the content because it is the most important component that would determine the success of the project. The design process should, however, be not taken for granted. The design and layout should embody the following characteristics: elegance, professionalism, and neatness. The design should be creative but not to the point that it would look untidy and too artistic. After all, this was not intended to be an art project. The design and layout should make it easier for the readers to read and understand all sections of the content; this is where the neatness component should be factored in. The layout should follow the outline of the contents provided earlier where each section should have its own design in order for the readers to understand how each section is independent of each other.

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Business Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Business Report - Essay Example The paper begins with an introduction of technological trends adopted by various renowned supermarket brands. Self-service checkouts have been selected as the centre of discussion. Next, a number of influences of self-service checkouts on labor need and customer satisfaction gives an insight of the importance of this system. In addition, a mixed difference opinion by several customers relating to the usage of self-service system has been given. The research paper concludes with presenting a few implications that retail businesses can imply to enhance their operations and build the customer loyalty that represents the success of their business. These systems are not adopted by businesses to reduce the costs but to enhance their customer relationships by providing easy shopping experience. Introduction To be waiting in the checkout line is one frustrating fact of shopping; however, people are now adopting offline shopping with the induction of self-service checkouts, which allow them t o evaluate their products and scan for billing. Technology has played a vital role in enhancing purchase and sales. The process has been improved further with regard to fulfilling purchase orders before time and making quicker sales in fewer periods. The food retail market is also benefiting with this technology to make the service easier for its customers who avoid spending time on long checkout queues. According to a survey conducted by Supermarket News reports, food retail sector has adopted latest technology to enhance its customer preferences by a greater margin than any other industry in this world. Consumers believe that this industry most implements technology for better customer experiences and introduces new ways and techniques to enhance their services quickly. The largest supermarkets of USA such as Wal-mart and Target have been working extensively to improve the customer experience of their supermarkets and they have successfully introduced technology as a part of their establishment to this day. Wal-mart is one renowned retail brand that adopted self-service checkouts for their stores. Customers begin to deal with the checkout process more efficiently by doing the job themselves. The response on this adoption of technology was positive and many customers were relieved of wasting time at long checkouts. According to NCR, Kmart introduced self-service checkouts with the installation of about five thousand systems at its thirteen hundred stores in year 2011. These systems managed to make sales for Kmart up to 22 percent per year, which achieved a close target for their sales (Bird, 2012, pg. 1-3). Supermarket Guru Phil Lempert proposes that supermarkets must cater to their consumer’s preferences since grocery shopping is not what they like to do the most. Particularly, 53% of consumers have been reported to avoid grocery shopping while 14% dislike grocery shopping due to the processes at retails. Knowing the preferences of customers is the ke y to introduce technology that can help bolster the retail systems. Trends that need to be adopted by retails must focus on this perspective and bring innovations to improve the way customer shops. A customer needs to have full information of what he is going to buy therefore trends must be adopted in briefing

Marketing Limited Capital Resources Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Marketing Limited Capital Resources - Term Paper Example This is about marketing the company products through an efficient distribution channel. Indeed, the associated retailers, whole sellers, distributors, direct selling agents and business partners would personally influence their customers separately so that sales objectives could be accomplished. In simple words, the company’s marketers have to endorse this R&D through effective Push marketing of these tea brands. Promotional techniques such as free sachets, boxes of teabags, free cups of tea at densely populated public places taste, gift hampers etc. should be used to enhance brand awareness and recognition. Sales incentives such as discounts on bulk buying, periodic purchase schemes, commission on additional sales etc. should also be disbursed among distribution channel members so that they would use Push Marketing strategy to attain desired outcomes and accomplish sales targets. Customers will welcome innovated and differentiated tea products in top quality packaging with excellent taste. Once, they become satisfied with the trial or introductory packs, they will start switching from existing tea products to Newfoundland’s Bentley brand. In addition, the satisfying and happy customers will also increase awareness in their social networks, which will, of course, be called ‘marketing for free’. Indeed, the research has shown that peers may influence the buying behavior.   Ã‚   The launch of new tea flavors and seasonal blends may attract new segments, especially, customers from elite, upper – middle and lower – middle households with relatively high purchasing power. Also, consumers from these classes usually do not compromise over taste and quality, convenience, comfort etc. as well as they endorse the new ideas and innovations. The long-run benefits of this strategy in terms of value and relationship building will be higher because this will certainly help increase market share and future expansion.

Friday, October 18, 2019

The Radiation Exposure in Hiroshima Research Paper

The Radiation Exposure in Hiroshima - Research Paper Example The intermediate stage lies between 10 and 12 weeks after the initial exposure to the radiation. The deaths in Hiroshima and Nagasaki stemmed from ionizing radiation. In Hiroshima alone, about 140,000 died instantly and 100,000 were seriously injured. Syndromes. That the damage that had been left by the nuclear radiation was extensive, is a matter that is underscored by the trail of medical or health complications it left in its wake. Some of the symptoms that Japan had to deal with include bleeding, hair loss, nausea, flash burns, blood cancer and a higher level of vulnerability to leukemia, malignant tumors, and cataracts. Some of the syndromes that accompanied the radiation included small brain size, skin, organ and blood cancer, lower Intelligence Quotient, mental retardation, cleft and lip palate, blindness, delayed development and Spinal Bifida. Other conditions that accompanied the radiation include. The fact that the radiation had claimed Hiroshima and Nagasaki’s 90 pe rcent of medical personnel and left many others disabled did not make things lighter. The same state of affairs also dilapidated medical supplies and resultantly, claimed more deaths. burns- Long-term impact on the exposed population * Cancers, genetic defects, other biologic effectsIn addition:- Define any radiation units used in your research paper (R, rem, rad, Ci, Sv, Gy, Bq, etc.)- Define the term LD 50/30- Describe the LD 50/30 in humans- Current standards for Effective Dose Equivalent limits for occupational and non-occupational exposures

Common core standards for literacy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Common core standards for literacy - Essay Example ards includes developing students’ ability to read texts and draw meaning from contexts, ability to â€Å"support arguments with evidence,† ability to â€Å"resolve conflicting views† in literature and the ability to â€Å"solve complex problems with no obvious solutions† (Wahlstrom, p. 4). I address the standards by providing avenues towards realization of the standards’ goals. One of the ways in which I address the common core standards is by promoting readership among students, as well as identifying, and monitoring the developed reading potentials. This motivates reading interest and identifies special cases for personalized assistance. I however rely on offering directions to develop writing skills that includes review of literature to comprehend its contents before writing. Instructing the students on selection of resources, exposing them to a wide range of literature and tailoring writing to achieve a communication role achieves this. I also address the standards by promoting teamwork, developing a â€Å"multiple perspectives† (Bunch, Kibler and Pimentel, p. 6) approach to encountered literature and instilling confidence in ‘self-expression’ within classrooms (p. 1- 8). Bunch, George, Kibler, Amanda, and Pimentel, Susan. â€Å"Realizing opportunities for English learners in the common core English language arts and disciplinary literacy standards.† Stamford University. N.d. Web. 29 July 2012. Wahlstrom, Deborah. â€Å"Common core standards.† Wordpress. September 2011. Web. 29 July 2012.

Thursday, October 17, 2019

The development of the Papacy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The development of the Papacy - Essay Example Following this recognition, this essay examines the development of the papacy. While the contemporary office of the Pope constitutes a single individual this was not always historically true. During the early era of the Catholic Church, there were a number of popes, as the term referred to specific church leaders (Bokenkotter, p. 49). During the beginning of the Christian Church, there is the recognition that there was not a need for religious leaders, as the size of the religion was minimal. At this time there were only local leaders or bishops that organized many church gatherings and promoted the religion among the surrounding regions. During the first century, Rome was only emerging as a Christian center and as such, the extensive papal development would only gradually take hold. Towards the end of the second century, Rome became solidified as this Christian center. At this time, the Church of Rome was designated as the primary church to which all others should answer. In this wa y there is the recognition of the office of the Pope as originating from structural developments of church organization, rather than the innate religious nature of the office or individual (Bokenkotter, p. 111). According to the Catholic Church, the office of the Pope functions as a direct lineage of leadership leading back to the Apostle Saint Paul. This perspective positions the office as something that is intrinsic to the Christian faith and subsequently a natural extension of the word of God. To an extent then the Pope can be viewed as possessing a relationship with God that would position him as the most important person in the universe. In many ways the Pope’s social and political power would reflect this recognition. By the third century, following the Council of Nicaea, the papacy assumed the form it contains today. The Pope’s power continued to grow through the third and four centuries. With the fifth century, the world experienced the fall of the Roman Empire to invading German armies. Following the fall of Rome, the papacy gained increased power as many people turned to the Pope for continuity of leadership. The following Medieval Period would find the Pope at an all-time high of personal power. Following the ascension of Constantine as the Roman Emperor, he established the decree that all future Roman Emperors would require the approval of the Pope (Orlandis 1993, p. 34). The increasing connection between the Pope and political authorities would greatly expand the power and reach of the papacy. Subsequently, this period witnessed a significant amount of developments in the papacy. In 1073, Pope Gregory VII instituted the Gregorian Reforms (Orlandis 1993, p. 40). These rules raised the standards for leaders within the Catholic Church, notably encouraging celibacy among members. Perhaps the ultimately display of the Pope’s power, however, occurred during the Crusades. During this period Alexius, I even had to go to Pope Urban II to gain military support to guard against Muslim invasions. For the papacy, this demonstrates the significant political power the Pope had attained during the Medieval Period. From the 11th century onward, the papacy would experience a declining amount of influence. Because of the Pope’s involvement in many earlier conflicts, a schism emerged in the Church that divided the East and West. The onset of the Protestant Reformation in the

Branding makes differences Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Branding makes differences - Essay Example It should be an explicit expression of the value any product is really capable of delivering to a customer (Hand 2010, p. 6). It should aim at advocating a product as it really is to increase the number of loyal customer. In this context, graphic designing is worth mentioning because a standard image with powerful visuals is always required to promote a brand which is all branding is about. Branding can create a lot of difference by actively using the option of riveting graphic design in an increasingly globalized world (Anttiroiko 2014, p. 66). A large body of research explores this critically important relationship between branding and graphic design. It is suggested that graphic design is a very important ingredient that can create an extreme brand obsession or strong religious faith for a product (Cooke 2010, p. 74). General consensus is that though it can be a very daunting process, one demanding humongous lot of creativity, to come up with a genuine and riveting logo and mix it up with just the right amount of design charm, but to witness one’s creativity high up on a billboard is a very impressive feat for a brand designer. In the case of a product like body spray, sales can be improved by more than 100% if a new design is created which introduces a sassier graphic solution that is eye-catching and very tactfully â€Å"targets the younger, fashion-conscious, trend-led customer† (Ambrose & Harris 2011, p. 18). It is also the job of a graphic designer to come up with exciting ways of â€Å"interacting wi th different forms of media† (Davis & Baldwin 2005, p. 8). So, graphic design is also about communication, to convey the meaning or image of a brand to the world. Graphic designers can very much add new values to a culture as they strip them of their indigenous values â€Å"on behalf of globalising corporations† (Barnard 2013, p. 1967). To begin designing a brand image,

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

The development of the Papacy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The development of the Papacy - Essay Example Following this recognition, this essay examines the development of the papacy. While the contemporary office of the Pope constitutes a single individual this was not always historically true. During the early era of the Catholic Church, there were a number of popes, as the term referred to specific church leaders (Bokenkotter, p. 49). During the beginning of the Christian Church, there is the recognition that there was not a need for religious leaders, as the size of the religion was minimal. At this time there were only local leaders or bishops that organized many church gatherings and promoted the religion among the surrounding regions. During the first century, Rome was only emerging as a Christian center and as such, the extensive papal development would only gradually take hold. Towards the end of the second century, Rome became solidified as this Christian center. At this time, the Church of Rome was designated as the primary church to which all others should answer. In this wa y there is the recognition of the office of the Pope as originating from structural developments of church organization, rather than the innate religious nature of the office or individual (Bokenkotter, p. 111). According to the Catholic Church, the office of the Pope functions as a direct lineage of leadership leading back to the Apostle Saint Paul. This perspective positions the office as something that is intrinsic to the Christian faith and subsequently a natural extension of the word of God. To an extent then the Pope can be viewed as possessing a relationship with God that would position him as the most important person in the universe. In many ways the Pope’s social and political power would reflect this recognition. By the third century, following the Council of Nicaea, the papacy assumed the form it contains today. The Pope’s power continued to grow through the third and four centuries. With the fifth century, the world experienced the fall of the Roman Empire to invading German armies. Following the fall of Rome, the papacy gained increased power as many people turned to the Pope for continuity of leadership. The following Medieval Period would find the Pope at an all-time high of personal power. Following the ascension of Constantine as the Roman Emperor, he established the decree that all future Roman Emperors would require the approval of the Pope (Orlandis 1993, p. 34). The increasing connection between the Pope and political authorities would greatly expand the power and reach of the papacy. Subsequently, this period witnessed a significant amount of developments in the papacy. In 1073, Pope Gregory VII instituted the Gregorian Reforms (Orlandis 1993, p. 40). These rules raised the standards for leaders within the Catholic Church, notably encouraging celibacy among members. Perhaps the ultimately display of the Pope’s power, however, occurred during the Crusades. During this period Alexius, I even had to go to Pope Urban II to gain military support to guard against Muslim invasions. For the papacy, this demonstrates the significant political power the Pope had attained during the Medieval Period. From the 11th century onward, the papacy would experience a declining amount of influence. Because of the Pope’s involvement in many earlier conflicts, a schism emerged in the Church that divided the East and West. The onset of the Protestant Reformation in the

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Please read the material and create it Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Analysis of Pericles Speech - Essay Example He holds the idea that for the country to achieve democracy, the orators are obliged with the work of pushing for democracy in loyalty to those who died fighting for it. Another element of Pericles speech is the omission of the mention of the great martial achievements of the Athens past. While he feels that the praise of the martial war is an important aspect of the war, he feels that this is covered sufficiently and opts to talk about the road that they have used to reach the current position. Pericles states that â€Å"that part of our history that tells of the military achievements which gave us our several possessions†¦area theme too familiar†¦. and I shall, therefore, pass it by† (Pericles 4). A good part of his speech focuses on the path that the country has used to reach its freedom. The idea of Pericles is that the pursuit of democracy is a journey that the people should understand to be able to know where to start. Therefore, the speech appreciates the achievements of those who died in the war and informs the public on the need to join in the journey. The third element of the speech of Pericles is the praise of the greatness of the Athens. In his speech, Pericles focused on the key features of democracy in Athens and the way these have given the country its greatness. He states, â€Å"†¦advancement in public life falls to reputations for capacity, class considerations not being allowed to interfere with merit†¦at Athens, we live exactly as we please†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Pericles 5). The idea of Athens is that the maintenance of openness and liberty pave way for greatness, but do not inhibit development. Pointing out to the values of democracy, Pericles gives out the message that the people must uphold these values if the country has to maintain liberalism, which is crucial for modern democracy. Lincolns and Pericles speech are similar in their reference to the idea of democracy in the country.  Ã‚  

Monday, October 14, 2019

Eragon Essay Example for Free

Eragon Essay Often, heroic characters have to make tough choices in life; occasionally, the result of said choices is not to the individual’s benefit, but the outcome may bring joy to other people’s lives. In Christopher Paolini’s Eragon, coincidences, decisions, and desires combine to change Eragon’s life forever. Eragon is a hard working farm boy who shows a great deal of patience, honesty, and curiosity. He showcases these skills when hunting for food, and by coincidence he discovers a mysterious blue stone which he decides, out of curiosity, to take home with him. This â€Å"egg†, which happens to hatch into a dragon; this discovery becomes a turning point in Eragon’s life and he knows it could enable his way out of a long and tedious life. In fact, Eragon’s decision to keep and ultimately raise the dragon triggers his transformation from a boy to a dragon rider; forever altering his destiny, he will have to travel and meet new people. He will have to make sacrifices and must accept the consequences to bring peace to Alagaesia; and he will make the inevitable choice of raising this dragon (Saphira) and training himself and his dragon to kill the Ra’zac and overthrow the Empire. In this commitment, Eragon shows that a point in a person’s life where an event dramatically changes who or what he/she will become. Eragon’s decisions bring consequences and responsibilities’ compel him to fight for something in life and stand up for what one believes in. People can lead their lives one way and know what their destiny might be, only to have coincidences alter their lives for the better, or the worst. As Eragon’s quest begins he shows how any person with desire, passion, and hard work can prove himself to be a man of honour, and bravery. Coincidences can lead someone to meet different people, and see new places. A person’s life can ultimately be altered because of one coincidence and can change the course of his/her life in a good or bad way. Eragon’s life takes a dramatic turn after coincidently finding the egg while hunting for food, for his family. After finding the egg and realizing it is a dragon Eragon knows he has to do what he was destined to do: train Saphira and overthrow the Empire. â€Å"He raced home, trying to escape the dragon my dragon† (pg. 6) This mindset of Eragon shows that as much as he wants to escape the dragon, he can’t because he has made a special bond with the dragon and will inevitably raise her as his own, and because Eragon’s eye that catches the stone in the forest leads him to become the next dragon rider and to overthrow the evil reign of King Galbatorix. Also by coincidence, there is a story teller (Brom) who lives in Eragon’s village who has a great deal of knowledge about dragons and magic, and decides to aid Eragon in his journey. After Eragon is aware that Brom is willing to help him, this pushes Eragon to make the decision and to take the responsibility as the next dragon rider. Eragon learns a great deal from Brom, who becomes one of his closest friends who also ends up being a dragon rider many years ago. Being the good friends they become Brom aids him and Eragon has the knowledge and strength to defeat Durza (Galbatorix’s Shade). When captured by the Ra’zac and almost being killed, another coincidence occurs when a mysterious figure scares away the Ra’zac saving Eragon’s, Brom’s and Saphira’s lives. This mysterious person, whose name is Murtagh, also joins Eragon in his journey and assists him in killing the Ra’zac. This coincidence results in Murtagh saving Eragon’s life and continuing their journey, as well finding a helper in Murtagh to support him in his journey. †Who are you? † â€Å"Murtagh† (pg. 268) Not only does Murtagh save their lives but he plays a big role in helping Eragon, but shows how without Murtagh he would not make it as far as he did. Knowing Brom dies shortly after) Making a decision can alter someone’s life forever, and there is no going back especially when the decisions affects other people’s lives as well, making the decisions irreversible. Eragon makes the decision to keep the egg and when it hatches and to raise Saphira as his own, this leads to the Ra’zac coming to his doorstep and killing his uncle. This is a significant event because Eragon’s uncle was practically his father and making the decision to keep the egg results in his uncle’s death, and without him he feels lost; however, the bond he creates with Saphira is so immense, that only death can break it. The Empire is alerted that Eragon has the egg, and the send the Ra’zac to retrieve the egg back for the King. Making the decision to keep the egg is what instigates his entire journey and creates that special bond with his dragon. Eragon makes the decision to pursue the killers to avenge his uncle’s death and to bring peace to Alagaesia. He changes his life by pursuing the Ra’zac wanting the satisfaction of doing to the Ra’zac what they did to his uncle and feeling obligated to his uncle for all that he has done in his life to apprehend the murderers â€Å"What do you want me to do ursue the strangers? † (pg. 92) He asks this of Saphira, who agrees with Eragon to pursue the strangers. With this one decision of following the killers, he changes his life dramatically and if he succeeds, he can change everybody’s life for the better. Eragon decides that he cannot continue his journey without more help, so he travels to the Beor Mountains to seek help from the Varden, a rebellious group also against the Empire. After Brom dies, Murtagh helps him; however, this is not enough after he knows he has too many enemies: Urgals, the Ra’zac and Durza the shade. It is a desperate path to take We are desperate† (pg. 320). This decision is a great benefit to Eragon because he gets all the help he needs, meets the person who has been in his dreams in Arya (an elf from the Varden who is trapped) and eventually kills Durza. When a person desires something in life, he/she will do whatever it takes to achieve it, sometimes the desire is so strong that is can change someone’s life. Eragon has a desire to avenge his Uncle Garrow’s death after the Ra’zac brutally murders him. This eventually changes his life, because of chasing the killers. And what would give him more satisfaction than hunting down the strangers? †(pg. 93) He asks Saphira how he can satisfy himself, then realizes hunting them down and killing them would be the only way to achieve total satisfaction for his burning desire to avenge his uncle as well as finally feeling the sense of accomplishment of the commitment he made. Eragon has a desire to become the very best he can at magic, and swordsmanship, this pushes him to become the best so he can fend off for himself and not rely on others to help him. It is time for you to use the blade We’ll cut each other to ribbons Not so. Again you forget magic† (pg. 159) This is when Eragon and Brom have their daily sparring, where Brom teaches Eragon how to fight with a sword and magic, his desire to become the best shows when he wants to learn something new every time they spar. After seeing Arya imprisoned in his dreams, he is determined and has a desire to rescue her. Arya, who ends up being the elf that sent the egg to Eragon in the first place. â€Å"I expect the queen’s hostility will abate. The fact you rescued Arya will greatly help our case with her† (pg. 410) The queen is somewhat against having a dragon rider joining the Varden, but because he had a desire to rescue her and risked his life saving Arya, the queen allows Eragon to join. Sometimes in life people have to make tough choices that will positively or negatively affect others around them. The choices we make can change our and other people’s lives forever, there are many things that may change how our life is played out, coincidences, decisions, and desires just being a few.

Sunday, October 13, 2019

Chinese Students Attitude Towards the Giant Panda: A Study

Chinese Students Attitude Towards the Giant Panda: A Study Introduction People have been attracted by specific species (Goedeke, 2004). Regarding these specific species, Kellert (1996) analyzes that humans tend to be attracted to the species which has a large body and is able to walk, run, or fly. The giant panda Ailuropoda melanoleuca is one of the most famous among those attractive species (Lorimer 2007). The giant panda is a member of the Ursidae family and occurs in only three provinces in China (Reid and Gong 1999). The species is classified as Endangered on the IUCN Red List with the estimated population of no more than 1600 individuals (IUCN 2009). In China, which is home to the giant panda, people express their willingness to pay (WTP) for the giant panda conservation, which is enough to conclude that this charismatic species is able to acquire their habitat (Kontoleon and Swanson 2003). In contrast to this economic point of view, Yang (2005) refers to the fact that little is known about Chinese peoples perception of the giant panda, although several studies have been made on the general attitudes towards wildlife. Therefore, she studies the attitude of the public in China towards the giant panda. She analyzes the relationship between the attitudes of Chinese people towards the giant panda and the image of the species in the media, and concludes that the general attitude in China is likely to be associated with the symbolic and domestic value rather than ecological-scientific value. This corresponds with general Chinese attitudes towards wildlife and the image of the giant panda constructed by the media (Yang 2005). However, s ince this conclusion is drawn based on the literature review, it may not reflect peoples actual attitudes. Thus, this attitude still needs to be studied. This research aims to explore Chinese students attitude towards the giant panda by semi- structured. This report consists of three sections. First, the research methods are presented including participant, the development of interview, questions, procedures, and an analysis. In the second section, the results from an analysis of the students attitude are described. The final section of this paper discusses the insights of main finding and several limitations of this interview survey for further research. Methodology Participant Ten Chinese students at the University of Kent were interviewed for this study. The interview sample was composed of two male and eight female students, and of two undergraduate and eight postgraduate students. The students majors were classified as follows: Conservation and Tourism, International Commercial Law, Human Resource Management, Accounting and Financial Management, European Culture and Language, International Business Management, and English Literature. The respondents were recruited through personal contact with one Taiwanese and three Chinese students. The interviewer informed about the purpose, topic, structure, and length of the interview in advance to confirm participation (Sarantakos 2005). After a student agrees those conditions, the time and place for the interview was arranged. The development of idea for interview questions and procedures In order to standardize interview guides, a pilot survey was conducted at an initial stage (Newing in press). This pilot survey on November 1st through the skype revealed that the interview was difficult to answer and analyze owing to specific questions, thus, a half of questions were changed to improve the interview. The actual interview survey, approximately 25 minutes for each interview, was conducted from November 3rd to 20th. The first interview was conducted with a student who has knowledge about the giant pandas to test modified questions and to develop the background of questions; hence, an unstructured interview was carried out at this time. In the second interview, the interviewee who was not familiar with the topic was chosen to confirm whether all questions in the interview were not difficult to answer for all interviewees. Since the student seemed uncomfortable to talk about an unfamiliar topic, the place was rearranged. In addition, in an effort to reduce uncomfortable constraints on the student, the interview was not recorded. Therefore, further interviews were recorded by note-taking to conduct in the same way as this second interview. Based on these first two interviews, the further questions and procedures of the interview were standardized. Questions This interview consists of six questions (see Appendix). The first question aimed to be a relatively easy question to talk about (Robson 2002; Newing in press). The second question was related to the first question, so that it was able to lead the interviewees to main topic of the interview. This question was one of main questions of this interview as well as the third, fourth, and fifth question. These questions were set to understand Chinese students attitudes towards the giant panda. The final question was not directly related to the subject and it was supposed to be a simple question as a cool-off question. However, it was found at the development stage of this interview that this sixth question invited the further discussion about the relationship between the giant panda and Chinese people. Therefore, the question was kept in each interview. Procedures This interview survey followed the procedure described by Robson (2002:277); Introduction, warm-up, main body of interview, cool-off, and closure. In the introduction stage, interviewers and the students were introduced each other, and talked about their own courses at University of Kent as warm-up. During the interview, it is weighted to elicit information to maximize the advantage of a semi-structured interview. Therefore, the depth of answer was varied between the questions and the answerers. It is also important to note that the interview was often stopped to clarify what the interviewee meant or answered. In some cases, it was confirmed at cool-off stage or after the interview by exchanging e-mail. Analysis During the data collection, the interviewer tried to record annotations, memos, coding (Newing in press). At an initial stage of an analysis, the coding procedure was conducted followed the instruction described by Newing (in press: 218). As top codes, several values from Kellerts nine values (1996) (see Table 1) were employed as predefined codes. For sub-codes, the detailed information related to the defined top codes was identified. At next stage, the procedure suggested by Sarantakos (2005) was taken to develop from open-coding to the concept. However, the coding procedure for this interview description was not sufficient for axial, selective coding since top codes used at open-coding stage and core category were similar with each other. Result All Chinese students showed their favourable attitudes towards the giant panda. It is likely that the species has a special meaning for Chinese students, and a good illustration of this is the answer that if the giant panda becomes extinct, it is going to be chaos, I mean panic feeling. As in Yangs study (2005), the symbolic value seemed to play the important role in determining the attitudes towards giant pandas. However, unlike Yangs study (2005), the other five values, utilitarian, ecologistic-scientific, humanistic, moralistic, and negativistic values, are also the important factors on individual attitudes. In contrast to above values, three of nine values, naturalistic, aesthetic, and domestic value, were difficult to detect during the interview. The reasons for this are (1) in order to obtain information for understanding of Chinese students naturalistic and aesthetic value, the follow up questions about students experiences and view of nature should have been asked during the interview. However, these questions would carry us far away from the purpose of this paper, (2) the domestic value of the giant panda was hardly discussed throughout the survey, although Yang (2005) suggests that this value is also one dominant value in Chinese people attitudes towards the giant panda. From these two reasons, the detailed findings about only utilitarian, ecologistic-scientific, symbolic, humanistic, moralistic, and negativistic values will be described in following subsection. Utilitarian value Students indicated two types of answers regarding this value; for ecotourism and for diplomatic relations. Concerning ecotourism, some students mentioned that they would like to have giant pandas in their towns to attract tourists. This concept can be seen in the answer the giant panda bring the money to our town. Moreover, a student illustrated the species as money when asked to choose one word for the giant panda. It was also mentioned that tourism for the giant panda is a benefit for the development of local villages by opening the road for the facilities, developing transportation service, and providing employment opportunities. The second type of answer was using the giant panda for diplomatic relations. Several words such as the tool for diplomatic/international exchange, gift for foreign countries, and the advertisement for China were used when interviewees explained the relationship between Chinese people and the giant panda. Ecologistic-scientific value All Chinese students showed their ecological knowledge about the giant panda, and their knowledge is supplied by environmental education, education in primary and middle school, media, and books. All respondents mentioned that the giant panda is endemic to China, thus, it is important to protect the species. One interviewee continued to say we treat them as a treasure. It was also mentioned that the species requires specific diet and habitat to survive. Not all but most of Chinese students imply the population of the giant panda in wild was not stable and mentioned captive breeding to conserve the species. Moreover, two students expressed their concern about over-attention to the giant panda status in China. For instance, one student insisted that the giant panda was just a bear with the knowledge about the classification of the species and the rate of extinction for other species in the world. Their knowledge comes from various sources from formal education to movies. However two st udents did not remember how they learned about the giant panda since it was common sense for them. Symbolic value It is noteworthy that all Chinese students in this research described that the giant panda represents China with remarkably similar words such as symbol of China, stand for China, pride of China and image of China. Three possible explanations for this answers were identified from interviewees answers; (1) the giant panda only occurs in China, (2) the species represents Chinese people, for instance, one student chose the word modest for the giant panda, and this student referred to that the national animal represents the own culture and personality. Other student answered identity to explain the relationship between Chinese people and the giant panda. (3) In the Chinese mythology, it is assumed that Chinese people are children of the giant panda, which is told by one interviewee. It seems reasonable to suppose that the giant panda has the high symbolic value as national animal on the grounds that all students defined the species as the symbol of China. Humanistic value Interviewee tended to see giant pandas from an anthropomorphic view. Chinese students showed the feeling of love and strong attachment for this species. All students described the panda as cute at least once in the interview. Students illustrated this species by the words lovely, warm-hearted, animal of love, friendly, funny, honest and modest. In addition, their strong attachments for the giant panda can be seen the phrases such as everyone cannot help falling love with Panda, all Chinese like panda, all people like panda, he brings a lot of happiness, I know them from my childhood, [so I will feel pity if they become extinct], and the panda has special meaning for us. Moralistic value Interviewees showed their concern about the giant panda. Of those who refused to have the species in their towns, all stated that they do not let the giant panda put in the difficult situation for survival because of unfavourable habitat. Furthermore, a specific question about the extinction of the giant panda was asked to explore students attitudes towards the moralistic value. To this question, all interviewees indicated their concerns about the dying out of the giant panda. Two students stated that the giant panda should not become extinct owing to its intrinsic value as one species, as can be seen in the answer they belong to the earth. Although these two students expressed their moralistic concern, the major reason for the other students might not be moralistic. The major reason why eight students opposed the extinction of the giant panda was the fact that the giant panda is an endemic species and the national animal. Negativistic value The ecological feature of the giant panda was the key to understand the negativistic value towards the species. Nine of ten Chinese students did not show their fear of the giant pandas. Some of them chose the word for or the image of the species such as friendship, friendly, warm, close to people, and community. When they were asked the reason for using those words, they explained that the giant panda eat only bamboo, never attack people, stay at mountains, and do not compete with people for food resource. Based on these characteristic of the giant panda, nine students seemed not to express their fear. On the other hand, one student mentioned that giant pandas attack people when they get furious. Discussion and conclusion This study set out to explore Chinese students attitudes towards the giant panda and its result showed that generally students have strong favourable attitudes. It was also shown that the major values contributing to their attitudes were utilitarian, naturalistic, ecologistic-scientific, symbolic, humanistic, and moralistic. The most significant value among ten Chinese students at University of Kent was the symbolic value of the giant panda, which correspond with the Yangs study (2005). There may be two reasons behind this answer; the anthropomorphic view towards the giant panda throughout history and the fact that the species is endemic to China. Regarding the anthropomorphic view, some students answer that the species represents Chinese personality. The other explanation is that the species is an ancestor of Chinese people in the mythology. These two explanations demonstrate that the anthropomorphic attitudes to the giant panda may lead to consider the species as the symbol of China. This anthropomorphism for the giant panda can be also seen in the humanistic value. In addition to an anthropomorphic view, the fact that the giant panda is endemic species in China can be the main factor of being the symbol of China. Students showed their understanding of the uniqueness of the giant panda such as habitat preference or specialist diet with their ecological knowledge, as described in the ecologistic-scientific value. Therefore, it could be assumed that the ecological f eatures of the giant panda can be also one of major factors for identifying the symbol of China. These two reasons provide more depth of the Chinese attitudes towards the giant panda than literature review conducted by Yang (2005). As she suggests, this study also found that the symbolic value plays the key role in determining the attitudes towards the giant panda, and that few students indicated the influence of the media. However, the behind of this attitudes, there are several factors, which related to the anthropomorphic view in their culture including the mythology, and the ecological knowledge from school education about giant pandas, according to this interview survey. Moreover, it should be also noted that students revealed contradiction statements towards the giant panda. While interviewees showed their emotional attachment for the species, they also mentioned the use of the species as an attraction of tourist and the tool for the diplomatic relation. In this research, it is difficult to discuss this inconsistent stance of the students because of the lack of information. More information on following points would help to establish a greater degree of accuracy on this matter; (1) the relevance of nine basic values towards the giant pandas to test whether the symbolic value is the most significant determinant, (2) the influential agencies, such as the media or school, to construct peoples attitudes towards this species, or (3) further investigation of the contradictory attitudes towards the giant panda. However, for further research, it should be considered following difficulties this research faced. Firstly, at the design stage, sampling method and questions should be changed. This research did not used random sampling, thus, it might cause sampling bias. Concerning questions, although the main six questions were designed to be neutral and to avoid using simple and direct questions (Newing in press), follow-up questions which was improvisational question could cause error, bias or leading the answer. Thus, it is essential to conduct more pilot intervi ews until the interviewer become able to create proper follow-up questions during the interview. Secondly, at the interview stage, interviewers skill was not ideal. Several errors might be included to some extent in this interview, such as recording error, instruction error, or leniency effect (Sarantakos 2005) which might cause students inconsistent statement. Finally, at the analysis stage, to understand more depth of Chinese students attitudes, an analysis of the detailed information and a coding of the data should be more sufficient at the interview stage (Newing in press; Pole and Lampard 2002). In this research, an analysis of the interview during data collection with annotations, memo, and coding was not sufficient for the in-depth analysis. In addition, the top codes used for the data sorting should be well-defined in the context of the answer. Even though the previous study used the same codes for an analysis of attitude survey, the coding followed previous survey might be subjective rather than objective. In conclusion, returning to the aim posed at the beginning of this paper, it is now possible to state that ten Chinese students at University of Kent generally have favourable attitudes towards the giant panda. Although the symbolic value as the symbol of China plays the key role in the students attitudes, it should be noted that the factors behind their answers are more various and complicated than the previous study described. Literature Cited Goedeke, T.L. 2004. In the eye of the beholder: Changing social perceptions of the Florida manatee. Society Animals 12: 99-116. IUCN (The International Union for Conservation and Nature and Natural Resources). 2009. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species Ailuropoda melanoleuca. Available from: http://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/712/0/full [Accessed: 28th November 2009]. Kellert, S.R. 1996. The value of life: Biological diversity and human society. Island Press, Washington, DC. Kontoleon, A. and T. Swanson. 2003. The willingness to pay for property rights for the giant panda: Can a charismatic species be an instrument for Nature Conservation? Land Economics 79: 483-499. Lorimer, J. 2007. Nonhuman charisma. Environment and Planning D: Society and Space 25: 911-932. Newing, H. In press. Conducting Research in Conservation: A Social Science Perspective. Routledge, London. Pole, C. and R. Lampard. 2002. Practical Social Investigation: Qualitative and quantitative methods in Social Research. Parsonal Education, London. Reid, D. and J. Gong. 1999. Giant panda conservation action plan. Pages 241-254 in C. Servheen, S. Herrero and B. Peyton, editors. Bears. Status survey and conservation action plan. IUCN/SSC Bear and Polar Bear Specialist Groups, IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK. Robson, C. 2002. Real World Research: A Resource for Social Scientists and Practitioner-Researchers (Regional surveys of the world). 2nd edn, Blackwell Publishers, Oxford. Sarantakos, S. 2005. Social Research. 3rd edn, Palgrave Macmillan, New York. Yang, L. 2005. Biosocial reciprocity in environmental communication: A study of giant panda conservation communication in China. MSc thesis, Texas AM University, US.

Saturday, October 12, 2019

Reviewing English in the 21st Century :: essays research papers

Reviewing English in the 21st Century Edited by Wayne Sawyer & Eva Gold Designed for teachers of English, Reviewing English in the 21st Century provides an overview of changes in English teaching in Australia over the last six decades, and the theories behind such changes. This edition also explains current popular theories for teaching English, and suggests methods for implementing them in the classroom. The first section of the book, ‘Reviewing’, relates how new models of English teaching, such as the cultural heritage, skills, personal growth and cultural studies models, have been influenced by developments in learning theories. The second section of the book, ‘Developing and Contextualising†, is concerned with providing effective pedagogies for English teachers in many areas, including ESL students, indigenous students and students with learning difficulties. The final section of the book, ‘Applying’, provides practical applications and student activity suggestions for teaching English, such as methods in drama, media, novels, poetry, visual representations and information technologies. This book focuses on the student as an active participant in their learning, and advocates a student-centred curriculum. By placing value on what the student brings to the classroom, awareness is raised in areas such as youth culture, media and oral practices in English. The significance of traditional English texts is not undermined, however they may be more harshly judged in terms of their relevance to the students (Doecke & McClenaghan, 2004, p. 54). Another strength of the book is the broad spectrum of areas and activities presented for consideration. The syllabus outcomes of reading, writing, speaking, listening, viewing, representing, thinking and communicating are all addressed, within the differing texts of fiction, poetry, film, non-fiction, drama, media and multimedia. Also, an important structural feature of this book is the accessibility of teaching ideas: all suggestions for classroom applications are highlighted by an indented margin, making them easy to identify from t he theory. One weakness of the book is that it can lend itself to being slightly political. For example, after reviewing the popular models of English teaching, the suggested model is justified by presenting a certain aspect of Government funding, which, when all factors in the wider context are considered, ceases to be an issue (Thompson, 2004, p. 21). Both teachers and student teachers will benefit from reading this book. Besides providing many teaching strategies, lists of books suitable for particular stages of the syllabus are included (Tucker, 2004, pp. 210 – 214), as well as some useful web resources (Sawyer & Watson, 2004, p.

Friday, October 11, 2019

Barriers in Classrom Communication Essay

1. Listening Barriers * Effective listening is one of the most important factors in classroom communication. Take the time to listen to what the other person is saying. When someone is speaking, you should not be thinking of your next response. Negative emotions may occur when certain words or body language is used. A teacher must also take care to keep emotional reactions to a minimum and focus on what the speaker is saying. Outside noise such as telephones, email or construction noise can sometimes make listening difficult. This outside noise should be minimized in the classroom. Perception Barriers * Perception may be a barrier to effective communication in the classroom. Different people may receive and hear the same message but interpret it differently. Paying attention to detail is also important. Important aspects can be missed by not covering a subject in depth. A teacher should also learn to focus on both positive and negative aspects of a conversation. By having a distorted focus, a teacher may only focus on the negative aspects of a conversation. * Sponsored Links * Communication Define a clear and efficient media strategy with Capgemini Consulting www.capgemini-consulting.com Oral Barriers * Communication barriers in the classroom may exist if oral communication is not clear. Communication only occurs when the listener hears and understands your message in the way you meant for it to be received. Some problems in oral communications include using words with ambiguous meanings. The teacher must make sure the students clearly understand the meanings of words. Another problem in oral communications is using generalizations and stereotypes. Classroom communication should be specific to the topic and without bias. A teacher must also take caution not to make a premature conclusion before she has all the facts about a topic or situation. Finally, a teacher must overcome any lack of self-confidence and deliver the message with assertiveness and clarity. Cultural Barriers * Cultural differences can be a barrier to effective communications in the classroom. It is possible for both a teacher and a student to have predisposed ideas about behavior based on what the other person’s culture is. Messages are often misunderstood if they are delivered in a way that is unfamiliar to the student’s culture. It is important to dispel assumptions or biases based on cultural differences in a classroom . Sponsored Links Read more: Barriers to Effective Communication in the Classroom | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/list_7350208_barriers-effective-communication-classroom.html#ixzz2JLH5z6cY

Thursday, October 10, 2019

Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic Essay

Alison Bechdel’s â€Å"Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic† is an exciting autobiography with comics that bring her story to life. Alison Bechdel wrote this book about her childhood, the relationship she had with her father and one of the many things they shared in common, their sexuality. In addition to their common homosexuality, Alison and Bruce Bechdel share o b sessive compulsive tendencies and their artistic ways, even using her artistic language to describe the father daughter relationship they had, â€Å"I was Spartan to my father’s Athenian. Modern to his Victorian. Butch to his nelly. Utilitarian to his aesthete.† This opposition was a source of tension in their relationship, as both tried to express their dissatisfaction with their given gender roles: â€Å"Not only were we inverts, we were inversions of each other. While I was trying to compensate for something unmanly in him, he was attempting to express something feminine through me. It was a war of cross-purposes, and so doomed to perpetual escalation.† At the center of where it all begins at â€Å"Fun Home,† Alison helps us envision her desperate need to make a connection with her father, Bruce Allen Bechdel. Father and daughter are playing a game of â€Å"airplane† that ends almost as soon as it begins because of her fathers obsession with keeping his old Victorian house he personally restored clean and what he seems to always want kept in perfect condition. Bruce â€Å"could spin garbage into gold† and â€Å"cultivate the barren yard into a lush flowering landscape.† â€Å"He treated his furniture like children, and his children like furniture.† Alison makes it clear by telling her story and drawings that he was so emotionally distant, that even before his death, she â€Å"ached as if he were already gone.† Before Bruce’s death, he and his daughter have a conversation in which Bruce confesses some of his sexual history; this is presented as a partial resolution to the conflict between father and daughter. Alison along with the rest of her siblings didn’t have the typical dramatic and sad reaction other people would express if there own father passed. Instead she describes it as â€Å"Dry-eyed and sheepish, my brothers and I looked for as long as we sensed it was appropriate. If only they made smelling salts to induce grief-stricken swoons, rather than snap you out of them.† Although Bruce’s death was assumed to be an accident, it was also a tragedy that started a long time before his life had even began which is why many readers, or even Alison suspect suicide because of the evidence Bechdel reveals to the reader. Four moths prior to his death, she came out to her parents that she was in fact a lesbian, she writes, â€Å"If I had not felt compelled to share my little sexual secret, perhaps the semi would have passed without incident.† This statement shows a hidden connection between father and daughter before the actual relationship beings. Her mother also shared the news while Alison was away at college about her husband’s affairs with men and interest in young boys, for example â€Å"more promising high school students.† – the muscular, male ones, it seems – to visit his home to borrow copies of great American novels like â€Å"The Sun Also Rises† and â€Å"The Great Gatsby.† Last but not least, two weeks before his passing, his wife asked for a divorce. Although these series of events that led up to Bruce’s death may seem very tragic, it allowed Alison to tell not just a story about herself but her fathers struggle to let his secret out as well. One of the most important key points in Alison Bechdel’s memoir is the connection both her and Bruce shared was expressing their sexuality through literature which plays a important role in Alison’s self discovery. She writes â€Å"My realization at 19 that I was a lesbian came about in a manner consistent with my bookish upbringing,† Alison chose to accept the fact and not hide from the issue, taking a female partner and going to â€Å"gay union† meetings, she was open about her sexuality before she’d even been in a homosexual relationship. Her  father, on the other hand, had had countless affairs with men but wasn’t open about it â€Å". This may be due to him being afraid of coming out, as the images show â€Å"the fear in his eyes† when the conversation topic almost ends up being about homosexuality. Alison Bechdel introduces her readers to many copied by hand family photographs, letters, local maps and excerpts from her own childhood journal, incorporating these images into her narrative. Since the reader is directly responsible for interpreting â€Å"action† in a comic, he or she is more directly engaged on a far more personal level. Fun Home is one such example of a graphic novel making use of comics as a means of opening a discourse about the scars family members leave on their children and finding some form of connections and closure through sharing these stories with others. This novel really shows how comics are moving in new directions and demonstrates a willingness to engage readers in new and challenging ways. Each image seems to give a very specific emotion that is carried throughout her story and the pictures contain elements of beauty, longing, memories, and hope. The bittersweet relationship of parent and child is held again and again in â€Å"Fun Home.† The memoir ends with two images that portray the bad times and the good. The top half of the final page shows the truck about to strike; the bottom half shows daughter, in jumping into a pool, waiting to be caught in her father’s arms. The bonding of the two images is compelling and striking. They also offer reader and author a choice appreciate what was had or continue to yearn. In completing â€Å"Fun Home† Alison Bechdel may have finally ended her longing.

Fair Value Case

Case 11-2(b) Fair Value Disclosures Case 11-2(b) is an extension of Case 11-2(a). For this case, assume that the Case 11-2(a) facts remain, with the exception of the additional assumptions listed below for each security. As stated in Case 11-2(a), Family Finance Co. (FFC) accounts for its investments at fair value, with changes in fair value reflected either in earnings (for trading securities) or other comprehensive income (OCI) (for available-for-sale (AFS) securities). Because FFC uses the interest rate swap in a cash-flow hedge, FFC measures the derivative at fair value, presenting the portion of the fair value change that effectively offsets cash flow variability on its corporate debt in OCI and the remainder in earnings. Additional facts related to specific securities and derivatives owned by FFC are described below. Also refer to the data table at the end of this section for the fair value amounts for each instrument needed to complete the case. S tudents should assume that al l amounts discussed below and those included in the data tables are U.S. dollars in thousands. Instrument 1 — Collateralized Debt Obligation †¢ FFC classifies its collateralized debt obligation (CDO) within Level 3 of the ASC 820, Fair Value Measurement, fair value hierarchy as of December 31, 2012. †¢ FFC identified October 1, 2012, as the date on which the CDO’s fair value measurement changed in classification from Level 2 to Level 3. †¢ FFC determined the broker quotes were not significant to the fair value measurement in its entirety because those quotes resulted in a management adjustment to the income-approach discount rate of just 1 percent.On the basis of sensitivity analysis performed by adjusting the discount rate, management determined percentage changes of 2 percent result in a significantly higher or lower fair value. Further, management performed a qualitative assessment of the significance of these inputs to its fair value measurement and concluded that it did not place much weight on these measurements because they were based on proprietary models using unobservable inputs.That is, management could not, without unreasonable effort, conclude with sufficient assurance whether the quotes were prepared in accordance with ASC 820 and reflected current market conditions and market participant assumptions. †¢ FFC accounts for the CDO as a trading security. 1 Note that as discussed in Case 11-2(a), Instrument 4 is an equity security that does not have a readily determinable fair value and thus is not within the scope of ASC 320, Investments — Debt and Equity Securities.However, FFC has elected the fair value option for the security in accordance with ASC 82510, Financial Instruments: Overall, and thus accounts for the investment at fair value with changes in fair value recorded through earnings. C opyright 2009 Deloitte Development LLC All Rights Reserved. Case 11-2(b): Fair Value Disc losures Page 2 Instrument 2 — Mortgage-Backed Security †¢ FFC classifies its mortgage-backed security (MBS) within Level 2 of the fair value hierarchy as of December 31, 2012. †¢ FFC accounts for the MBS as a trading security. Instrument 3 — Auction-Rate Security †¢FFC classifies its auction-rate securities (ARSs) within Level 3 of the fair value hierarchy as of December 31, 2012. †¢ FFC identified November 1, 2012, as the date on which the fair value measurement of the ARSs changed in classification from Level 2 to Level 3. †¢ FFC accounts for the ARSs as AFS securities. Instrument 4 — Equity Security of a Nonpublic Company †¢ FFC classifies its investment in Company X within Level 3 of the fair value hierarchy during 2012. †¢ FFC sold the equity security in October 2012 for $120. Instrument 5 — Interest Rate Swap †¢ The interest rate (IR) swap is part of a portfolio of IR swaps.FFC individually assessed the IR swaps and classified them wit hin Level 2 of the fair value hierarchy as of December 31, 2012. †¢ FFC does not measure its corporate debt at fair value with changes in fair value reported in earnings. †¢ FFC executes IR swaps with various counterparties and accounts for its IR swap assets and liabilities on a gross basis on its balance sheet. Instrument 6 — Fuel Swap — Gasoline †¢ FFC classifies its fuel swap within Level 3 of the fair value hierarchy as of December 31, 2012. †¢ The fuel swap was the only derivative in FFC’s commodity derivatives portfolio. †¢The fuel swap’s fair value at initial recognition (January 2, 2012) was $0. Furthermore, each of the four annual swaplets 2 had an inception value of $0. 2 A s waplet is akin to a swap with a single settlement. For example, an IR swap with a duration of two years that re-prices and settles every quarter can also be viewed as a sequential series of eight swaplets at inception (each swaplet is net settled a s of the settlement date specified in the swap contract). The fair value measurement of an IR swap considers the expected cash flows of all unsettled swaplets as of the measurement date.C opyright 2009 Deloitte Development LLC All Rights Reserved. Case 11-2(b): Fair Value Disc losures †¢ Page 3 The first annual swaplet settled on December 31, 2012, resulting in a net cash payment to FFC of $100. Required: †¢ Using the case facts and the fair value amounts provided in the fair value data table below, prepare the annual quantitative disclosure tables required by ASC 820 as of December 31, 2012, for each of the six instruments: o For fair value measurements as of the reporting date (i. e. , December 31, 2012) separately for each class of assets and liabilities.Use blank table formats 1a and 1b below to complete the required quantitative disclosures. (Note that participants are also required to identify the classes of assets and liabilities to include in Tables 1a and 1b. ) o For assets and liabilities measured at fair value by means of significant unobservable inputs on a recurring basis, a reconciliation of the beginning and ending balances (i. e. , annual table) separately for each class of assets and liabilities, including where the gains or losses included in earnings are reported in the income statement.Use blank table format 2 below to complete the required quantitative disclosures. (Note that participants are also required to identify the classes of assets and liabilities to include in Table 2. ) o For certain assets and liabilities measured at fair value, (1) the amount of the total gains or losses for the period included in earnings that are attributable to the change in unrealized gains or losses relating to those assets and liabilities still held as of the reporting date (i. e. , December 31, 2012) and (2) a description of where those unrealized gains or losses are reported in the income statement.Use blank table format 2 below to complete th e required quantitative disclosures. o For assets and liabilities measured at fair value by means of significant unobservable inputs, quantitative information about the significant unobservable inputs used in the fair value measurement. Use blank table format 3 below to complete the required quantitative disclosures. (Note that participants are also required to identify the classes of assets and liabilities to include in Table 3. ) †¢ Identify any qualitative disclosures required under ASC 820 for each of the six instruments as of December 31, 2012.C opyright 2009 Deloitte Development LLC All Rights Reserved. Data Tables Fair Value Data Table (U. S. dollar amounts in thousands) I nstrument 1. CDO 2. MBS 3. ARS 4. Equity security of nonpublic company (PEI) 5. IR s wap (asset) 5a. IR swap portfolio — gross asset values 5b. IR swap portfolio — gross liability values 5c. IR swap portfolio — net assets by counterparty 5d. IR swap portfolio — net liability by counterparty 6. Fuel swap Beginning Balance — 1/1/2012 N/A N/A 75 90 N/A 200 (125) 105 (30) N/A Purchase Value / Date 50 / 6/1/12 85 / 9/1/12 N/A N/A 0 / 1/2/2012 Various Various VariousVarious 0 / 1/2/2012 Fair Value at Transfer Date 40 N/A 55 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A Ending Balance — 12/31/2012 25 75 50 0 40 140 (100) 60 (20) 375 I ncome Statement Line I tem Trading revenues Trading revenues Other revenues Other revenues Trading revenues Trading revenues Trading revenues Trading revenues Trading revenues Trading revenues PEI = private equity investments. I nstrument 5 — IR Swap Portfolio (Support for Break-up by Counterparty to Compute Gross Values) Beginning Balance Asset Liability Net Ending balance Asset Liability Net Total A-1 200 –125 75 20 –30 –10 140 –100 40 0 –15 25 Counterparties A-2 B-1 40 20 –25 –40 15 –20 50 –15 35 30 –50 –20 B-2 120 –30 90 20 –20 0 C opyright 2009 Deloitte Development LLC All Rights Reserved. Case 11-2(b): Fair Value Disc losures Page 2 Fuel Swap Data Table Pay Fixed, Receive Float (Fuel Swap) Four-year swap settles annually, executed 1/1/12, matures 12/31/15; Inception transaction price = zero (at-market swap), each of the four annual s waplets had an inception fair value = zero Cash Flow From Settlements Occurring at End of Fair Value by Period by Swaplet Swaplet Fair Value Quarter Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 TotalFair value — Year 1 (1/2/12 — beginning of period) 0 0 0 0 0 N/A — Fair value — Year 1 (12/31/12 — end of period) s ettled 120 125 130 375 Y1 100 Unobservable Inputs Data Table Collateralized Debt Obligation Credit spread Discount for lack of marketability 2% 5% Aucton-Rate Security Estimate of future coupon rates Constant prepayment rate Credit spread Discount for lack of marketability 4. 30% 4. 00% 2. 00% 15% Aucton-Rate Security U. S. unleaded gasoline forward pr ice curve (per gallon) CVA $2. 00 – $4. 00 4. 00% C opyright 2009 Deloitte Development LLC All Rights Reserved. Format for Table 1a:Table 1a Description / Classes [For Assets] Fair Value Measurements as of Reporting Date Determined by Quoted Prices in Active S ignificant Other S ignificant M arkets for Identical Assets Observable Inputs Unobservable Inputs (Level 1) (Level 2) (Level 3) [CLASSES TO BE DETERMINED BY PARTICIPANTS] T otal assets -– – – – – Format for Table 1b: Table 1b Description / Classes [For Liabilities] Fair Value Measurements as of Reporting Date Determined by Quoted Prices in Active S ignificant Other S ignificant M arkets for Identical Assets Observable Inputs Unobservable Inputs (Level 1) Level 2) (Level 3) [CLASSES TO BE DETERMINED BY PARTICIPANTS] T otal liabilities Format for Table 2: Level 3 Recurring Fair Value Measurement Disclosure Trading CDO AFS ARS PEI Retail Derivatives Commodities Beginning balance Total gai ns or losses (realized/unrealized): Included in earnings (or changes in net assets) Included in other comprehensive income Purchases Issues Sales Settlements Transfers into Level 3 Transfers out of Level 3 Ending balance The amount of total gains or losses for the period included in earnings (or changes in net assets) attributable to the hange in unrealized gains or losses relating to assets still held as of the reporting date Realized Total C opyright 2009 Deloitte Development LLC All Rights Reserved. Case 11-2(b): Fair Value Disc losures Page 2 Format for Table 3: Level 3 Fair Value Measurements – Quantitative Information About Significant Unobservable Inputs I nvestment Fair Value at 12/31/12 Valuation Technique Unobservable Input Value Instrument 1 Fair Value Technique Input 1 Input 2 Amount, range, etc. Amount, range, etc. Instrument 2 Fair Value Technique Input 1 Amount, range, etc. C opyright 2009 Deloitte Development LLC All Rights Reserved.