The Demand And Supply Chain Network Design - 2180 Words

Introduction Due to the shift from high-end devices to commodities in PC industry, the market competition grows significantly. Thus, cost factors such as, material devaluation, scrap, write-off, price protection and discounts are changing from insignificant roles to high importance factors. In order to achieve company’s profitability in the highly competitiveness PC industry, Hewlett-Packard (HP) carried out inventory-Driven Cost (IDC) metric to help them match the demand and supply, and create value in the supply chain. IDC robustness analysis Measure design template Performance measure record sheet is used to analyse the constitution of IDC and to prove that whether IDC is clearly defined (Neely et al., 1997). The analysis is shown in table 2.1. Table 2.1 Measure Inventory-driven cost (IDC) Purpose Matching demand and supply, and to track process on improving the company’s bottom line. Related to Inventory management, manufacturing management supply chain network design Target Restore company’s profitability Formula Material devaluation (cost caused by raw material supply and parts inventory) Price protection (cost caused by changing value of the inventory held by HP’s channel partners) Excess/ obsolescence costs (including cost of inventory adjustments, end-of-life write-offs, scrap, material obsolescence and obsolete product rebate programs) Frequency Monthly Who measure Finance department Source of data Operational processes Who act on the data OperationalShow MoreRelatedSupply Chain Management Of United Parcel Services1588 Words   |  7 Pages Title Page: Supply Chain Management of United Parcel Services (UPS) Individual Research Paper Written in Fulfillment of Activity 8.5 Course Requirements for LGMT 683 October 2014 Term Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University – Worldwide December 12, 2014 By Minina Johnson â€Æ' Abstract This research paper is written to explain the importance of globalization and supply chain management of the United Parcel Service (UPS). In this document, the reader will obtain the history and development of UPS asRead MoreReport Of The Key Points From The Article Food Demand992 Words   |  4 PagesSummary of the Key Points from the Article Food demand has been grown which creates a challenge to food availability and access. Food production must expand to balance supply with growing demand, and food has to move efficiently from production to consumption site. Importantly, demand for locally-grown food in the United States has also increased sharply which makes the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) implement regional and local food systems for working with farmers, wholesalers, shippersRead MoreSingle Objective Closed Loop Supply Chain Model1724 Words   |  7 PagesSingle Objective Closed-loop Supply Chain Model Jayaraman et al. (1999) developed a 0-1 MIP model to design the closed-loop supply chain of an electronic equipment remanufacturing company in the US. The supply chain includes collection of end-of-life products (core) from customers, remanufacturing and distribution of remanufactured products. In this setting, the optimal number and locations of remanufacturing plants and the number of cores collected are determined based on investment, transportationRead MoreThe Biofuel And Biomass Industry1540 Words   |  7 Pagescontinuous development of supply chain network for biofuel energy. The main aim is to determine the optimal model of supply chain for the biofuel industry, operations of biofuel supply chain, and also design a reliable supply chain network for the biofuel and biomass industries. Multiple papers have been discussed in considering various challenges present in the biofuel production market. The key objective of the paper is to maximize the profit, study the changes in dem and, calculate the efficiencyRead MoreProblem Formulation And Scope Of Supply Chain Systems1317 Words   |  6 Pagesdescribe and predict the behaviour of complex reverse supply chain systems, it is often necessary to use elaborate mathematical modelling. In the same manner, identification of the optimum operating conditions that will ensure improved supply chain performance usually renders the use of an optimisation technique essential. For the last decade, a variety of modelling research activities have been carried out to address the complex reverse supply chain optimisation problems. However, most of the researchRead MoreQuestions On Supply Chain Flexibility871 Words   |  4 PagesVickery et al. [43, p. 16] define supply chain flexibility as encompassing those flexibility dimensions that directly impact firms’ customers and that are the shared responsibility of two or more functions along the supply chain, whether internal or external to the company. (40). The 5 types of flexibility that are present in a customer focused supply chain. The dimensions includes: product flexibility, volume flexibility, Launch flexibility, access flexibility, Responsiveness to target markets.Read MoreDecision Phase of Supplychain987 Words   |  4 Pagessuccessful supply chain? Three design phases are: †¢ Supply Chain Strategy and Design. †¢ Supply Chain Planning. †¢ Supply Chain Operation. †¢ Supply Chain Strategy and Design –. During this phase, a company decides how to structure the supply chain over the next several years. Involves the allocation of resources and what processes will be undertaken. †¢ Supply Chain Planning – For decision made during this phase, the time frame considered is a quarter to a year. Look at things like demand forecastingRead MoreCase Study : Supply Chain Management1028 Words   |  5 PagesSUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT IN RETIAL INDUSTRY: CONCEPTS, STRATEGIES AND WALMART CASE STUDY Mian Wang CID: 01090728 Imperial College Business School, MSc Management ABSTRACT With the rapid increase of operation cost and fast development of E-commence in today’s retail industry, traditional operation management models are antiquated. Companies attempt to enhance competitive capacity through management innovation, and an increasing amount of attention is paid to their supply chain management forRead MoreDecision Phases in Supply Chain1111 Words   |  5 PagesDecision phases in supply chain Successful supply chain management requires much decision to the flow of information, product and funds. 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Wade and Tavris Free Essays

Two of the renowned authors in the field of psychology Carole wade and Carol Tavris have been vocal in delivering psychology books which are famed for their critical thinking ideals. The topic of motivation has been high on their agenda and the two authors borrow heavily from Abraham Maslow who was a humanist psychologist. Most of Abrahams work involved ideals such as â€Å"self actualization and human potential†. We will write a custom essay sample on Wade and Tavris or any similar topic only for you Order Now Most of his work revolved around the concept of gaining fulfillment and attempting to get it by rising through various levels of needs. This as Abraham came to describe is the â€Å"hierarchy of needs† which is a pyramid. Abraham described it as one that provided â€Å"motivational strivings† for people to achieve its various stages. Maslow proposed a number of levels that make up the pyramid (Abraham, 1999). The bottom level contains basic needs; the second level contains security needs, with affection and belonging being in the third level. The fourth level contains self respect and self esteem needs while the last and fifth level is the self actualization (Wade and Tavris, 1998). Maslow emphasized the needs to fulfill the basic needs to some certain degrees before the other stages in the pyramid can be attained. Wade and Travis describe motivation as â€Å"an inferred process within a person or animal that causes movement either toward a goal or away from an unpleasant situation†. The authors argue that a competent animal will obviously have motives to achieve. Thus people will generally have the tendency of going through the various stages in the hierarchy of needs and thus possess goals and aspirations. The two individuals assert their positions that goals will have the effect of improving motivation but they have to be pegged on certain conditions. The two argue that in order for the goals to improve motivation then some of the characteristics that they have to posses is that they should be specific, challengeable but achievable and framed in such a way that what is being wanted supersedes what is unwanted. Wade and Tavris go further to describe types of goals which are performance and mastery (learning) goals. The two describe performance goals as those that are framed in such a way that an individual has enhanced performance in front of others and thus is judged favorably with little or no criticism being directed in his direction. Masterly (learning goals) on the other hand are framed in such a way that the individual works towards increasing his competence and skills. With these the two authors suggest that an individual’s main motivation will be to perform well in front of others or learning the skill for the satisfaction of it. The two renowned personalities tend to argue that praise may not be a motivation and they show this by giving an example of how a child may loose the pleasure or motivation of learning if the child is being praised for being smart. Motivation is regarded as one of the powerful tools that has the capability of enhancing performance and when the right form of motivation is found then the individual will achieve higher. Self efficacy which is an individuals belief that he they are capable of attaining goals, being efficient and learning new skills is one of the best motivations that an individual can have (Bandura, 1997). However the motivation will only work when the goals that are desired are achievable and thus the expectation that is pegged to the motivation should coincide with the attainability of the goal. How to cite Wade and Tavris, Papers

Can The Arts Influence Change In Society Essay Example For Students

Can The Arts Influence Change In Society Essay Our society today is a visual one that is inevitably influenced by the by the arts: painting, prints, photography, movies, television, and literature. Artists have used their medium as a way to influence peoples opinions throughout history, for both noble and corrupt purposes. In doing so, the aim of the artist is to convey the facts of an issue and influence peoples opinions to either garner support or disapproval for a particular cause. In recent years the arts have become increasingly politicized, especially in cinema. So, for the purpose of this paper, I will focus mainly on that medium. Take for example the movie Syriana, an Academy Award winning geopolitical thriller. Syriana, adapted from former CIA agent Robert Baers memoir, See No Evil, focuses on the vast influence of the oil industrys political, economic, legal, and social effects, such as corruption, poverty, and terrorism. Ultimately, the film tries to illustrate the United States dependence on foreign oil and the ill effects of multinational corporations manipulating global politics for their own profit. Michael Moores 2003 Academy Award Winning movie, Bowling for Columbine, is another example of a movie influencing society. In the movie Moore tries to explore the reasons and causes for the Columbine High School massacre, other acts of gun violence, and why the United States has higher rates of violent crimes than other developed nation in the world. The movie focuses on the background and environment in which the massacre took place, and some common public opinions and assumptions regarding gun violence. The film uses an informal, artistic look into the nature of gun violence in the United States, focusing on guns as the controversial symbol of American freedom and its possible paradoxical self-destruction. Although highly controversial, due to the exposure in Bowling for Columbine, K-Mart, where the two boys responsible for the Columbine High School massacre purchased their ammunition, announced it would stop selling ammunition in its stores. Another movie that had a powerful effect in society is Morgan Spurlocks 2004 film, Super Size Me. The film follows a period in which Spurlock eats only McDonalds fast food, three times a day, every day, for thirty days, eating everything on the McDonalds menu at least once. Super Size Me documents the physical effects the food has on him. In addition, Spurlock explores the corporate influence of the fast food industry and how it encourages poor nutrition for its own profit. Spurlock, age 33 at the time of filming, was healthy and slim, at 6 feet 2 inches with a body mass of 186 lbs. In three separate medical examinations before he starts his McDonalds diet, three different doctors give him a clean bill of health. After thirty days, he has gained 24 lb, an increase of 13% of his body mass. He has also experienced headaches, sexual dysfunction, lethargy and liver damage. It took several months to lose the weight he gained and return to normal health. The driving factor for Spurlocks investigation was the increasing spread of obesity throughout our society, which the U. S. Surgeon General has declared an epidemic. Subsequent to the showing of the film at the Sundance Film Festival, where it won best documentary, McDonalds phased out its super size meal option, and began offering healthier menu items in addition to its customary fare, although McDonalds denied that this was in reaction to the movie. Literature has also played an important roll in influencing society. Two books worth mentioning are Ralph Naders 1965 book, Unsafe at Any Speed, detailing claims of resistance by car manufacturers to the introduction of safety features, like seat belts, and their general reluctance to spend money on improving safety. The other is Rachel Carsons 1962 book, Silent Spring, which alleged that DDT caused cancer and harmed bird reproduction by thinning their eggshells. .u09cf4ca5f5453d4dcab98ac9bf14aa7f , .u09cf4ca5f5453d4dcab98ac9bf14aa7f .postImageUrl , .u09cf4ca5f5453d4dcab98ac9bf14aa7f .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u09cf4ca5f5453d4dcab98ac9bf14aa7f , .u09cf4ca5f5453d4dcab98ac9bf14aa7f:hover , .u09cf4ca5f5453d4dcab98ac9bf14aa7f:visited , .u09cf4ca5f5453d4dcab98ac9bf14aa7f:active { border:0!important; } .u09cf4ca5f5453d4dcab98ac9bf14aa7f .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u09cf4ca5f5453d4dcab98ac9bf14aa7f { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u09cf4ca5f5453d4dcab98ac9bf14aa7f:active , .u09cf4ca5f5453d4dcab98ac9bf14aa7f:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u09cf4ca5f5453d4dcab98ac9bf14aa7f .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u09cf4ca5f5453d4dcab98ac9bf14aa7f .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u09cf4ca5f5453d4dcab98ac9bf14aa7f .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u09cf4ca5f5453d4dcab98ac9bf14aa7f .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u09cf4ca5f5453d4dcab98ac9bf14aa7f:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u09cf4ca5f5453d4dcab98ac9bf14aa7f .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u09cf4ca5f5453d4dcab98ac9bf14aa7f .u09cf4ca5f5453d4dcab98ac9bf14aa7f-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u09cf4ca5f5453d4dcab98ac9bf14aa7f:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: CDA Assignments EssayThe book resulted in a large public outcry, which eventually led to the insecticide being banned for use in the United States, and was one of the events in the birth of the environmental movement. There are countless other examples of the arts influencing society and leading to change throughout history and in contemporary times. Whether its dealing with discrimination, social justice, poverty, protecting the environment, public safety, corruption, etc. , the arts can be a powerful tool for change in the world.

Sitting Bull Essay Example

Sitting Bull Paper If we live to the biblical life-span of three score years and ten, then the vast majority of our life-cycle will be spent in adulthood an area about which little was known in terms of psychological theory and research until fairly recently. Indeed Levinson et al (1978) go so far as to describe adulthood as one of the best-kept secrets in our society and probably in human history, generally . Can it be possible that by applying the psychological perspective of a theory of lives to an adults passage through life that we could gain a better understanding of an individuals life structure or as Levinson (1978) describes the concept the underlying pattern or design of a persons life at a given time (quoted in Sugarman p. 103)? In an effort to answer this question, I have chosen to examine the life of possibly one of the best known Native American Chiefs namely Sitting Bull (Tatanka-Iyotanka) of the Hunkpapa Sioux. I chose to read 2 biographies on Sitting Bull and although both are on the same person, the authors use different approaches to provide insights into the mans character. The main theories of lives which I chose to apply in this assignment were those of Erikson, (with particular reference to his development of ego strengths) and Maslow, since I felt that they were likely to be more relevant, given Sitting Bulls cultural background, then a more modern theory such as Levinsons. We will write a custom essay sample on Sitting Bull specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Sitting Bull specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Sitting Bull specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Also, much of Eriksons research was done amongst the Sioux Indians while if we were to look at the fifteen characteristic traits of self-actualising people as identified by Maslow (quoted in Sugarman, pp. 31-34), then it could certainly be suggested that Sitting Bull was operating successfully at some, if not indeed all, of these levels. Stanley Vestals biography Sitting Bull Champion of the Sioux (3rd ed. 1989) approached the character of Sitting Bull by way of the literary method after spending 5 years gathering information for the original edition of the book in 1932. Vestal spent much of his youth living in Indian Territory, playing games with Cheyenne and Arapaho boys and consequently developing what would seem to be an abiding interest in their culture. Upon deciding to write a biography on Sitting Bull after the first World War, he returned to Sioux country where there were still tribal members living who had experienced Indian life firsthand along with some who had known Sitting Bull personally. It is worth mentioning here that only those who actually knew the Sioux and could merit their confidence were able to secure factual data so perhaps a strong point in Vestals favour, at least from my personal point of view, was the realisation that he had obviously gained enough of the Siouxs confidence to be adopted, as a son, in 1929 by One Bull, a nephew of Sitting Bull; who along with another nephew, White Bull (supposedly the Indian who actually killed Custer at Little Big Horn) provided their support and co-operation to enable their uncles life story to be printed. Indeed for more than half a century, Vestals work dominated book-shelves as the standard biography of Sitting Bull, a fact acknowledged by Robert Utley in my other chosen reading The Lance and the Shield: The Life and Times of Sitting Bull (1998) which builds the character of Sitting Bull by historical method; although he does admit that sources he used provided him with enough persuasive evidence to corroborate the essence of the image recalled for Vestal by White Bull, One Bull and the other Indians of the 1920s The problem which Utley seems to suffer from is similar to the one which I also faced when attempting to apply the relevance of a theory of lives to Sitting Bulls life-history in that it is difficult to look at him in terms of his cultural norms and not mine, although there are occasions when it has been possible to use what little knowledge I have learned about his culture to perhaps better understand his motivations or at least not pass judgement on him through my lack of understanding. Sitting Bull was born in March 1831 at Many-Caches on the south bank of Grand River, South Dakota. As a child he was nicknamed Slow, seemingly because even as a child, he did not instantly put food from his hand to his mouth (as is the habit of most babies) but instead held the food in his hand, constantly turning it over and looking at it before deciding to eat it although once he accepted it, however, he never let go (Vestal, p. 3), and as we will discover this tenacity was a characteristic which he maintained right up to the day that he died. Even as a child, Sitting Bull was proud of his nation and longed for the time when he could share the brave adventures of the warriors. We need to understand here that to the Sioux prestige, especially won on the warpath was an all important dream so it seems small wonder that at the age of 14, Sitting Bull was so eager to prove to the Sioux that he was a man that he followed his father and other warriors on a raid against the Crow where he successfully achieved the goal of every Indian warrior namely counting coup, i. e.touching or striking the enemy with the hand or with a coup-stick. Although our culture may find it difficult to comprehend, Indians regarded hand-to-hand combat as the only manly form of battle even after they had obtained long-range weapons because the prime object of Plains Indian warfare was not bloodshed or manslaughter of the enemy, but a way of distinguishing oneself. Consequently, counting coup was rated by the Indians as a more greater war honour than the mere killing of an enemy and indeed all their social privileges were dependent upon achieving as many coups as possible. Small wonder then that at age 14, Sitting Bull appeared to be particularly concerned with finding his own personal space in Sioux adult society. He certainly seems to have obtained formal operational thought as defined by Piaget in that he could think what others would think of him, because before riding off to join his father and the other warriors, he was able to conceive that had he informed his mother and his two sisters of his intentions then they would soon remind him that he was just a boy, only fourteen years old (Vestal, p. 8), and also of how upon catching up with the other warriors he felt the silent disapproval of these men (Vestal, p. 8). At this stage of his life, Sitting Bull might be seen as matching Eriksons 5th stage of psychosocial development, since he seems to have gained some understanding of the values and beliefs of his culture to which he felt he must show commitment and loyalty, thus he appears to have been successful in producing the ego strength of fidelity whereby the need is felt to be true to ourselves. Indeed, Erikson suggests that the achievement of a sense of self-identity can carry people through difficult times in their lives and provide them with a feeling of being at home in ones body, a sense of knowing where one is going and an inner assurance of anticipated recognition from those who count (Gross p. 633) It might also be suggested that even at the young age of 14, Sitting Bull seems to be motivated to address himself to the 4th level in Maslows hierarchy of needs self esteem, since he appears to be seeking a high level of self-respect and also respect from others which, when satisfied, leads as Maslow suggests to feelings of self-confidence, worth, strength, capability, and adequacy, of being useful and necessary in the world (Maslow, 1970, p.45 quoted in Sugarman, p. 31). Having achieved a sense of adult identity, Erikson suggests that the developmental task of early adulthood is to achieve the ego strength of love achieved through the establishment of intimacy the adaptive outcome of his 6th psychosocial stage. The maladaptive outcome of this stage is isolation, although it should be stressed here that Erikson does not see these adaptive/maladaptive personality outcomes as either/or alternatives, suggesting instead that every personality represents a mixture of both with healthy development involving the adaptive outweighing the maladaptive. With regard to Sitting Bulls exploits in early adulthood, it should be recognised that Sioux mores exalted female chastity a point seemingly observed by General Sully in his official statement that the females of the wild bands of Sioux, called the Teton Sioux, set an example of virtue worthy of being copied by any civilized nation (Vestal p. 24).

Frankenstein5 essays

Frankenstein5 essays Protagonist: The protagonist in the novel is Victor Frankenstein. He is the main character who contends with the conflict in the novel. His decision to create life provides a problem that he attempts to escape but eventually marks his death. Antagonist: The antagonist in the novel is also the protagonist, Victor Frankenstein. Victor may have directed all of his hate and blame towards the monster he created, but is worst enemy lay within himself and his refusal to accept responsibility for his actions. Conflict: The main conflict in the novel is based on the monster Victor Frankenstein created in his laboratory. He neglects his responsibility to the monster he created by ignoring its existence, and his cowardice leads to inner feelings of guilt and unhappiness that ultimately cause his life to unravel and the people he loves to perish. His refusal to be accountable for his action brings the misery and misfortune that constitute the foundation of the novel. Chronology: Robert Walton writes in his first letter to his sister Margaret Saville about his desire to explore the world. His second letter then tells about his preparations for a crew and more about how he desires to explore the unexplored. In this letter he also explains how he wishes he had a friend to share his life with. In his third letter, he tells how the voyage is underway and going well. His fourth letter tells how the ship became trapped between floating blocks of ice and, after being freed, the ship encounters and takes aboard a man who was stranded on floating ice. Walton tells how the man is in wretched condition and is very melancholy. He tells how he gradually befriends the man and, after talking for some time, the man agrees to tell Walton the story of his life and how he came to be where he is now. His name is told to be Victor Frankenstein. Walton, during the narration, takes notes in the form of a letter for Margaraet. Victor Frankenstei...

A Thousand Splendid Suns Narrative Strategies Essay Example for Free

A Thousand Splendid Suns Narrative Strategies Essay ? A Thousand Splendid Suns the reader would think it’s a happy novel, however there’s nothing particularly â€Å"splendid† one would assume about the novel. From the very beginning of the novel the author, Khaled Hosseini inserts hints and foreshadowing to aware the reader that it will be an unhappy story. This is evident in the following illustration when Mariam breaks the sugar bowl , â€Å"It was the last peice that slipped from Mariam’s fingers, that fell to the wooden floorboards of thekolba and shattered† (Hosseini 2). Hosseini is generating depressing emotions in the novel by introducing words † fell† or â€Å"shattered† resembling failure or sin. The reader also gets introduced to the word â€Å"Harami† and other words, such as â€Å"kolba† and â€Å"Jinn† which are terms not identified by the author, so the reader must rely on the context to better understand what the word means. For example, when Mariam expresses the fear that the â€Å"jinn† has returned to her mother, the reader will assume that jinn is something bad. The use of these terms establishes the setting , but also signifies that some things cannot be translated remaining a mystery for the reader. In the novel , Hosseini makes the reader live, see and feel by portraying the experiences the characters are going through in the novel, and by writing from a third person point of view , he broadens the readers ability because the perspective of the characters is limited, sometimes Mariam, sometimes Laila, which works to great effect to attach the reader to both characters equally. A Thousand Splendid Suns Narrative Strategies. (2018, Oct 28).

Bilston case study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Bilston case study - Essay Example . In addition, the company must characterized some of the costs as fixed costs. The fixed cost are electricity, general and administrative, rent, depreciation expense, interest expense, and other factory costs. The company must some fo the costs as fixed costs. The variable cost are labor cost, raw materials, and repairs (Abele 2008). II. The standard contribution marging includes the variable costs and the fixed costs elements. Table 1 shows that the contribution margin for the wood screws is .0117. This is arrived at by deducting the variable costs from the revenues. The variable costs are the labour cost, raw materials costs, and the repairs costs. Table 2 shows that the contribution margin for Self Taffers is 0.0251. This is arrived at by deducting the variable costs from the revenues. The variable costs are the labour cost, raw materials costs, and the repairs costs. Table 3 shows that the contribution margin for the wood screws is .0118. This is arrived at by deducting the vari able costs from the revenues. The variable costs are the labour cost, raw materials costs, and the repairs costs. Display of the company’s Profit and loss account for 2009 in contribution format. Table 4 shows that company’s profits and loss account for 2009 for its wood screws products. The company generated profit of 295 for the said year. Table 5 shows the revenues of its self taffers products for the year 2009. Table 6 shows the company’s Nuts and Bolts division’s profits and loss account for 2009 for its wood screws products. The company generated a loss of (219) for the said year. Table 6 shows the revenues of its self taffers products for the year 2009. The above discussions show that the company did not fare well in the two remaining product lines. On the other hand, the company did well in one of the three products scrutinized (Besley, 2008). III. Discussion of the company’s proposal to drop one of its failing products. Starting in January 2010 (based on 2009 figures). The company should not drop the nuts and bolts in January 2010 if the basis for the dropping is the 2009 annual income statement result. Continuing with production of the nuts and bolts generates a lesser loss of only 219.00 However, dropping the nuts and bolts section of the company’s production department would force the company to continue paying the fixed expenses. The fixed expenses are higher than the net loss of only 219.00 (Dubrin, 2008). IV. Discussion on whether the company should reduce prices of the wood screws to ?2.25 in the second half of 2010. The company should drop the price from to the lower 2.25. The lower price will generate a higher volume of revenues from 750 units to the higher 1,000 units. In addition the results of operations at 2.25 is higher than the results of operations for the prior higher selling price of 2.45 (Khan, 2006). V. The company’s total company profit forecast for second half 2010 assuming the pri ce of woodscrews is dropped to ?2.25, again taking account of the variances. Table 7 shows that company’s woodscrews products will be sold at a lower selling price of ?2.25. The table 7 financial statement shows that reducing the price from 2.45 to 2.25 is a good management decision. The reduction in the selling prices generates an in crease in the revenues by 250,000 units. The results of operations for the 2.25 price is better than the result sof operations pegged at 2.45 price (Moyer, 2009). IV. Long term prospects for Bilston.The fixed

Life Expectancy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Life Expectancy - Essay Example However, these life expectancy levels do not necessarily mean that all are expected to live for these ages. One may die earlier or even later based on the lifestyles and other occurrences that may not be expected to occur. Life expectancy at birth is the number of years that a new born child is expected to live before they die. According to WHO, life expectancy at birth has increased world over by 6years since 1990. This has been so due to increased healthcare, technology and social conditions. Other factors that are direct determinants of life expectancy are physical fitness, general health conditions and poverty. The discouragement of smoking in England or the alternative encouragement of physical fitness has augured well towards encouraging the increase in the life expectancy. As such, since this practice has continued to receive positive response from the citizens, life expectancy in England is expected to continue increasing. The growth of the same in the United States of America is slightly below this rate and the reasons for this are discussed herein. Eileen Crimmins-2004 proposes that reductions in mortality were as a result of a reduction in the load of chronic inflammation and infection. The health improvements in Europe can highly explain the effected change. The improvement of the different aspects of healthcare production can be highly praised for the reduced mortality rates in the United Kingdom. From wide studies, it has been reported that improved technological application in healthcare delivery, milestone coverage in genetic engineering and an increased awareness of diseases and viruses (Vallin, MesleÃŒ  &Valkonen, 2001). Medicinal delivery has been experiencing an increased rate of technological advancement in the last decade. This can be clearly highlighted by the introduction of the targeted Cancer Therapy, natural Orifice

RJR Nabisco Case Study Essay Example for Free

RJR Nabisco Case Study Essay Executive Summary The RJR Nabisco case study was used to implement concepts that I have learned in class during the semester and apply it to the real world. The Nabisco case allowed me to develop my skills by using an Excel Worksheet, understanding how to calculate the fair value price per share, and determining the fair value price per share by changing the tax rate and growth rate. First, I was expected to construct an Excel Worksheet. Using the given data and analyzing the case, I was able to find all of the fixed variables needed in the Excel Worksheet. Using these fixed variables, I was able to use my prior skills in Excel to construct equations to find the dependent variables, such as the fair value price per share. This case also helped me develop my skills in calculating the fair value price per share. Using the different variables given in this case, I was able to use equations to find the best estimate for the fair value price per share of RJR Nabisco. The third benefit I gained from this assignment was how the tax rate and growth rate affected the fair value price per share. Using the previous data and the reusable Excel Sheet, I was able to find the changes in the fair value price per share due to changes in the tax and growth rate. Overall, the RJR Nabisco case helped me develop my skills in using Excel Worksheets. It also let me apply what I have learned in class about calculating the fair value price per share, and allowed me to experience it in a more realistic setting. I was also able to see how changes in the tax rate and growth rate affect the fair value price per share. 1. Construct a reusable Excel sheet that computes the fair value per share using the information given in the case. Please make sure that your Excel sheet can closely approximate the value per share given in the case (~$108). I was able to construct an Excel Worksheet (see page 5) that was able to use the information given in the RJR Nabisco Case Study. I was able to make it using different variables that would allow me to change the tax rate and  growth rate to get the next two answers. 2. In your Excel sheet, change the input cell for tax rate to 15%. What is the new fair value per share? By changing the tax rate to 15%, it causes the price per share to increase to $123.19 3. Change the tax rate back to 34% and this time change the perpetual growth rate to 5%. What is the new fair value per share? By changing the tax rate back to 34% and moving the growth rate up to 5%, it causes the price per share to increase to $125.14.

Giralamo Savonarola and the Development of the Renaissance in Florence

THESIS STATEMENT The moral fanatic and religious fundamentalist, Giralamo Savonarola, inhibited the development of the Renaissance in Florence and brought the city back into the Middle Ages. PURPOSE STATEMENT Through scholarly research of Florentine politics and daily life during the rule of the Medici, it is affirmed that Giralamo Savonarola used religion and fear to inhibit the progression of the Renaissance in Florence. INTRODUCTION Religion provides hope for those who are hopeless. It aims to welcome those who are alienated and feel that their life has no purpose. Religion served the same function in the Middle Ages and Renaissance as it does today. However, religion was embraced more during the Middle Ages by desperate individuals frantically searching for calm and stability in their lives. Religion provided hope for these bleak individuals who lovingly and unquestioningly embraced religion and the church’s teachings. The church controlled every aspect of these people’s lives and had a grip of their minds. â€Å"The church had a grip on men’s minds which it is difficult for us to imagine: the strength of the grip was basically Medieval† (Rowdon 159). Far into the cultural and intellectual rebirth in Florence, Giralamo Savonarola used religion to reclaim the minds of the citizens and bring the city back into the Middle Ages. Under the Medici rule, especially the leadership of Lorenzo de’Medici, art thrived and new revolutionary ideas emerged, furthering the Renaissance in Florence while challenging the stronghold of the church. Florence became an edifice for art and the greatest painters of the time flocked to the city including Fra Filippo Lippi, Verrocchio, Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci, and Michelangelo (Greenblatt 13)... ...ermons, Savonarola won the hearts of the common people of Florence. He implored them to retreat back to the church. Savonarola took advantage of the invasion of the French and set up the ideal religious state centered on a moral lifestyle. Savonarola was able to inhibit the development of the Renaissance in Florence and he successfully brought the city back into the Middle Ages. As he had persuaded the citizens of Florence back to the church through fear, he similarly used the tactic to maintain their loyalty. â€Å"The church offered hell-fire for disobedience and playing on those pagan fears that never quite deserted Italian imagination† (Rowdon 159). The people however began to resent the rule of Savonarola and he was deposed and later burnt at the stake. However, his fiery sermons and moral fanaticism never left the minds of the citizens of Florence.

Ozone Depletion Essay

The Ozone layer is located in the Earth’s upper atmosphere. It acts as a barrier and absorbs majority of UV radiation before it hits Earth’s surface. Ozone is made up of three oxygen atoms that are naturally occurring molecules. The depletion of the ozone has become a worldwide issue and is caused by the release of CFCs into the atmosphere. CFCs release chlorine atoms which break down ozone molecules. The depletion of the ozone layer threatens to leave life on Earth unprotected from UV radiation. Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) contain chlorine, fluorine and carbon atoms. CFCs can be found in spray cans, in the plastics industry and in refrigerants. When UV rays in the upper atmosphere hit CFC molecules, a carbon-chlorine bond breaks leaving a single chlorine atom. This chlorine atom reacts with the ozone molecule causing it to breakdown. The breakdown of ozone leaves an ordinary oxygen molecule (O2) as well as a chlorine monoxide molecule. Because UV radiation breaks oxygen molecules into single oxygen atoms, the single oxygen atom then breaks up the chlorine monoxide. With the chlorine atom left by itself, it is then able to repeat the process of breaking down more ozone molecules. However, the depletion of the ozone is not only caused by CFCs. Halons, CH3CCI, CCI4, HCFCs, hydrobromofluorocarbons and methyl bromide are all linked with ozone depletion leaving life on earth vulnerable to the effects from exposure to UV radiation. With the depletion of the ozone, UV radiation becomes more accessible to life on Earth and effects from this radiation follow. Since ozone filters UV radiation, with ozone depletion comes higher levels of UV radiation hitting the surface of the Earth. The increase in ultra-violet rays consequently mean higher risk of skin cancers and cataracts in humans and animals. Higher levels of this radiation also damages materials such as plastics, harm certain crops as well as marine animals. Extra UV radiation deters the natural reproductive cycle of phytoplankton (a single celled organism at the bottom of the food chain) Scientists fear that the population of other species will decrease with the loss of phytoplankton. Since the depletion of the ozone layer, researchers have recognised obvious deviations in the reproductive rates of fish, shrimp and crabs as well as frogs and salamanders. These changes in organism’s reproductive rates and higher risks of skin cancer and cataracts can all be linked to the depletion of the ozone layer. Since CFCs have been released into the atmosphere, Earth’s naturally occurring ozone layer has been depleting. The ozone layer above the Antarctic has been majorly affected by CFC pollution since the mid 1980’s. However, CFCs were banned in 1987 to prevent further damage to the ozone layer. Results of ozone depletion can be dramatically seen throughout the southern spring and summer when the sun shines for longer periods at a time. Due to chlorine reacting with the Ultra-violet rays, ozone is destroyed on a scale of up to 65% during these months. Even though CFCs were banned in the 1980’s scientists estimate it will take another 50 years for chlorine levels to return to their natural levels. With CFCs being emitted into the atmosphere, the breakdown of ozone has resulted. Without the ozone filtering UV rays, higher levels of radiation are able to hit the Earth’s surface leading to higher rates in skin cancer and cataracts. Ozone depletion has also been linked with the obstruction of organisms natural reproductive cycles. Although they were banned in the late 1980’s, CFCs will continue to be present in the atmosphere for many more years causing ozone depletion to remain a worldwide issue.

TMM Brain Storming

Find out In the beginning of the class If the students had done any prior preparations to learn that lesson and encourage such students. 3. Help the students make a smooth transition from +2 Make the students aware that the study pattern Is entirely to (NSA) 4. Different from what they were following in the last 12 years. They should be mentally prepared to adopt a new teaching style and learning process. 5. When students get good results, they must receive some positive strokes and visible appreciation. Increase the Library hours so that students get more time for REAL research . Tidies. Check if they are using it properly. 7. Allocate specific time in the time table for student- teacher interaction on a one to one basis. 8. Encourage and educate students to respect all faculties whether they teach them or not. 9. Do not criticize students in public unless there is a sufficient reason. 10. Do not do anything which would bring down the self esteem and morale of the students. 11. Best teachers (Communicators) should be allocated for the first years. 12. Teachers need to pay undivided attention Just for academic matters. Unfortunately today they re involved in several extracurricular activities like collection of fees, uniforms, dress, sandals, collection of records from the press, taking quotations etc. 13. Curriculum meeting should be conducted every month on a FIXED date in a PROPER manner so that the coordinators are fully equipped. 14. In the clinical, teachers must be given a control over the students than the staff nurse. In the present scenario, staff nurses enforce their work on our students. 15. Special meeting with the parents of weaker students must be conducted more frequently.Change the teaching method – student friendly. Make sure they understand the topic properly. 16. Increase interaction with the students- use Sacramental method of using more questions and make them think. Plan Discussion classes Instead of lecturing classes. 17. Prepare power point presentations In a professional manner. 18. Prepare proper lesson plan and get approval from the concerned person. 19. Assign an Internal faculty to assist or follow up the external faculty. 20. All the faculty should be given training In modern techniques of communication. 21. Equip the students to WRITE the exam properly.Some students write the correct answers, but give wrong embers, and then they wont get marks. They make a lot of such mistakes. They should be given proper orientation before they go for the exams. 22. Class co teach a subject or not. Then they can build up a close knit relationship and maintain it all the time. When the students face with a problem, then it is easy for them to approach that person. This is the time, these students face a lot of psychological, behavioral, hormonal issues and they badly need a mentor and a counselor whom they can trust completely. 23.Plan the curriculum for each year at least two months n advance so that teachers will k now their responsibilities properly. Short notice planning is creating a lot of tensions and problems. Once you plan it, go strict about implementing it. Do not change it as your mood changes. It creates problem for those who are forced to implement it. 24. Faculty should develop a culture of completing their works in the stipulated time. It should not be postponed or kept pending. 25. Find out the weak students in the first quarter itself and plan some special activities for them. Give them more study time if needed, avoiding clinical once in a while. 6. Conduct minimum of three PTA meeting every year. 27. Students who have not cleared I and II year exams should be withheld from Ill year classes and clinical. (Parents to be convinced). 28. There should not be any discrimination between B. Sc and M. Sc faculty. A We Feeling should be created. Conduct all – staff meeting every month. 29. Academic programs should not be interfered by Conferences or Workshops. 30. Disciplinary a ctions should be made without any delay. 31. Students should not be overburdened with extra money collection in various heads. 32. One staff: 10 students family should be created.There should be a mix of brighter as well as weaker students in the group. They should help each other in all matters. There can be even a healthy competition between the groups. Brighter students should help weaker ones to go up the ladder. In the hostel, 5 adjacent rooms can be provided for them. 33. Students must be given opportunities to get engaged in non curricular as well as entertainment programs once in a while. They should not feel that TM CON is a prison and the staffs are kill Joys. 34. Non academic activities are the unidentified ‘hole' in the result bucket. 35.Conduct weakly revision followed by a one hour test on Monday. 36. As far as possible, do not make any changes in our academic master rotation plan for 52 weeks so that the implementation would be more effective. 37. Make the stude nts clear their doubts in the class itself or immediately after the class. Teachers should be available for that. 38. Help the students to adjust the timings and write the answers according to the marks. 39. Constantly appreciate the students and staff for all the good things comes from them. 40. Students Just mugging up the lecture notes and answer key is not advisable.Engage them in some small projects and assignments in their subjects. For the concern of the Management 41. Revise the admission criteria. Consider only those who have more than 70% marks in + 2. Those who got less than that are not fit for the present standards of KUAKA. We are trying to help a family by giving admission to this course. But ultimately we are putting that family in more grief and financial crisis. 42. A student who scores high marks in +2 may not be having any interest or caliber to pursue nursing studies. So strict scrutinizing should be done at the time of admission. 3.The present system of aptitud e test is quiet inadequate to evaluate their interest. It is simply a bunch of questions on physics, Chem.. , Bio, English and Bible. Hardly changed. 44. Let the board create an opportunity for the students to express their assessment and evaluation on their studies or any other topics. We realized that the Chairman and others in the board sat with students during a couple of lunch sessions was very encouraging for them. 45. Reduce the workload of students in the hospital. 46. Arrange faculty welfare programmer regularly without affecting academic aerogramme to relieve them from stress and burn out. 7. Minimize the external faculty for the first year. If needed find out those who can properly communicate to the fresher. Avoid Hi if – trainers. Students are new to the system and atmosphere. Several of them are from Malaysia medium. When they do not understand the teachers hi if stuff, they get mentally dejected. They are scare to express it to anybody. And thus their morale an d confidence level goes down. Their first impression about the course is that it is a hazardous task. That impression lasts throughout. So we need to create a very good first impression to them. 8.Arrange personality development classes like: Effective Time management, How to study well, Goal, How to get out of Exam Phobia, How to prepare for and write exams etc†¦ 49. A forum for expression should be given. It is good if it is a confidential. This is for the first time we get an opportunity to express our thoughts in the last 10 years. So keep a locked box in the reception area so that students, their parents and even the faculty in the college can write and put their suggestions. Either President or Secretary of the College Board only should be able to open it. 50.A big number of he faculty are uncomfortable in the campus due to various reasons. Provide a comfortable and peaceful environment for the faculty to work. Avoid situations which create unwanted stress from superiors in the college. 51. Unnecessary interferences of higher authority (in the campus) even in minute things should be avoided. Faculty should be given certain amount of freedom with an aim of the betterment of the institution in mind. 52. Very often teachers are being called to Principals office during class time. This should be avoided. Otherwise we lose the concentration and the flow.Sometimes we come back with a different mental set up. So avoid such interferences. 53. Individuality of the teachers should be considered. They have their own status. Do not treat them as mere subordinator. 54. When teaching faculty are in some trouble, help them to solve it instead of making it more complicated. More than the money, the Staff should get a Job satisfaction and mental peace. Create such an atmosphere in the campus. 55. Faculty should not be scolded in front of others (Students, parents and other faculty). If the principal or the board wants to say something to the staff, it should be done personally and privately.Avoid ego clashes. 56. At times, I had felt that I am still in a Barbarian era, where there is no concern for one another. Treat others with some respect. TM Con had a family atmosphere in the beginning. That feeling should come back. Faculty, right from the principal to the Junior most should sit together and discuss. Authorities should be willing to accept a good suggestion even if it comes from the Junior most. Faculty should get a listening ear. 57. A good working atmosphere would motivate both the students and faculty. A stressful atmosphere will force you to look always for n opportunity to get out.You feel like working more hard when you own it. A come back to the good old days. 58. More such barnstorming sessions should be arranged with heterogeneous group of people such as two students from each nursing batch, one from M Sc batch, Administrator, Wardens etc and they can be give these points as a background and make them answer to the same old quest ion. 59. We must provide more recreational facilities to the students. 60. Children who come out of their homes need comfort from their parents. So arrange telephones so that they can call their parents and talk to them.

Million Doolar Baby Film Ananlysis On Class essays

Million Doolar Baby Film Ananlysis On Class essays The film industry is among many influences that contribute to class stereotyping in society. Since its inception, the cinema has inserted itself so much into viewers collective consciousness that it now has the power and ability to influence the way in which they think about society with its onscreen portrayal of characters and social groups. These influences depict social groups with a few predetermined and unchanging attributes. In Million Dollar Baby, Clint Eastwood displays stereotypical representations of low-class citizens from the American South. These characters are typically viewed as lacking refinement, people skills, education and an overall knowledge of the world and its culture. Through a comprehensive analysis of Million Dollar Baby, the different stereotypical generalizations and classifications of the depicted economic class structure will be identified and assessed. As well, an examination of the ideological messages transmitted on the construction of the socia l identity of the characters. Popular film is a powerful force. It has the ability to illustrate and give the illusion of false realities in life. Motion pictures have the capability of showing and teaching us about different groups and classes we are not apart of. According to Langston, class is something that you are born into, class is your understanding of the world and where you fit in; its composed of the ideas, behaviors, attitudes, values, and languages; class is how you think, feel, act, look, dress, talk, move and walk; ... (pg98, Holtzman). These ideas of class gives individuals a social ranking based on their socioeconomic position. Million dollar Baby essentially revolves around and depicts the lives of the working class citizen, which can be further be broken down into upper and lower working class. For the most part, the majority of the characters in the film are apart of the lower working class ...

Marketing and operations plan Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Marketing and operations plan - Assignment Example In approaching the course of studying the market successfully, the research into the market will entail engaging both secondary and primary sources of data. The secondary approach entails covering the publications on the industry that reflect the factors influencing the market. Additionally, the primary sources entail conducting individual research to collect data on the market. However, primary data is expensive to achieve, as such, this section will rely extensively on the secondary data on the market. The primary sources engaged include sample interviews and questionnaires on the niche of the business to get firsthand expectation of the market, for successful planning. The US fast foods industry is on the rise, with high density of businesses offering food services including bakery options. The total market is vast, entailing a population of about 500,000 people at the local town setting where the first venture will be located (Giovannucci, Barham & Pirog, 2010). Additionally, the business expects to expand significantly and own a share of the national market in bakery options. Thus, we expect to own at least 6% of the market share as we launch and grow accordingly to about 15% to remain equally competitive. The market has a high demand for bakery products, considering the high consumption of the products. the consumer preferences for bakery products remains high for low sugar content products, considering recent developments requiring he regulation of sugar content in products due to increasing cases of obesity (MÃ ¶ller, 2006). Nonetheless, the business will engage all legal measures to establish its product and grow accordingly as there is a n otable potential of capitalizing on the local market size accordingly. The aspect of high capital costs, training skills and marketing and consumer acceptance may prove challenging to the business entry. Nonetheless, as a

Impact of Technology on Education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Impact of Technology on Education - Essay Example The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) in US lays an added emphasis1 on the use of technology for the betterment of the sector. Information Technology is the all important offspring of Technology having its footprints on the way education is imparted or educational material is prepared or education is accepted by the intended audience. Taking care of this fact, the Campus Computing Project (CCP) happens to be one of the largest continuing study programme about the role of IT in American higher education. As internet is gradually maturing and presenting a paradigm shift in its very ideation, the infrastructure has acquired a business character, a transcontinental personality and a vending framework of wide-ranging, business, educational, scientific and personal data. Now the use of internet covers real-time computer conferencing, audio broadcasting, video broadcasting, real time telephony and of course real-time business. Education too takes a leaf out of such applications and has been able to make good use of internet and related technologies. There is increasing participation of private and public sector together with government in making technology available to different aspects of educational needs. Apple Inc. a leading company using technology and computing for its business objectives, for example has partnered in many education related schemes like; Apple Classrooms of Tomorrow (ACOT), North Central Regional Education Laboratory (NCREL), International Data Corporation (IDC) etc . which helped not only in encouraging the use of technology in education, but also made fullest use of technology in promoting the cause of education. In his famous taxonomy, Bloom (1964) identified the domains within which learning takes place. He labelled them as cognitive, affective and psychomotor. Traditionally, the concentration has been on the cognitive domain with comprehension, facts and figures acquiring the centre stage. But with technology making its impact, information society made it almost compulsory for the education providers to bring into effect, adequate amendments in their approach so that the learning process becomes far more interactive and effective. In this new approach role of student as well as the means of education became more important. In fact this theory too has been in practice for quite a while now, as is evident from what Rogers (1961) said about the learning process. Rogers (1961) stated that the only learning that significantly influences human behavior happens to be self-discovered. The IT era has helped in making the learning process more interactive, and more relevant to the fast pace developm ent of the day. Education for sustainable development therefore focuses more on how people live, work and make decisions. The learning process in general involves; Learning values and cultures: Such an education is imparted by the parents and the society in general. How the parents behave, what are the means of communication used by the parents, how effectively the parents are able to manage their time and efforts towards the children, and what kind of social upbringing is the child subjected to, are some of the major contributors towards the value education. The ethics and cultures too are picked by the students from his/ her

Narrative Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 4

Narrative - Essay Example After realization that the world of films is more appealing than I can imagine, I decided to keep the spirit lively by undertaking a Master’s degree in media, my major focus being on Radio and Television studies. When in the university, I got an inordinate chance to train in the first channel of Saudi Arabia, the fifth channel in Saudi Arabia and Institute of Hajj researchers as a photographer, all of which bolstered my understanding of the world of media and communication. I firmly believe that a well-written script and characters are what makes a film, a major reason that made me feel frustrated while in the university when doing photography-related projects. The fundamental reason for the perceived discomfiture was the fact that after doing projects in photography, although they often turned out to be good, I felt left out after the image is completed, a reason that intensified my intention to be a screenwriter so that I can always be part of the complete works such as docu mentaries. When I watch an interesting film, I see myself in it and believe that the ideas on the screen are actually being personified for me, a rare thing that has been developing in me lately. I immediately develop a critical critic of the masterpiece, a factor that has further sharpened my writing skills. However, being in the university was an eye-opener for me. I enjoyed every moment in school primarily because of the many activities that I found myself participating in and the large audience that resoundingly required my presence in various programs, both educational and leisurely. While still working hard on coursework, where I eventually managed a GPA 3.11/4, I could still manage to schedule some time for talk shows, news programs, documentaries, and advertisement. I used my verse skills in media and television presentation to influence and appeal to the audience. The college students always

Literature Review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 2

Literature Review - Essay Example ing Decisions, on knowthis.com website defined packaging as a process of protecting the product, increasing the visibility of a product, adding value to a product, getting distributor acceptance etc. A product packed poorly with less visibility cannot survive in the market whereas good packaging will added value to the product and increase its distributor acceptance and cost (Factors in Packaging Decisions, 2010). The article, The Importance of Packaging written by David Kam, defined packaging as an important marketing strategy to glamorize a product in order to attract the consumer’s attention. He also mentioned many secrets of product packaging. He argued that attractive packaging of product can glamorize a product in order to attract the consumer’s attention. He also pointed out that most consumers judge a product by its packaging before buying. In his opinion, nobody will buy even good products in the absence of good packaging (Kam, 2010). The science news article, How Does Context Affect Consumer Judgment published yesterday (March 22, 2010), defined consumer behaviour in terms of the context. It mentioned that what we think of a product or brand, or how positively or negatively we assess it, depends on the context in which it is viewed. The article argues that many irrelevant contextual factors from the weather to another product brand can influence consumers evaluations of a product. When consumers shop in a mall, impressions of one store can be influenced by perceptions of the surrounding stores. Thus, when marketers decide to advertise their products in particular contexts, they would benefit from considering how it measures up in terms of its context (Science News, 2010) The article, Cheers to the American Consumer, written by John Quelch on April, 6, 2009 defined consumer behaviour in terms of wealth, independence, mobility, technology, recognition, etc. Many of the Americans live for today and they are not much bothered about tomorrow. This

Research Culture In Pakistani Universities

Research Culture In Pakistani Universities Research plays an important role in the development of nations. Countries which provide the basic and quality education to their citizens are known for their ethical and social values and also excel in the field of science and technology. People living in these countries are habitual of asking questions, making hypothesis and testify them for the sake of better living life. We are living in a nation that is surrounded by many internal and external problems and how to get out of this critical situation is still a question. Universities, though, can be of vital help to improve the prevailing situation as usually universities are the centers where intellectuals and thinkers are produced. These intellectuals, with aid of researching tool can pull the nation upward from the fall. The paper aims to discover and analyse the current situation of research culture in Pakistani universities. The extent of research culture in Pakistani universities is discovered through quantitative research wit h the sample size of 150 students, to identify the problematic factors that are hindering in promoting research culture in the universities. Field survey was conducted using a structured likert scale questionnaire for quantitative research. The tool designed by Santo et al. (2009) was modified and used accordingly to our study spectrum and collected data was analyzed in SPSS. Multistage sampling was conducted using a combination of snowball sampling, stratified sampling and random sampling techniques and data was collected from the students of different programs including management, engineering, medicine and humanities. Due to limitation of resources the data was collected only from universities in Lahore and Islamabad, two major cities of Pakistan. Univarate analysis with the help of descriptive statistics techniques and frequency table methods helped to identify the behaviour of respondents towards each of the 32 questions contained in the questionnaire. The findings of research show that Pakistani universities are lacking a healthy research culture. In fact the results showed a positive sign of concern from the students that they want to get improved research facilities in their universities. Data also highlighted specifically the most problematic areas in a detailed fashion. The results gave the exact factors which need to be considered seriously by the university authorities in order to implement the research culture in its true sense in their universities. Also the results may open new avenues for improvements and bringing betterment in the current picture of local universities research culture. Key words: Lack of Research Culture, Universities, Reasons, Pakistani Introduction Research is a process of steps used to collect and analyze information to increase our understanding of a topic or issue. It consists of three steps: Pose a question, collect data to answer the question, and present an answer to the question. (Creswell, 2008). Although research is defined differently by different authors and thinkers but the value of research is recognized equally by every philosopher. Undoubtedly research is the most important tool to investigate the problems of the people, to find out their demands, and even to explore the mysteries of life, and research has the solutions for all. Research is a significant process of digging the facts and laying the foundations of knowledge and is a key process in knowledge formulation. The rate of evolution of knowledge depends on the rate of research in a particular field. With every passing day, the increased demand of detailed, authenticated and reliable knowledge, research is becoming most substantial process in every field of knowledge. Some people may think that research is simply gathering information about people, things or a certain state of affairs by some organizations, etc., but there are others who call the means of progress in the life of the present global scenario, in which every nation come closer together and appear to depend in one way or the other (Nadeem, 2011). The importance of research is recognized worldwide and developed countries are spending a lot more to promote research culture. In a speech to the Royal Society in April 2010, German Chancellor Dr Angela Merkel explained that the prosperity of a country such as Germany [à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦] must be sought through investment in research, education and science, and this to a disproportionate degree, (TheRoyalSociety, 2011). Developing countries are not in a competitive position to go parallel with the developed countries in field of education, despite of other facts and reasons; lack of research oriented educational approach is the main reason of it. Making countries progressed, as divide between developed and developing nations is clearly the educational system (Sanyal Varghese, 2006) What we see nowadays the technology is making this world a global village, too many innovations taking place, ideas are getting converted into realities etc. is all due to the research by the researchers and their findings in them. We hear very often the word RD that is research and development, which means to develop something, research is at the first place. According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, RD refers to creative work undertaken on a systematic basis in order to increase the stock of knowledge, including knowledge of man, culture and society, and the use of this stock of knowledge to devise new applications, (OECD Factbook 2008: Economic, Environmental and Social Statistics, 2008). General practices of research and development activities in universities facilitate the industries through their implementations. Research oriented universities assist the industries directly and indirectly: directly by provision of skills and indirectly by spillove rs (Wu, 2007) In a research culture maximum people of a group, university, business firm, area, city and or country, sit together to indicate and solve the problems like corruption, water sharing, economic crises, state security, distribution of resources and obligation etc. The meaning of research culture is also that each and every direction in the society must be biased on reason, rational, logical, pragmatic and science, as an instrument of events and resolving problems, (Ahmed, 2006). Whereas universities are considered to be the birthplaces of research and researchers and lot has happened in the world to change the non-research culture to a research culture and to the change has been the most difficult part, (Cheetham, 2007). Situation in Pakistan in regards of research at universities is not impressive and Pakistan still lacks research culture at par with developed countries, (Lodhi A. , 2010). The research output by universities in Pakistan in terms of number of research publications as against the total faculties of universities is not more than 13 per cent, (Qureshi, 2011). Pakistan is ranked 34 in the list of countries by research and development which spent 2.73 billion US$ in the year 2007. However, most RD funding in Pakistan is consumed by the military sector (60%), (UNESCO, 2010). There are deficiencies in the quality of both skills and research output of the education sector. A viable quality assurance mechanism is essentially required in Pakistan to change and improve the quality of output and efficiency of the higher education learning systems. (Mahmood Shafique, 2009) This current scenario of research culture leads results in the low yield of research output in terms of research publications. HEC Pakistan took many initiatives in order to promote research culture in Universities. But these initiatives didnt payback the desired results, i.e. a healthy research culture in Pakistani universities. This paper aims to find out the reasons of these negative results in terms of reasons of lack of research culture. Extensive research has been carried out by various researchers to analyze the extent of research culture in different institutes and universities. Literature review indicates that most of these researches are more focused towards the instructors approaches towards research culture. The role of students and the institutional policies in research are not critically analyzed. This paper is an attempt to cover the gap in this area of knowledge. It is felt that research culture is not fully introduced and facilitated and the paper aims to find and identify what are the reasons might be for the current prevailing situation of lack of research culture in the universities. Either this is due to weak infrastructure, non-serious behavior of students or teachers are not making it realized to students of the importance of research. Moreover, role of individual factors of students and institutional policies in a research culture is critically and deeply analyzed in this paper. Ultimately we are looking to promote the research culture in Pakistani universities and also to rectify the problems from its roots that are hindering in promoting the research culture. Literature Review It was during the Second World War that governments, notably the US government, recognized the significant contribution made by university research, especially by the scientists and engineers, to their success in the war, (Sanyal Varghese, 2006). The world recognized university educational research, but it is more evident in the developed nations as compared to the developing world. According to UNCTAD, 2007 they reported that there are only 94.3 scientific researchers per million people in the least developed countries (LDCs), against 313 in the other developing countries (ODCs) and 3,728 in rich countries (high-income OECD). Enrolment in university level institutions (that is, tertiary school enrolment as a share of the corresponding age group) is only 3.5% in the LDCs, against 23% in ODCs and 69% in rich countries. (Vessuri, 2011). Just to quote to some examples, the number of enrollments in PhDs in Australia, there has been 300% increase from 9,298 in the year 1990 to 27,996 in 2000, (Stehlic, 2011). Similarly North America and Europe are considered as the home to the great majority of the worlds university faculty, as well as virtually all of the worlds high-quality institutions (Vessuri, 2011). On the other hand the scenario is worst in the least developed countries due to several reasons. One of them may be due to non supportive living conditions. As reported by UNSTAD, 2007 countries like Haiti, Cape Verde, Samoa, Gambia and Somalia have lost more than half of their university-educated professionals in recent years because they have moved to industrialized countries in search of better working and living conditions, (Mamdani, 2011) (Vessuri, 2011). Undoubtedly the knowledge divide between developing and developed countries is both deep and wide. A countrys existing RD activities are a reflection of its capacity to create knowledge, (Sanyal Varghese, 2006). Higher education and science must become more evenly distributed around the world if political tension is to be eased and the chances of economic and social development are to improve. The role of education and science in this process is taken as a given a point of departure and it is assumed that knowledge and skills will be at least as important for the future of the developing world in this century as they were for developed and industrialized countries in the past, (Vessuri, 2011). Universities are the best places to implement the research culture. Humboldt, a German statesman, philologist and architect of the University, observed that the purpose of a university for both the teacher and the student is a common quest for knowledge or Wissenschaft, (Lueddeke, 2008). It is widely accepted that research, as the most important source of knowledge generation, occupies a critical position in promoting a nations prosperity and its citizens well-being in the knowledge-based era, (Li, Millwater, Hudson, 2008) and educational research helps by improving the understanding of how students learn and how best to teach, (Morrell Carroll, 2010). Moreover research is not only helps solve the practical problems and brings about material improvements via high-tech products, it also provides insights and new ideas that enrich human understanding of various social, economic and cultural phenomena, (Li, Millwater, Hudson, 2008). As also explained by Patricia D. Morrell and James B. Carroll in their book called Conducting Educational Research, educational research is important in: Proposing theories Testing theories Increasing our understanding Improving teaching learning (Morrell Carroll, 2010) The worldwide higher education landscape and research and knowledge production sectors are undergoing a profound transformation driven by unprecedented global social and economic forces and are embedded in an extremely complex reality, in which no self-evident choices are available and where actions have multiple effects in a dynamically interdependent environment (Vessuri, 2011). However integrating research and teaching in research-intensive universities is still an unresolved issue as we head into the 21st century, (Lueddeke, 2008) and expansion has taken place in fairly a limited part of the world (Vessuri, 2011). From the expanding literature, conferences and the reality on the ground, it does appear that most research-intensive universities across the globe still have not fully realized the harmonization of the research-teaching relationship, (Lueddeke, 2008). Whereas teaching in a University is different, we use the same word in primary school, secondary school, TAFE, Teachers Colleges, CAEs etc but it is not the same. One of the major differences is of course the extent to which it (the teaching) is interwoven with research and our research principles, (Cheetham, 2007). The faculty in higher education institutions has traditionally been trifocal, consisting of teaching, research and community service/extension. University faculty members are required to become teachers, researchers, and service-oriented professionals, (Salazar-Clemeà ±a Almonte-Acosta). So finally we can say that, the trends in enrolment in higher education are an indicator of the widening or narrowing gap between developing and developed countries in terms of research capacity, (Sanyal Varghese, 2006). Although universities in the developed world, as compared to the developing world, have firm traditions of research whereas universities in the developing world have retained strong teaching functions and weak research functions, (Nadeem, 2011) (Sanyal Varghese, 2006) (Salazar-Clemeà ±a Almonte-Acosta) (Lodhi A. S., 2011). Specifically talking about Pakistan, she lacks research culture at par (Lodhi A. , 2010). The nation expects from universities to contribute to basic, applied and/or action research to help minimize the problems of the country to meet the future targets, (Qureshi, 2011). There are many reasons being given by different researchers and scholars for not implementing research culture in general overall in the world and specifically for our country. Some of the reasons are extracted from different research papers and articles: Pakistan is facing major challenges regarding population and socio-economic developments which include employment, resources, food, energy, sustainability and the race for talent (Qureshi, 2011), because until and unless people will not get commodities (such as bread, cloth, and home) they cannot be turned for getting education, (Ahmed, 2006). Lack of incentives by the government, cases of plagiarism and proper facilities to conduct research on technical and scientific subjects, small salary packages to teachers in government sector universities, (Lodhi A. , 2010). Some of the problems as indicated by Sabahat Sultan of Karachi university, International Relations Department are; illiteracy standard of education, lack of resources, in cooperative attitude of government financial problems, lack of job oriented programs publishing goods, lack of proper training of research and professionalism (Sultan). Faculty members in the Pakistani universities are less enthusiastic about research, apart from a few amount of faculty members in different universities, others have not done voluntary research. Similarly students, they take up research project which is primarily a compulsory component for the award of degree, but that is done under compulsion which does not ignite students inquiry skills nor attract teachers to go for voluntary research. (Nadeem, 2011). One of true factors, which equally are applicable to Pakistani environment, as indicted by Sanyal and Varghese 2006, Gender Disparities. As they say in their research paper, female researchers constitute a relatively small share in all countries except the CIS countries. Even the ratio found very less in the advanced countries like USA and Germany, (Sanyal Varghese, 2006) . The South Asian Region also suffers from lack of linkages between public and private actors and no university-industry collaboration to speak of. It is noted in that, overall, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka seem better at producing basic knowledge than commercializing it, (UNESCO, 2010) (Wu, 2007) Introduction of research into early years of undergraduate education is not so obvious talking in the context of Role of Disciplinary Variation in Conceptualizing Research and Teaching, (Lueddeke, 2008). Research culture is largely affected by personal and organizational characteristics with leadership being the most critical attribute, (Theodore Lynette, 2010) (Lodhi A. S., 2011). Research Culture requires stable political climate, (Theodore Lynette, 2010). Methodology This is research is based on quantitative data analysis. Data collected were analysed on statistical explanatory data anaysis techniques mainly due to the reason of our intent to find only problematic factors that are causing lack of research culture in Pakistani universities. Sample Size Experts opinion was used to determine the sample size and a sample size of sample of 150 for was suggested. Tool Quantitative research was carried out with the help of a structured questionnaire developed by Santo, Engstrom, Reetz, Schweinle, Reed, 2009 (Santo, Engstrom, Reetz, Schweinle, Reed, 2009) and further used by Lodhi S. A., 2011 (Lodhi A. S., 2011) who modied the tool on the basis of his experiences to conduct his research in the Pakistani univerristies context. We modified the tool accordingly with the help of an expert for our research work to be conducted specially on students rather than on teachers and or faculty members in the universities. Respondents Sample population consists of a blend of students from different areas of study including engineering, medical, humanities, social sciences and management. Due to time and financial constraints, out of different private and public sector universities in Pakistan, we selected seven universities only from Lahore and Islamabad. The educational background of the respondents was such that they were both male and female students accompanied in bachelors and masters degree courses in their perspective universities. Out of 150 students 105 were from bachelors and 45 respondents were masters degree programs. 83 of them were male and rest, i.e. 67 were female students. Sampling technique and data collection procedure Multistage sampling was conducted using a combination of snowball sampling, stratified sampling and random sampling techniques to collect the data that resulted in a diverse and unbiased population sampling. 186 questionnaires were got filled out of which 150 questionnaires were used for the analysis purpose. Total time of 3 months was consumed in data collection and then entered in SPSS (version 17) and Microsoft Excel for further analysis. Data Analysis This quantitative study intends to find out the factors causing hindrances in a healthy research culture by focusing on individual factors of students or the institutional and leadership factors. All items in the questionnaire were individually analyzed through univariant analysis. Initially, frequencies, means, standard deviations, histograms and percentages were used to analyze the responses. Through the analysis of the all questions, few individual and institutional factors were identified that are paying major contribution towards creating lack of research culture in Pakistani universities. The problematic factors were then further categorized to favorable conditions and unfavorable conditions. Favorable conditions include the responses that were responded as strongly agree and agree patterns. Whereas unfavorable conditions include the responses that were in strongly disagree and disagree and Neither Agree Nor Disagree patterns. These factors were deeply analyzed. Descriptive Statistics Descriptive statistics are presented in Table 1 depicting means and SDs of all the items in the questionnaire. Means were in range from 2.45 to 3.74 with SDs in range from 0.897 to 1.244. The overall behavior of the respondents was such that they were neither strongly disagreed nor strongly agreed in their views about each question so making the scenario middleware leaving a feel that students are not fully aware of the research practices as well as they dont really care about the situations regarding research culture prevalent in their universities. This behavioral trend of respondents makes the situation very vague uncertain in terms of awareness about research culture and its factors. Frequency Tables To know the in depth details of how respondents responded to each of the item in the questionnaire, we used frequency tables which gave us results in the form of frequencies and their subsequent percentages that how many out 150 students responded as strongly disagree or disagree or neither agree nor disagree or agree or strongly agree in the whole dataset. This technique helped us known that how many students, majority of them, think alike about the problems those were posed in the questionnaire. It was, ultimately, highly needed to identify the most problematic factors which may cause impedement in the growth of research culture in the universities. Most of the responses, also can be seen from the results of descriptive statistics, were centered to a middle are of histogram, i.e. responses ranging from Disagree to Agree with responses recorded as Strongly Disagree or Strongly Agree. However our interest was not to see that how different respondents responded to a certain type of qu estions that was posed, but to find the problems creating hindrances in the growth of research culture in Pakistani Universities. The below findings are describing the most problematic factors: Research Findings The detailed analysis of the responses enabled us to identify that how students think of each and every problem stated in the questionnaire. But it was very needed to analyze and highlight those problems which are more critical and hence need special attention in order to bring positivity in the prevailing situation of research and research output in Pakistani Universities. To highlight such problems we defined a rule of thumb that responses being answered as Strongly Disagree, Disagree or Neither Agree or Nor Disagree is unfavorable conditions and responses answered as Agree and Strongly Agree is favorable conditions. We further operationally defined that if cumulative percentage of unfavorable conditions equals or greater than 60% it shows characteristics of problematic factor which should be eliminated. The other way to see the problematic factors is to look at the means of the responses in the questions. Questions having a mean less than 3 are problematic areas and they can be cross verified with the criteria being set above except for the question of At least monthly, I have substantive uninterrupted conversations about research and writing with colleagues in my university whose mean is 2.98 but cumulative percentage of unflavored answers is 59.3%. The factors which are highlighted problematic in the dataset is depicted below in the below figure. Out of the eight above highlighted problematic factors, first four of them belong to Individual Factors and rest four of them belongs to Institutional and Organizational Factors. These factors include: I have/had an unassigned mentor either in my department or in other departments/schools who provides (or provided) me with valuable guidance in research. Assigned mentor and unassigned mentor are up to students interests weather they approach to them to discuss the research topics and to get pieces of advice from them or not. Although in both the cases the responses from the students are unfavorable but the criteria equal to or greater than 60% cumulative percentages being set dont allow us to depict the assigned mentor question in the above bar graph figure but its importance cant be denied if 59.3% people answer unfavorably. Anyways the scenario of unassigned mentor is clearly problematic as 71.3% people responded in unflavored manner. I have a system that allows me to protect periods of uninterrupted time to address research activities. Students recorded unfavorable concerns equal to 75.3% which means our students do not have such systems where they can save their uninterrupted time to address their research activities. Although a fair amount of students answered Agree when they were asked about having adequate time for doing their research activities, but they are not into practices of saving uninterrupted times specifically to address the research activities. Up-to-date in qualitative research design and analysis 64% of the students recorded their responses as unflavored as they see themselves weak in qualitative research design and analysis because they are not currently up-to-date with the qualitative research design. Up-to-date in publisher-hunting skills (e.g. identifying appropriate journal/conference/exhibitions, understanding their procedures and submission evaluation for your research) Although our students believe that they are up-to-date in writing skill, presentation skills, IT skills (e.g. Microsoft Office, Design and Analysis Tools, Simulation Tools), and using relevant software for data-collection and analysis (e.g. SPSS, Nvivo, EndNote, etc.) but when it comes to their up-to-dated skills in publisher hunting for identifying appropriate journal/conference/exhibitions, understanding their procedures and submission evaluation for their research they are not well up-to-dated as 68% students recorded unflavored conditions. At least weekly, I have substantive uninterrupted conversations about research and writing with colleagues in my university 72% of the people responded unfavorably as they feel they do not converse weekly about their research topics with their fellow colleagues in the university. I have access to adequate human resources such as secretarial support, support staff etc., to conduct my research projects 66% of the students stated that they do not have access to adequate human resources such as secretarial support, support staff etc. in their universities to conduct their research projects. My university provides me adequate financial support to travel to academic conferences/exhibitions within Pakistan Interestingly the most problematic factor of all is the one stated above i.e. universities provide financial support to travel to academic conferences and exhibitions within Pakistan where more than 83% people recorded their concerns unflavored. My university provides me adequate administrative support to apply for travel grants from HEC or other external sources for presentation of paper in academic conferences within Pakistan. In the similar pattern about 70% students answered unfavorably that their universities provide adequate administrative support to apply for travel grants from HEC or other external sources for presentation of paper in academic conferences within Pakistan. The figure of 70% is less than of 83% in the above question may be due to readily available HEC support or due to HECs itself marketing campaign but, as per the collected data, support from universities in this regard of applying for travel grants from HEC or other external sources is minimal. Conclusion The studies show that universities play a prominent role in knowledge production, particularly in the pure or basic research fields, (Li, Millwater, Hudson, 2008). A lot of effort is being made in the developed and developing world to make their universities as research centers, though knowledge divide is deep and is heavily tilted in favor of developing countries (Sanyal Varghese, 2006). For a country like Pakistan is where there are so many social economic and security problems, the solutions lies in inculcating the research culture at higher education level. In Pakistani universities students need direction towards conducting research. Exposure of our students towards serious research is minimal or no as very minimum number of students have their papers published in worlds journals and publications, hence the importance of research is not fully known by them. Teachers and management, however, can play a pivotal role to set the university campuses onto the high class seats of res earch centers and ultimately making the students ready for taking part in the prosperity of the nation. These are the teachers and management which can give the light of wisdom to the educating pupils that they have to come in the competition of conducting research or our nation should get ready to perish from the face of this earth. Study also highlighted the specific problems relating to individual and institutional leadership factors causing the reasons of lack of research culture. It was noted that due to the moderate correlation existence between the stated two variables, present research output of individuals can be increased by controlling the problematic factors as identified in institutional and leadership factors list, i.e. once the institutions develop systems for students to conduct their research work, they have the ability to capitalize on the things with their new and energetic ideas. Implications In the light of the findings and the literature review, some of implications can be made to introduce the research culture into the students. These are enumerated as below: Separate centers for research should be made with several research groups to promote the cause of research culture in universities. These centers should be granted grants and finance for their smooth operations. A number of students will be taking part actively under the umbrella of these research centers. Teachers having no research experience or having not appeared in any international research journals/conferences with their papers are indeed a decline to research culture, (Cheetham, 2007). In our universities, well have to make it sure that our teachers are actively involved in conducting researches as ultimately theyll be able to translate the same habit to their students and if needed inductions of new highly qualified and trained tutors having experience in research can be made. Top management should involve into the matter of concern and should make the environment such that students get all those tools that are required to write an international research paper, e.g. availability of liter

The Fellowship of the Rings :: essays research papers

The Fellowship of the Rings Book Report I want to introduce you to, The Fellowship of the Rings, by J. R. R. Tolkien. It is the first book to the Lord of the Rings, written by Tolkien. The settings in this book changed many times from the hills of the Shire, where the hobbits live, to the deep darkness of the mines of Moria. The book takes place in Middle Earth, which is described by Tolkien as a mysterious place that is full of good and evil. The way Tolkien described each place is amazing and it is as if you were looking at a picture and copying it down into your head. The setting in the book is very important to the story. It kept me thinking and wondering what was going to happen next, which made me read more and more. I couldn’t even begin to describe the setting of the whole book, so I mainly mentioned some of the major locations that took place in the book. In the book, the Protagonist is Frodo Baggins, a hobbit from the Shire who becomes the Ring-bearer. The Antagonist is Sauron, the Dark Lord that forged the One Ring to take over Middle-Earth. In the fellowship, aside for the ring-bearer, are three other hobbits, Samwise Gamgee, Peregrin Took and Meriadoc Brandybuck, three of Frodo’s closest friends. There is also Gandalf, the wizard; Legolas Greenleaf, son of the Elf King of Northern Mirkwood; the dwarf Gimli, son of Gloin; Aragorn, son of Arathorn, and heir to the throne of Gondor; and Boromir, oldest son of the Steward of Gondor. They all have some talent or purpose in aiding Frodo in the quest. As the action rises the mood is often tense with suspense and a sense of doom. They are in constant danger, always being watched or hunted. The hobbits leave their precious homes and travel through the Old Forest to get to Bree, where they meet Aragorn and he aids them in their journey. All five later leave for Rivendell and the mood is quite tense with the Black Riders hunting them down. On the way, they stop at Weathertop, where Frodo is, unfortunately, stabbed with a Morgul blade. Luckily, they all get to Rivendell safely with the help of Glorfindel, an elf. The fellowship continues on their quest to get rid of the ring and was forced to trudge through Caradhras in order to avoid ‘the dark and secret way’.