Several Challenges in the Learning Activity Research Paper

Several Challenges in the Learning Activity - Research Paper Example In a class, an instructor can have students who have the ability to exhibit numerous potentials in a learning process. Multipotentiality among students a rare trait and it is common among students with gifts and talents (SWGT) (Santrock, 2010). These groups of students have a great passion and are usually have an extreme interest in several areas. However, this is a very good aspect for their future lives as it can enhance self-confidence and agency. The instructor can experience students with excessive self-criticism. Self-awareness and criticality are healthy aspects of any individual. This aspect is debilitating to the youths. These kinds of students exhibit self-persecution and self-hating traits. Furthermore, students may end up having depression. In addition, the instructor can experience students who have a perfectionist character trait. This aspect is more common as opposed to SWGT. The trait is a combination of environmental and inborn tendencies. Perfectionism as a trait ma y arise from outer sources such as parents, trainers and observations from adults. As an instructor one goes through varied challenges in handling these groups. First, students with numerous potentials are difficult to handle due to emerging of stereotypes and societal conventions. There is an emergence of stress and some limitations are applied. For instance, when girls approach colleges and perform well in music and physics, they are usually encouraged to pursue courses which represent stereotypes of society. In addition, stereotypes which are created along the gender lines, it may lead to stress (Smith et al, 2,010).

Bissell Vacuum Cleaner Quality Analysis Essay Example for Free

Bissell Vacuum Cleaner Quality Analysis Essay The market for vacuum cleaners is more globalized compared to laundry and kitchen appliances market. The need for vacuum cleaner models differs across various markets. Over the last few years the vacuum cleaners market witnessed a large number of advances in terms of lightweight vacuums driven by smaller and efficient motors. The market for bagless vacuum cleaners is witnessing continuous growth, with North American households accounting for the highest share of bagless vacuums market. The current consumers prefer vacuums featuring bagless and multi-surface cleaning. The following are few vacuum cleaner brands under the low price segment. A comparison is made based on criteria like key features, price and consumer ratings. These criteria should allow us to rank the brands in terms of value for money. From the listings it is easy to understand that the Bissell 3-in-1 Stick Vac Bagless Vacuum has received a four star rating and also priced the cheapest among the other brands. The Bissell Vacuum cleaner is definitely a winner as it fulfills consumer needs and stands out as a very good purchase for price sensitive consumers. The next in line is Eureka Quick-UP Bagless Stick Vacuum which has also received good consumer ratings but is much more expensive than its other competitor. References 1. www.walmart.com 2. http://www.pellresearch.com/Household-Vacuum-Cleaner-Manufacturing.htm

History of Foreign and Security Policy

History of Foreign and Security Policy Defining Foreign and Security Policy from the Cold War to Present Today’s increasingly globalised community has seen more diplomatic and social evolution in the past half-century than the civilized world has seen in recent memory. The advent of multinational trade and military alliances such as the North Atlantic Trade Organization has increasingly intertwined security policies with foreign policies, which in turn entail more than just military alliances. Foreign subsidies by way of fiscal aid grants and weapons contracts warrant the need for nations to adopt solid, transparent foreign and security policies as the traditional global threat of warfare changes. The most notable examples for security and foreign policies as well as the need for a national and supranational governmental monitor are the United States and the European Union. The aforementioned two bodies share between them diplomatic ties to most every member of the international community. The onus of foreign and security policies becomes more apparent through examination of dipl omatically fragile and militarily-temperamental regions such as the Middle East, whose international agreements and regional alliances are the basis for subsequent American and EU policy, without which allies and trade partners would find little benefit from trade and security agreements. Foreign policy amounts to little more than a series of political guidelines and rules of engagement by which any country implementing it best gains at a certain point in time. Foreign policies are known to change radically from one year to the next; the Cold War is perhaps the greatest testament to the temporal nature of international relations and foreign policy. Robert John Myers notes in his US Foreign Policy in the Twenty-first Century how quickly Western countries changed their approach to the Soviet Union. Prior to 1945 â€Å"during the savage struggle of World War II, the primacy of the wisdom of political realism seemed to have been learned† by the Allies, who interlocked â€Å"inte rest, power, and morality in the councils of the principal Allied power†[1]; the USSR at the time was an indispensable ally against Germany and Japan. Much to the chagrin of their current political detractors, the Soviets were perhaps the most powerful ally America had in the war against the Axis powers, with borders spanning the heart of the Nazi regime and maritime waters bordering the Imperial Japanese. Foreign policy then had nothing to do with the civil liberties, democracy, and freedom of the press so touted today in the same countries that huddled together in opposition to Moscow during the Cold War. Prior to the partition of Germany at the close of the war, it was easily recognizable that â€Å"wartime cooperation to defeat the Axis was clearly important† and Allied foreign policy toward its Soviet contingent was one of camaraderie and mutual interdependence[2]. Once the war ended, however, the close ties between the powers dissipated and politically malignant a ntipathy filled the void. With a barely nascent United Nations absent as policy moderator, the US and the USSR led a series of proxy wars starting with â€Å"the attack by North Korea on South Korea on 25 June 1950,† marking â€Å"the limited cooperation [and mediation] that came to be expected from the UN in the security field†[3]. International mediation, which should have taken place given the alliance that transpired between the US, USSR, and Europe during WWII was all but gone in the years of reconstruction and the escalation of the Cold War. There are two points of speculation given the rise of the Cold War: the first is that the United Nations failed as an international mediator, and the second is that the United Nations was obsolete, serving only to keep other countries out of the periphery of the Soviet-American struggle for dominance. The difference between foreign and security policy during the Cold War was elementary. The American foreign policy toward the Soviet Union was one of mutual trade and sales, the development of which was speculated by many to be a financial insurance policy; if the two superpowers intertwined economically, the idea of armed struggle would be so financially devastating that neither side would be willing to continue along the path to war. American security policy was markedly different given the proxy wars fought in Korea, Vietnam, and the Middle East. Foreign policy essentially existed in the case of the Cold War to ensure that security policy would never be employed. The Cold War was a fascinating case of how foreign policy and security policy could run completely contrarian to each other. Any two given nations can foster amicable foreign policies in their approach to each other independent of a covertly hostile security policy as evidenced by the oft-shifting approach of successive American administrations to the Soviet behemoth. Jimmy Carter, for example, â€Å"forbade grain sales to the Soviet Union following the nation’s invasion of Afghanistan in 1979,† while â€Å"Ronald Reagan made the unpopular embargo an issue in the 1980 elections, reversing the policy after his election†[4]. The Reagan policy shift did not predicate a change in security policy, as the administration continued its support of Afghan mujahideen forces through arms sales and finance while continuing its agricultural trade with Moscow. It is now well-known that the UN was inconsequential in international mediation throughout the Cold War. This is not to say that an international or supranational regulatory body is not needed; in the case of the US and USSR, the absent (and perhaps powerless) UN was perceived as such because their collective power was dwarfed by the two superpowers. With no military or financial incentive, the question of the relevance of a supranational regulatory body in foreign and security policy is moot. Even today, American foreign policies often contravene UN resolutions with little or no repercussion due to the immense economic, political, and military might of Washington. While the Cold War ended relatively peacefully without UN intervention, the concept of an international body was not scorned by the US, which partnered with various countries to create the North Atlantic Trade Organization (NATO). It should be noted, however, that the US was an open advocate of NATO for the very reason tha t the UN was not potent enough a body to act on American will or on behalf of American aspirations. International mediation in this sense is needed for the monitoring of foreign and security policy; whether or not mediation will be effective in both sectors is quite another issue. Foreign policy can be monitored, policed, and even dictated by a supranational body as evidenced in the partition of Germany and the formation of the Eastern Bloc post-WWII. Security policy, however, is a point of major contention with any nation faced with the prospect of supranational control. Any nation with major investment (diplomatic or financial) abroad would be reluctant to cede jurisdiction of its own soldiers and sovereignty to an outside body, especially one such as the UN whose member list consists of nations antagonistic to one another. The irony here is that a multi-national group could have foreign and security policy power over a nation whose security policy is antagonistic to one or more members of the same international group. Israel, for example, would embark on an unprecedented leap of faith if it allowed the UN and its Arab members to mediate its security policy, all despite the fact that from the first years of its inception (1948-1967) the Jewish state relied o n the UN to justify its existence to the international community. The multi-faceted Arab-Israeli conflict is just one example of how unchecked world superpowers exerted their influence unchecked by the vigil of an international body. Prior to the fall of the Soviet Union, foreign policy was a much simpler venture as the world found itself functioning under the umbrella of just two superpowers, led by and acting under the auspices of either Washington or Moscow. The fall of Communism left a vacuum in the Middle East, as the now-extinct USSR had no allegiances to the Middle East in which it fought a series of proxy wars and conflicts with the United States. What transpired following the end of Moscow’s reign as a world superpower was the creation of several diplomatically independent states in the Middle East. Where Moscow once supported Syria, Egypt, and Iraq while arming said nations’ leaders, they found themselves increasingly dependent on other sources for trade and international subsidy such as the EU and the United States. The foreign policy then drove the security policy, baited by American and EU sponsorship acting independently of the UN. Today, Egypt, once the sworn enemy of Israel (whose cl osest international ally is Washington), receives America’s second-largest international aid package. This of course is contingent upon the maintenance of a lasting peace as well as other conditions detailed in the Camp David Accords of 1978. The UN and the EU’s parts in the conflict were minimal, as security policies of the two comprised of a minimal militaristic component and a far larger foreign policy component. Pinar Bilgin observes in Regional Security in the Middle East how the fragile Mediterranean â€Å"as an alternative spatial representation began to take shape from the 1970s onward largely in line with the development and changing security conception and practices of the European Union,† a group whose policies toward the region â€Å"have been shaped around three major concerns: energy security (understood as the sustained flow of oil and natural gas at reasonable prices); regional stability (understood as domestic stability especially in countries in geographically North Africa); and the cessation of the Israel/Palestine conflict†[5]. Unlike the US and USSR, whose motives will be examined later, the EU was interested solely in the protection of their economic preservation and the prevention of any armed conflict from spilling into their geographic vicinity. In addition to the Arab-Israeli crisis, EU Member States such as Italy, France, and Spain faced growing resentment in the Maghreb (Arab North Africa) as a corollary of imperial European rule. The EU’s policies were hence different from â€Å"non-EU actors [who] encouraged and supported the search for security within a Euro-Mediterranean framework†; the EU has almost â€Å"single-handedly sought to construct a Euro-Mediterranean Region to meet its own domestic economic, societal, and, to a much lesser extent, military security interests†[6]. The American and Soviet interest in the region was also one of economic, political, and security nature, bu t on a much larger scale. Buzan and Waever note in their Regions and Powers: The Structure of International Security how: â€Å"The United States and the Soviet Union were latecomers as major players in Middle Eastern regional security, though the former had long-standing oil interests there. The two superpowers were drawn into a pattern of regional turbulence that was already strongly active. Their interest in the region was heightened by the fact that, like Europe, the Middle East sat on the boundary between the spheres of communism and ‘free’ worlds. Stalin’s aggressive policy after 1945 had pushed Turkey and Iran into the arms of the West. Turkey became a member of NATO, and was thus fixed into the main European front of the Cold War. Until the Islamic Revolution in 1979, Iran fell increasingly under American sway, not only through corporate oil interests, but also as part of the loose alliance arrangements that connected American containment clients in Turkey, Iran, and Pakistan. To counter this US success right on its borders, the Soviet Union tried to play in the Arab world b ehind this front line, by establishing political and military links to the radical regimes and movements that sprang up in the Middle East during the 1950s and 1960s (Syria, PLO, Iraq, Egypt, Libya, Algeria, Yemen)†[7] The entire Middle East, ranging from Egypt to Iran, became what Buzan and Waever describe as a â€Å"third front in the Cold War, after Europe and Asia, and its oil resources tied it powerfully into the global economy†[8]. The Camp David Accords were especially important; while Israeli security policies remained virtually unchanged (the Israeli-Egyptian peace is frequently described as â€Å"cool† in comparison to Israeli-Turkish relations), their foreign policies shifted. The two acted under the auspices of the United States, signalling a significant achievement in the Cold War. Though the â€Å"crosscutting complexities of internal alignments in the Middle East† make it â€Å"difficult to trace a clear Cold War pattern of great power intervention,† the small gains and losses in war and political action were of huge consequence. With the 1978 signing of the Camp David Accords, the United States shifted its foreign policy in the Arab world successfully, sp litting allegiances in the Middle East to one drawn along Arab lines to one drawn along foreign policy lines. With Turkey and Iran (at least until Tehran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution) securely in the American camp, the Middle East was thus left only with Syria and Iraq in alliance with the USSR. Conflict in the Middle East was hence capitalized upon by the United States by way of foreign policy, which existed independently of the nations’ security policies. Foreign policies always shift more easily than security policies, as the former serve the interest of a nation’s economy and the latter are charged with the military protection of a nation’s sovereignty, diplomatic or otherwise. As evidenced by the Cold War, American policies in Iraq alone have shifted dramatically. Prior to 1979, for example, American foreign and security policies were in place to secure its interests (Saudi Arabia and Israel) from Baghdad. From 1979 to 1991, American foreign policies toward Iraq remained the same, but its security policies shifted to accommodate Iraqi military suppression of post-revolutionary Iran. From 1991 to 2003, both foreign and security policies shifted to those of aggression and financial seclusion. It should be noted that until 1991, these foreign policy shifts were executed at the whim of three American presidents. Iran followed the same path, with pre-1979 Tehran under Reza Shah Pahlavi serving as a vital blockage to Soviet expansionism. Following the Islamic Revolution of 1979, security policy was hostile toward and sought to exclude Tehran by funding Saddam Hussein. Foreign policy changed during the Contra Scandal, wherein American military leaders sold Tehran various munitions and weapons in direct subterfuge of Washington’s official military support of Baghdad; weapons were sold to a lesser evil (Iran) in order to fund covert operations in support of Nicaraguan right-wing guerrillas. Managua’s leftist-government was thought to be the latest expansion of Soviet influence and was hence a closer threat in physical proximity than the rise of the radical Islamic government of Tehran which was equally opposed to the Soviets at the time. All this transpired, again, without minimal monitoring by an international body. The greatest irony of the aforementioned events, however, is the perception of their respective successes and failures. America succeeded without international intervention in the pacification and dismantlement of the Soviet Union; however, today’s chaotic Middle East was a corollary, including the 9/11 attacks that changed forever the security and foreign policies of the United States. The current wars waged by America and what allies remain are again largely conducted without the support or monitoring by the UN or any other international body, and it remains to be seen how the future will unfold. BIBLIOGRAPHY Bilgin, Pinar. (2005) Regional Security in the Middle East: A Critical Perspective.London: Taylor Francis Routledge. Buzan, Barry and Ole Waever. (2003) Regions and Powers: The Structure ofInternational Security. Cambridge: Cambridge U P. Myers, Robert John. (1999) US Foreign Policy in the Twenty-first Century: TheRelevance of Realism. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State U P. Wilson, Ernest J. (2004) Diversity and US Foreign Policy: A Reader. New York:Taylor Francis Routledge. 1 Footnotes [1] Myers 1999, p. 98 [2] Ibid [3] Myers 1999, p. 98 [4] Wilson 2004, p. 127 [5] Bilgin 2005, p. 140 [6] Bilgin 2005, p. 140 [7] Buzan and Waever 2003, p. 198 [8] Buzan and Waever 2003, p. 197

Free Essay on the Grangerfords’ World in Huckleberry Finn :: Adventures Huckleberry Huck Finn Essays

Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn - The Grangerfords’ World   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Huckleberry Finn provides the narrative voice of Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and his honest voice combined with his personal vulnerabilities reveal the different levels of the Grangerfords’ world. Huck is without a family: neither the drunken attention of Pap nor the pious ministrations of Widow Douglas were desirable allegiance. He stumbles upon the Grangerfords in darkness, lost from Jim and the raft. The family, after some initial cross-examination, welcomes, feeds and rooms Huck with an amiable boy his age. With the light of the next morning, Huck estimates "it was a mighty nice family, and a mighty nice house, too"(110). This is the first of many compliments Huck bestows on the Grangerfords and their possessions. Huck is impressed by all of the Grangerfords’ belongings and liberally offers compliments. The books are piled on the table "perfectly exact"(111), the table had a cover made from "beautiful oilcloth"(111), and a book was filled with "beautiful stuff and poetry"(111). He even appraises the chairs, noting they are "nice split-bottom chairs, and perfectly sound, too--not bagged down in the middle and busted, like an old basket"(111). It is apparent Huck is more familiar with busted chairs than sound ones, and he appreciates the distinction. Huck is also more familiar with flawed families than loving, virtuous ones, and he is happy to sing the praises of the people who took him in. Col. Grangerford "was a gentleman all over; and so was his family"(116). The Colonel was kind, well-mannered, quiet and far from frivolish. Everyone wanted to be around him, and he gave Huck confidence. Unlike the drunken Pap, the Colonel dressed well, was clean-shaven and his face had "not a sign of red in it anywheres" (116). Huck admired how the Colonel gently ruled his family with hints of a submerged temper. The same temper exists in one of his daughters: "she had a look that would make you wilt in your tracks, like her father. She was beautiful"(117). Huck does not think negatively of the hints of iron in the people he is happy to care for and let care for him. He does not ask how three of the Colonels’s sons died, or why the family brings guns to family picnics. He sees these as small facets of a family with "a handsome lot of quality" (118).

The Aravind Eye Hospital, Madurai, India: in Service for Sight

Economics of Organization PATAGONIA Case * Introduction Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a broad-based movement in business that encourages companies to take responsibility for the impact of their activities on customers, employees, communities and the environment. Patagonia is a manufacturer of high quality outdoor and adventure sport clothing. Patagonia have found unambiguous ways to couple their products’ function and the brands environmental values.Their business model raises major sums for environmental causes and their technological innovation reduces the environmental impact of their products. * How Patagonia turned CSR into a competitive advantage  ? One important issue for a balanced management has been the willingness of the company to create a profit business but with the desire to respect the environment. We might think that this commitment to the environment is not an internally competitive advantage because it can raise costs and hurt margins. Indeed en vironmentally-friendly policies are not the most financially savy.This issue is important because Patagonia’s entire brand and business is associated with preserving the environment. However, externally, this gave Patagonia a competitive advantage because of the brand loyalty it developed. For example, Patagonia’s existing customer base rose in median age to approximately 44 years old in 2002. Externally, this proved to be a significant strategic issue because competition brands like Columbia and North Face were able to attract younger demographics, which represented a significant source of future income.The company had a particularly strong commitment to the environment – so much so that the management was placed inside implement a policy of slow growth to promote a business model that is more respectful of the environment. Beyond simply slowing growth, the company has undertaken several initiatives for energy efficiency and recycling center for its customer se rvice and retail. This is show how the company controls its growth and reduces waste. Patagonia's methods also show that a slew of counterintuitive business tips can lead to do good while increasing the bottom line and that this is why they got to where they are today. Is this competitive advantage sustainable? In my mind, CSR is a competitive advantage. Firstly corporate social responsibility helps rise the companies prestige and fame, which implicitly leads to an increase in the sales, protection in times of crisis and therefore a greater competitive advantage. Even if certain actions may affect economic performance on the short term, they will eventually lead to an increase in the corporations’ long-term competitive capacity due to their beneficial effects at society level and to the creation of a favorable external environment.Secondly, we may state that social responsibility is the corporations response to the requirements of the environment, in the sense that the compan ies’ own actions and goals should be linked to the common interests and major tendencies of the reference environment. It also gives a competitive advantage to the corporations themselves, helping them ensure a sustainable development.

Make Childhood Obesity Bad Again Professor Ramos Blog

Make Childhood Obesity Bad Again Photo Credit: https://www.choc.org/health-topics/childhood-obesity/ There is a saying for when it comes to eating and gaining weight - and no offense by the way. That saying is, â€Å"You are what you eat.† But letting this be the case for adults, what about for children, adolescents, and teenagers as well? For some youths that come from different backgrounds and descents of different ethnicities, their forms of obesity are based on their ethnicity. This is the case for children and adolescents of African-American descent, Latino-American descent, and Asian-American descent. As the experiences of obesity from different ethnicities are being shown, the solutions in combatting against obesity are shown as well so that the next generation of adolescents won’t have to suffer like some are. While there are some adolescents of different ethnicities that fall under the clutches of obesity, restaurants, companies, schools, and children and adolescents that fall under this disorder should change the foods that are served and consumed and alter their habits in order to fight against childhood obesity. Photo credit: https://www.owensworld.com/funny-pictures/cartoons/you-are-what-you-eat Among the various minorities in the United States, childhood obesity is â€Å"prevalent among African American children† (Davis et. al 1). In other words, obesity is a concern for African American adolescents due to causes that vary from family to socio-economic causes. According to a study conducted by Dr. Melvin Davis, Young, Sheila P. Davis, and Moll, they found out, in the state of Mississippi, that obesity in African American adolescents is high in girls than in boys. This is proven with the study showing that 49% of African American girls were obese while 39% of African American boys (Davis et. al 1) were obese. In a sense, gender role also plays a role in adolescent obesity. Another cause to adolescent obesity in African American adolescents and teenagers are parenting styles. According to researchers, they stated that â€Å"parenting style is likely to be a fruitful area of current research into childhood obesity etiology† (Davis et. al 2). The reason for this being that parenting styles are â€Å"essential for controlling childhood obesity† (Davis et. al 2). More specifically, the control factor towards childhood obesity is based on the interaction between children and parents. According to Davis and her research group, they stated that depression â€Å"appeared to compromise African American mothers abilities to engage in more optimal forms of parenting† (2). In other words, depression in parents is a negating factor when it comes to bonding with children while dealing with childhood obesity. Another factor for childhood obesity in African American adolescents is that the parents â€Å"have a history of trying unsuccessfully to help their child lose weight† (Davis et. al 2). That being said, parents sometimes have a misunderstanding of how their children deal with childhood obesity and find different ways in dealing with it. But while there may be ways for their children, there were unsuccessful outcomes to those so lutions. Another factor to childhood obesity in African American adolescents is the family’s history. According to Davis and her group, she stated, based on their research and interviews with the parents that participated in the experiment, that â€Å"14% of their siblings were obese, and 32% of the parents had an obese grandparent† (3). While African American children are affected by childhood obesity, Latino American children are also similarly affected in the same way as African American children. Photo credit: https://theblackdetour.com/the-obesity-crisis-in-black-america/ In a study conducted by Gloria P. Martinez, her research showed that 44% of Hispanic and 32.2% of non-white Hispanic adolescents (Martinez 1) suffered from childhood obesity. In comparison to African American children, her researched also proved that there is a â€Å"prevalence of obesity among Mexican Americans and Hispanic Blacks† (Martinez 2) with a percentage of 49.2% African American children (Martinez 1) that are found to be overweight. The main cause of child obesity in Latino American adolescents are the culture and habits absorbed once they spend time in the United States doing activities that increases their weight. Specifically, the main cause is that â€Å"they adopt American lifestyles behaviors and social norms† (Martinez 2) such as binge-watching and eating foods that are high in fat and sugar. Another cause to obesity in Latino American adolescents are the types of foods they would eat. In a study conducted by Guerrero, Ponce, and Chung, it is stated in their research that Latino American children have a higher tendency for fast food and sugary foods and drinks than vegetables and fruits (Guerrero et. al 4). Moreover, Guerrero and her group’s study shows that Latino American children are â€Å"less likely to consume 2 or more vegetable servings in the previous day than their non-Mexican Latino counterparts† (Guerrero et. al 3). Specifically, Latino American adolescents have less healthy foods in comparison to Asian American adolescents. According to Guerrero, Ponce, and Chung, their study showed that Asian American adolescents - specifically Korean, Filipino, and Vietnamese adolescents - have a tendency for vegetables and healthy foods than Latino adolescents (Guerrero et. al 4). When it comes to fast food, Korean and Filipino adolescents share the same rate of tendency in fast food as Latino adolescents (Guerrero et. al 4). In comparison between Asian and Latino American children and adolescent, their obesity rate s are almost similar except at the point where Latino American children prefer fast foods and high calorie foods and beverages than vegetables. Photo credit: https://www.mprnews.org/story/2012/01/15/youth-latino-health (left) ; https://asiancorrespondent.com/2015/01/new-study-reveals-40-of-chinese-urbanites-overweight/ (right) In regards to the aformentioned ethnicities, one of the places of childhood obesity can be found in schools. According to Suarez-Balcazar et. al, there are many cases in which schools â€Å"are grappling with the problem of unhealthy lunch options and unhealthy items in the vending machines† (1). In California, there was an instance in which the state banned junk foods and drinks from vending machines in schools and introduced salad bars in the luncheon menu (Suarez-Balcazar et. al 2). While that’s not enough, many people from schools were â€Å"concerned about the school luncheons and vending machines† (Suarez-Balcazar et. al 2) since it wasn’t enough to combat obesity. Another state that had a similar movement was in Illinois. Taking place in Chicago public schools, the CFSC, known as the Chicago Food System Collaborative, was formed in order â€Å"to help increase access to healthy foods in a minority community† (Suarez-Balcazar et. al 3). Furth ermore, Chicago public schools were given salad bar luncheons by the Cool Food group which â€Å"involved contracting with the existing school food service vendors in order to include a salad bar option in a few of schools at a time† (Suarez-Balcazar et. al 7). Photo credit: https://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/04/education/04vending.html Photo credit: https://www.fic.nih.gov/News/GlobalHealthMatters/september-october-2017/Pages/preventing-childhood-obesity-in-latin-america.aspx While adolescents may be enjoying fast foods, soft drinks, and anything else they can get their hands on, there are ways to fight against childhood obesity and change the lifestyles that these adolescents conform to when it comes to food, drinks, and activities that are easy to enjoy and indulge yourself in. One way children, adolescents, and teens can fight against obesity is reducing how much food and drinks they consume. Also known as dosing, it is a way to moderate how much children can intake so that they don’t accumulate too much body fat while indulging in food and drinks and not exercising. According to Hoelscher, Byrd-Williams, and Sharma, they stated that dosing â€Å"has been found to be significantly associated with outcomes in child obesity-prevention interventions† (2). Dosing is a common action when it comes to dieting and exercising in order to fight against obesity. Another factor that can be considered is considering environmental factors inside and o utside the places you go and in the food and drinks you consume. When it comes to kids’ meals in fast food restaurants and in other foods that are deemed healthy as inscribed on the label or as seen on TV, they may not be as healthy as it seems. As it turns out, â€Å"commercials still promote predominantly unhealthy food† (Hoelscher et. al 2). So while there are some foods that are not-so healthy, there are other healthy options to consider. Another factor in environmental causes to obesity are the limited number of places for children to play in. According to Hoelscher et. al, â€Å"the lack of safe play areas can decrease physical activity opportunities for preschool children† (2). It is not just in the play areas for small children, but also in the places that adolescents could go to for exercise as they grow. Sure they can’t go to a children’ playground - unless if they want to do so. But there are other places that adolescents can exercise i n, such as the park, basketball court, tennis court, and even the gym. Photo credit: https://www.star2.com/family/children/2016/11/20/tackling-the-problem-of-childhood-obesity/ With obesity being a common concern for today’s adolescents, especially children of different ethnicities, that concern can be combatted with the actions of moderating the intake of high calorie food and drinks, having more healthy options, and exercising. Obesity is not a joke, especially for some of us who may be in this problem. The problem of obesity comes from internal causes - such as what we eat and drink; if we exercise or not; what bad habits we have; history of obesity in the family bloodline - and external causes - such as how restaurants and companies give out their products; how the environment affects what children and adolescents eat, drink, and exercise. Annotated Bibliography Davis, Melvin, et al. â€Å"Parental Depression, Family Functioning and Obesity among African American Children.† Journal of Cultural Diversity, vol. 15, no. 2, Summer 2008, pp. 61– 65. EBSCOhost, http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=truedb=sihAN=32667343site=ehost-live. This article talks about the different causes of child obesity in African American children. These causes varied from social, from within the relationship between parents and children, to the background history of the family. This article will be used to show the causes and statistics regarding child obesity in African American children. Melvin Davis is a professor from Jackson State University and is a part of the university’s Department of Psychology. Sheila P. Davis is from the University of Southern Mississippi. George Moll is from the University of Mississippi’s Medical Center. Guerrero, Alma D., et al. â€Å"Obesogenic Dietary Practices of Latino and Asian Subgroups of Children in California: An Analysis of the California Health Interview Survey, 2007-2012.† American Journal of Public Health, vol. 105, no. 8, Aug. 2015, pp. e105– e112. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=truedb=sihAN=108279158site=ehost-live. This article discusses childhood obesity in regards to Latino and Asian American children. Moreover, this article shows a comparison of obesity rates between Latino and Asian American adolescents. This article will be used to convey the statistics and characteristics of obesity in Latino American and Asian American children. Alma D. Guerrero is from UCLA’s Department of Pediatrics and David Geffen School of Medicine; she also has connections with the Children’s Discovery and Innovation Institute and Mattel Children’s Hospital. Paul J. Chung is from UCLA’s Department of Health Policy and Management and the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health. He also works with Guerrero in UCLA’s Department of Pediatrics and the David Geffen School of Medicine. Ninez A. Ponce is from the Center for Health Policy and Management, Center for Global and Immigrant Health, and UCLA’s Fielding School of Public Health. Hoelscher, Deanna M., et al. â€Å"Prevention of Obesity in Early Childhood: What Are the Next Steps?† American Journal of Public Health, vol. 108, no. 12, Dec. 2018, pp. 1585–1587. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=truedb=sihAN=134666820site=ehost-live The article discusses some solutions in fighting against childhood obesity. These solutions range from dealing with restaurants and companies that supposedly give out healthy foods, the places where children can be active, and much more. This article will be used to show that there are solutions for children, adolescents, and teens in combatting against childhood obesity. Deanna M. Hoelscher and Courtney E. Byrd-Williams are affiliated with the Michael Susan Dell Center for Healthy Living, University of Texas’s Department of Health Promotion/Behavioral Sciences. Shreela V. Sharma is affiliated with the Michael Susan Dell Center for Healthy Living, the University of Texas’s Department of Epidemiology, Human Genetics, and Environmental Science. Martinez, Gloria. â€Å"52. Social and Cultural Correlates of Latino Children’s and Adolescent Obesity.† Conference Papers American Sociological Association, 2009 Annual Meeting 2009, p. 1. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=truedb=sihAN=54430419site=ehost-live This article discusses the statistics of childhood obesity in African American and Latino American children. Moreover, this article specifically shows the perspective of Latino American adolescents being under the veils of childhood obesity and how they cope with it. This article will be used to compare the forms of childhood obesity between African American and Latino American children. Gloria P. Martinez is a professor at Texas State University and is a part of the Department of Sociology. Suarez-Balcazar, Yolanda, et al. â€Å"Introducing Systems Change in the Schools: The Case of School Luncheons and Vending Machines.† American Journal of Community Psychology, vol. 39, no. 3/4, June 2007, pp. 335–345. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=truedb=sihAN=25277755site=ehost-live In this article, the story of unhealthy luncheons and vending machines are told in this article written by Yolanda Suarez-Balcazar and her group. These narratives are told based on their observations in public schools in both California and Chicago. This article will be used to discuss how schools were places that influenced childhood obesity through their unhealthy luncheons and junk foods and beverages given to adolescents through vending machines. Yolanda Suarez-Balcazar is from the University of Illinois’s College of Applied Health Sciences. LaDonna Redmond is Minnesota’s District 3 Hennepin County Commissioner and is currently a part of The Pollination Project as a part of the project of food justice. Joanne Kouba is a dietitian and a professor at Loyola University Chicago. Rochelle Davis is from the Healthy Schools Campaign. Louise I. Martinez is from the University of Illinois’s College of Applied Health Sciences. Lara Jones is from the Consortium to Lowe r Obesity in Chicago Children (CLOCC).

Affordable Care Act Analysis

Affordable Care Act Analysis Provisions of Affordable Care Act (ACA) that intends to Reduce or Increase Directly the Quantity of Healthcare Consumed The ACA provisions aim at ensuring provisions of quality and affordable healthcare to all Americans. Some of the ACA provisions will alter the quantity of healthcare consumed. The first part of the essay is going to show how these provisions will alter the quantity of consumed healthcare.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Affordable Care Act Analysis specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Under the quality and affordable healthcare for all Americans, there is immediate action to expand and preserve coverage. This provision allows citizens to identify affordable insurance coverage options hence enabling many Americans to access healthcare services, thereby increasing the quantity of healthcare consumed; for instance, the formation of a temporary program that covers early retirees under this initiative increa ses the number of health insurance policies. Moreover, the provision on the role of public programs increases Medicaid coverage to low income earners and children. Clearly, this provision increases the quantity of healthcare that the Americans will consume. The hospital readmission reduction initiative, which is under the provision of improving the efficiency of healthcare, is a move towards ensuring that majority of the Americans can afford the re-admission costs; for example, the payments for bone density tests assist both the healthcare providers and patients. In addition, development of new patient care models increases the quantity of healthcare consumed; many patients can be served at a go and even decide on the care model the health providers should accord them. Additionally, the provision to extend healthcare protections and services to rural areas enhances community participation in healthcare programs such as preventing chronic diseases thus increasing the quantity of heal thcare consumed directly.Advertising Looking for essay on health medicine? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More There is also the provision that aims at improving access to innovative medical therapies and community assistance program. These two provisions work hand in hand towards providing services to the underserved community. Notably, the class program is an insurance benefit program for individuals with functional limitations in the society. The discussed provisions of the ACA clearly will alter the quantity of healthcare that Americans will consume after full implementation of the act. Effects of these Provisions on Expenditures and Health The second part of this essay is going to analyze the effects of the above provisions on expenditures and health. The provision to expand and conserve coverage options among the Americans will lower expenditure on healthcare services. This is because people will be free to choose the coverage that they can afford. On the other hand, the insurance firms will record increased revenues, which will be from the many American who had never been insured before. The qualified health plan will improve the health conditions of the citizens. For example, low income earners who could not afford Medicaid are able to access quality, and affordable healthcare; in this sense, their health conditions improve. The provision for improving access to innovative medical therapies obviously improves the health of the citizens, even though it implies increased expenditure to acquire such services. The current disease complications require innovative medical practices that are under the ACA. The provision on the role of public programs assures improvements in Medicaid services, simplification of Medicaid enrolment and enhanced support for children and low income earners. Undoubtedly, this provision will improve the health of the citizens through their engagement in healthcare progr ams.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Affordable Care Act Analysis specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More However, the simplification of the Medicaid enrolment process increases the cost of healthcare in the end, even though the patients do not have a direct feeling of the cost. The ACA initiative aims at revolutionizing the entire American health system in order to provide quality and affordable healthcare to the citizens. Even though it has benefits, there are hidden costs that accompany the initiative which raise expenditures on health; for instance, the tax levied on employers, annual fee for branded importers and manufacturers and increased premiums on insurance covers. Therefore, ACA has effects on both the expenditures and health status of the Americans.

Vocation vs. Avocation

Vocation vs. Avocation Vocation vs. Avocation Vocation vs. Avocation By Mark Nichol In a recent post, I explained the distinction between vocation and avocation among discussions of a group of commonly confused words. Here, I delve into a little more detail about the antonyms (well, usually) and explore their synonyms and the connotations of each. Vocation originally had a religious cast to it; the word means â€Å"calling† (vocation and voice share the Latin root word vox, or â€Å"voice†) and described and still describes the inspiration some people receive to join the clergy or enter a religious community. Vocation also applies to the act of entering the priesthood or a religious order, though that use is rare. Over the hundreds of years since the term was coined, it has spread out into the secular world, where it retains the sober connotation of something that is more than a job a line of work that one has committed to performing. This gravity extends to senses referring to the body of people involved in a certain occupation or the occupation itself. (Compare the close synonym profession.) However, the force of the word was also diluted by association with the now-outdated phrase â€Å"vocational education,† which connotes blue-collar trades that require skills acquired by hands-on training, as opposed to professions one enters after a rigorous course of academic study. But this migration of meaning goes both ways: Profession originally referred to the practice of law or medicine alone one of two disciplines involving rigorous preparation and according the practitioners high social status. This term, from the Latin word for â€Å"public declaration† (thus the sense in â€Å"He professed his love for her on bended knee†), like vocation, originated in a religious context, and referred to the taking of vows. Now, however, virtually every category of employment has been promoted to the rank of profession. I’ve used several loose synonyms for vocation above (besides calling, a direct translation that needs no definition). One, â€Å"line of work,† is an informal reference to what type of employment one is engaged in. Another, trade, remains associated primarily with physical labor, as in â€Å"the building trades.† Occupation, from Latin, refers to any class of employment and is used in adjectival form in such ancillary phrases as â€Å"occupational therapy.† Employment, meanwhile, stems from a French word meaning â€Å"to make use of,† from the Latin implicare, or â€Å"involve,† which, as you might have guessed, is also the precursor of implicate. Employment, far from the idealistic value of vocation, is often used in mundane, bureaucratic contexts, and its close synonym work, akin to the Greek word from which ergonomics is derived, is even more suggestive of toil. A few other similar terms include career, from a French term meaning â€Å"street† or â€Å"passage,† with the implication of a chronological course or passage through a field of employment, and pursuit, a close synonym of vocation and calling, as well as metier (from a French word derived from the Latin term ministerium), which implies a specialty one is especially suited for by talent and temperament. Business (literally, â€Å"busy-ness†), by contrast, is associated with the pursuit of profit, though it can also generally mean a category of professional endeavor. Curiously enough, vocation’s antonym, avocation, is also used as a synonym appropriately enough, because one person’s avocation is another’s vocation though it more often applies to a hobby. (That word is a clipping of hobbyhorse, meaning a toy horse or a horse costume and apparently derived from the diminutive of a nickname for the common name Robert.) Another synonym for avocation is recreation (literally, â€Å"restoration,† because of its connotation of a refreshing diversion). Pursuit also applies to avocation as well as to its antonym. Though the two words are in a sense interchangeable, in a world far from the betrayed post-World War II promise of a shorter workweek, and one in which what we do for business and what we do for pleasure are seldom the same thing, to maintain a distinction between them seems like suitable employment for the two antonyms. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Misused Words category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Passed vs PastDo you "orient" yourself, or "orientate" yourself?Woof or Weft?

The Importance of Play in the Design Practice Thesis

The Importance of Play in the Design Practice - Thesis Example He or she should also possess a passion for innovation, curiosity for exploration and a good amount of perseverance. Again, these are traits one acquires along the way as one grows up from childhood to adulthood. Such qualities rather than being taught are inherent or inspired through different interactions during one’s developmental stages as a child. Thus, the more a person plays during the transition from childhood, and further maintains an interactive mode through play, the more creative he or she will become. The physical, emotional and intellectual developments of humans largely depend on their environment and the activities they engage in during the process of growing up. It is through these activities that they attain cognitive development and emotional as well as intellectual maturity and become responsible adults. Thus, if a person who possesses the traits of imagination, innovativeness and a sense of aesthetics, he will acquire a high level of creative potential. Wh en such an individual pursues a career in designing, proper education and training can make him or her highly proficient and competent professional in the field of design practice. Similarly, when adults continue the activity of play, they will remain imaginative and will be able to sustain their activity. Hence, it can be contended that play cultivates the qualities of imagination, innovativeness, sense of aesthetics and creativity which are essential traits for a designer to excel in his work. Thus, the concept of play has a direct bearing on design practices and it has a vital role in nurturing proficient designers. Psychology of Play Play has an important role in human life, especially in the context of the development of children and cultivating the faculties of imagination, creativity and innovativeness in them. Further, even after one grows into an adult, one needs to continue the activity of play, so as to actively engage their imagination as well as to invigorate their crea tivity. In the course of play, children develop conceptual meanings apart from understanding various things relating to life on the earth, which is a major characteristic in the growth of advanced mental functions. â€Å"Many studies have been conducted on the significance of play in human life and evidence suggests that this activity is one among the most common forms of behavior during childhood.†1 Therefore, this concept has generated intense interest in researchers in developmental and educational areas of psychology. Lev Vygotsky, a renowned psychologist, illustrates the example where he proposes that in the case of a child who wants to go for a horse ride, if he or she is below the age of three, it will probably cry and become angry, if he or she cannot ride the horse. But at the age of three, the relationship of child with the changing world "matures and it understands certain concepts. Thus, the child becomes

BlackBerry - Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

BlackBerry - Report - Essay Example In 2010, it had a market share of 43% in the United States of the American market. However, in the recent years, the market share of the company has dramatically faced a precipitous decline. The steep decline has been due to the intense competition from the Google’s Android and Apple’s iPhones. For this reason, the blackberry company’s market share in the United States personal consumer market only, was trimmed down to 3.8% in the year 2013. However, on other markets other than the United States private consumer market, the products have had a healthy market trend. In September, the same year, the company authenticated an intent letter to be acquired by the United States ($4.7 billion or US $9 per share). It was through a consortium led by Fairfax Financial that then announced its plan to take the company private. Later on November 4, of the same year, the deal was wiped in favor of US $1 billion. At the moment, the majority of the remaining value of the company lies in innovation. A number of different factors influence the company’s competitive position. However, the company’s greatest challenge in the coming months or years will be to prove to business and consumers that they can match the current Android, Apple and the coming up Microsoft juggernauts that seem to be evading into the distance ahead with their consumers. Reports by Marukawa (2010) detail that in the past months, Blackberry smartphones have gone from being the once dominant smartphones in the market to becoming marginal player in most markets. It has resulted to the company suffering significant losses. The company is losing out to the current iPhone and android mobile handsets. Blackberry launched its tablet, and the Blackberry playbook a year after the iPad, first generation. To blackberry, this was one of the moments that proved to be extremely disastrous. The playbook did not sell as

Create a Short story Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Create a Short story - Essay Example Sure, he had enough things to feel proud, but they failed to meet Jacks great life expectations. Tony, his neighbor and secret enemy, was an epitome of success. Tony was everything Jack wanted to be. He was tall, well-dressed, successful, self-confident and humorous person who had all doors open for him. They worked at the same organization where Jack had the opportunity to observe how Tony climbed his career ladder. Jack remained an ordinary clerk when Tony was promoted again and again. Tony was loved, celebrated and appreciated when Jack was forgotten. Daily routine swallowed Jack and his thoughts. There were papers to be sighed and reports to be made up. There were piles of paper on his desk and a dozen of unread emails. Jacks depression was getting worse and worse with every thought which popped up in Jacks head. The invisible fight between Tony and Jack was over and Jack had to grasp his knockout. The day was over and Jack had to go home. When the doors of the elevator closed, he found himself standing in front of Tony with no other people around. The tension was increasing with every second. Jack could hardly control his despair and anger; he wanted to stop this humiliation of being so close to the person whom he hated most in his life. â€Å"You have everything I want to have in my life. When I look at your loving and beautiful wife and marvelous two kids, I understand that my life is completely empty. You might be the happiest person in the world. Sorry if I bother you.† The doors opened and Tony rushed to his car leaving puzzled Jack behind his back. He did not look at Jack and left the office building quickly. The situation was totally absurd, and Jack struggled to understand what had just happened. His role model and his greatest enemy turned into a secret admirer of Jacks humble family

The Black Death in Western Europe Research Paper

The Black Death in Western Europe - Research Paper Example Larger cities were the worst affected because more densely populated areas spread the disease more quickly than rural areas due to poor sanitary conditions existing at that time. The plague would come to a region, last for approximately a year, kill roughly one-third of the population then move on to another area. Most historians believe that more than one-third of Europe’s entire human population (20 to 30 million people) died between 1347 and 1351. The massive numbers of deaths were not the Plague’s only consequence, however. It also affected the political, social and economic landscape of this large area of the world. The poorest segment of society was the most affected because they were more likely to reside in unhealthy conditions and had insufficient means by which to safeguard their health. The massive decline in population caused the economy of all European nations to be negatively affected with an expected surplus of food supplies and other products. â€Å"Pri ces fell greatly which allowed those that survived the Plague to enjoy more wealth which stimulated the economies in the respective regions. However, when more money is being circulated, inflation is generally the byproduct which caused prices to steadily rise, causing economies to again suffer.† 1 The Black Death changed everyday life in all types of communities. Larger towns were the most affected overall because they were major trade centers but when the disease hit smaller towns and villages the awful results were extremely destructive to the communal harmony. In the smaller towns, everyone knew and depended on everyone else but after the Plague’s outbreak people turned away from their neighbors, family and friends whom they had known their entire lives. The Plague spread terror throughout the community largely due to the mysterious quality of the disease. Its extremely contagious nature changed people’s attitudes regarding the significance of community. â₠¬Å"People abandoned their friends and family, fled cities, and shut themselves off from the world. Funeral rites became perfunctory or stopped altogether, and work ceased being done.† 2 Gradually, community officials implemented a method to help eradicate the Plague from a community. Isolating victims helped to keep it from spreading as quickly but this technique also heartlessly stigmatized large sectors of a community. Those that exhibited symptoms were forced to remain in their homes. Naturally, this method resulted in a death sentence for the victim and their family. â€Å"From these and many similar or worse occurrences, there came about such fear and such fantastic notions among those who remained alive that almost all of them took a very cruel attitude in the matter; that is, they completely avoided the sick and their possessions; and in doing so, each one believed that he was protecting his good health.† 3 The massive panic was accompanied by widespread isolatio n which grew progressively more extreme as the number of dead mounted. Those infected and their families became progressively more secluded and shunned when they most needed the emotional understanding and physical care from neighbors and friends. â€Å"The fact was that one citizen avoided another that almost no one cared for his neighbor, and that relatives rarely or hardly ever visited each other. They stayed far apart.†

Watch the video then answer the question Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Watch the video then answer the question - Essay Example Therefore, each business needs to be interested in ‘something’. But what is this ‘something’ they or Profit? The answer is to ‘care’ for the society that is an important stakeholder for any business that cares all over the world. Jenipher with her opening speech tells us that each magazine and TV channel you open, tells you about the green living and the environmental family living, to be precise this can only be achieved when the issue of care is integrated. The guy who is talking in the video too is motivated to start the company with the aim of reaching people in the ministry and achieving a positive environmental agenda. It is great to see they put quality first when giving methods to approach to social responsibility. That means the issue of care is prioritized. Not only does caring make you like a complete citizen but it boost the company’s image, brand and reputation in the eyes of those you are serving to your goods and services and the public at large. Partnering with the environmental factor like the wind energy makes everything environmental friendly. These guys are more into recycling their used product material and most occasions they are so conscious with the emission of CO2 in the environment. They plant more trees to counter the CO2 emitted into the environment thus keeping both the external and the internal environment clean to its workers and consumers at large. In conclusion Most of the companies use social marketing as a way of differentiating themselves in the market. The company on the video, for instance, gives forth its product with a caution of the product not causing any harm to its customer. The male speaker terms that product that has an effect on the consumer as ‘unhealthy’. In fact, he terms it as ‘not sounding healthy’. To be precise, care should be the main goal for any company to its clients as it gives them an upper hand in the business environment. Good packaging, branding and pricing of the products

How does 'Services Response Logistics' differ from 'Logistics Essay

How does 'Services Response Logistics' differ from 'Logistics - Essay Example Now I will explain the concern of the services response logistics. Main concern of the SRL is management of the service capacity. Service capacity is the number of consumers for each day the company’s service system is intended to hand out (Hertz et al, 2003). When demand goes above to the capacity, company has to turn away consumers or employ personnel all these steps are taken to increase capacity of company.Managing service capacity comprises the capacity utilization.   Capacity utilization used to level demand strategy, because the capacity turns out to be steady in spite of demand. When demand goes above than capacity, line up management strategy arrangement with surplus customers (Rogers et al, 1999).In the situation when demand is higher than capacity, at this time capacity management used for (Bowersox, 2005):   Ã‚  Ã‚   Hiring part-Time Employees  Ã‚  Ã‚   Utilizing consumers- those are hidden employees  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Making use of innovative technology  Ã‚     Ã‚   Cross-Training & giving out employees  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Utilizing employee setting up strategies  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Utilizing demand management actionsIn the situation when available service capacity exceeds demand, Capacity Management is used for exercising demand management practices and discovering other uses for service capacity. Logistics is only concerned to the forward and backward running and storage of supplies, services and associated information (Hertz et al, 2003). But SRL is used for the management of distribution channels engage customary methods and latest channels that slot in fresh internet technologies.

The Black Death in Western Europe Research Paper

The Black Death in Western Europe - Research Paper Example Larger cities were the worst affected because more densely populated areas spread the disease more quickly than rural areas due to poor sanitary conditions existing at that time. The plague would come to a region, last for approximately a year, kill roughly one-third of the population then move on to another area. Most historians believe that more than one-third of Europe’s entire human population (20 to 30 million people) died between 1347 and 1351. The massive numbers of deaths were not the Plague’s only consequence, however. It also affected the political, social and economic landscape of this large area of the world. The poorest segment of society was the most affected because they were more likely to reside in unhealthy conditions and had insufficient means by which to safeguard their health. The massive decline in population caused the economy of all European nations to be negatively affected with an expected surplus of food supplies and other products. â€Å"Pri ces fell greatly which allowed those that survived the Plague to enjoy more wealth which stimulated the economies in the respective regions. However, when more money is being circulated, inflation is generally the byproduct which caused prices to steadily rise, causing economies to again suffer.† 1 The Black Death changed everyday life in all types of communities. Larger towns were the most affected overall because they were major trade centers but when the disease hit smaller towns and villages the awful results were extremely destructive to the communal harmony. In the smaller towns, everyone knew and depended on everyone else but after the Plague’s outbreak people turned away from their neighbors, family and friends whom they had known their entire lives. The Plague spread terror throughout the community largely due to the mysterious quality of the disease. Its extremely contagious nature changed people’s attitudes regarding the significance of community. â₠¬Å"People abandoned their friends and family, fled cities, and shut themselves off from the world. Funeral rites became perfunctory or stopped altogether, and work ceased being done.† 2 Gradually, community officials implemented a method to help eradicate the Plague from a community. Isolating victims helped to keep it from spreading as quickly but this technique also heartlessly stigmatized large sectors of a community. Those that exhibited symptoms were forced to remain in their homes. Naturally, this method resulted in a death sentence for the victim and their family. â€Å"From these and many similar or worse occurrences, there came about such fear and such fantastic notions among those who remained alive that almost all of them took a very cruel attitude in the matter; that is, they completely avoided the sick and their possessions; and in doing so, each one believed that he was protecting his good health.† 3 The massive panic was accompanied by widespread isolatio n which grew progressively more extreme as the number of dead mounted. Those infected and their families became progressively more secluded and shunned when they most needed the emotional understanding and physical care from neighbors and friends. â€Å"The fact was that one citizen avoided another that almost no one cared for his neighbor, and that relatives rarely or hardly ever visited each other. They stayed far apart.†

How does 'Services Response Logistics' differ from 'Logistics Essay

How does 'Services Response Logistics' differ from 'Logistics - Essay Example Now I will explain the concern of the services response logistics. Main concern of the SRL is management of the service capacity. Service capacity is the number of consumers for each day the company’s service system is intended to hand out (Hertz et al, 2003). When demand goes above to the capacity, company has to turn away consumers or employ personnel all these steps are taken to increase capacity of company.Managing service capacity comprises the capacity utilization.   Capacity utilization used to level demand strategy, because the capacity turns out to be steady in spite of demand. When demand goes above than capacity, line up management strategy arrangement with surplus customers (Rogers et al, 1999).In the situation when demand is higher than capacity, at this time capacity management used for (Bowersox, 2005):   Ã‚  Ã‚   Hiring part-Time Employees  Ã‚  Ã‚   Utilizing consumers- those are hidden employees  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Making use of innovative technology  Ã‚     Ã‚   Cross-Training & giving out employees  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Utilizing employee setting up strategies  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Utilizing demand management actionsIn the situation when available service capacity exceeds demand, Capacity Management is used for exercising demand management practices and discovering other uses for service capacity. Logistics is only concerned to the forward and backward running and storage of supplies, services and associated information (Hertz et al, 2003). But SRL is used for the management of distribution channels engage customary methods and latest channels that slot in fresh internet technologies.

Silver Blaze Essay Example for Free

Silver Blaze Essay What are the roles of Holmes and Watson within Silver Blaze and what is there relationship with each other? In this assignment I am going to look at the relationship between to characters that are both very hard to judge this is due to their roles and use in the storys created by Conan Doyle. Holmes and Watson are two characters, created by Conan Doyle. They live a very interesting and adventurous life. They have a great interest in crimes, which have been committed and enjoy solving them and understanding the criminals intentions. Watson is a retired medical who worked for the army and has a lot of knowledge. After reading Silver Blaze I have noted that Holmes always seems to be the master mind in solving the crimes, and that Watson is telling the story as though he is dictating it in his diary. It seems to give the reader the impression that Holmes gives the orders to Watson, but not in a harsh way, he gives the reader the impression as though he is the leader. Also when they arrive at the town of Tavistock they are greeted with great care, there is a carriage waiting to escort them to their hotel. The relationship between Holmes and Watson in Silver Blaze is clear. The first thing we can learn straight away is that both Holmes and Watson are both livening together and both also are always travelling together, this shows us that there relationship is strong, and we also can note that they never argue therefore there friendship is very strong. Also we know that not only do both Holmes and Watson live together but also work together. This makes it hard but yet also very easy to evaluate their relationship. This is because I could evaluate the relationship between Holmes and Watson if I was to read all the Conan Doyle books, which he wrote. I could judge the relationship easier, but the problem which I do face is that Holmes and Watson spend so much time together, there relationship is very strong and is lot more than I can talk about it through Silver Blaze. This is because from what I have read I see there relationship as two working partners, when I say partners I mean business partners. Also to show that the relationship of Watson and Holmes is very strong, in line 505 it shows Watson defending Holmes whos intentions are to drop this case; I was about to make some reply in defence of my friend, when he entered the room again. Watson gives the picture as though he is Holmes sidekick. This is the image given by the writer to the reader, but if you continue reading the story and understand the characters you can learn that both men would not be as successful as they are, if they werent together. This is because the two men both have great knowledge and expertise in different sectors and fields and always needs the others opinion. A good example of this is when they discover the knife that was used in the incident in Silver Blaze; Holmes turns to Watson for his medical expertise. This shows us that both men require each others knowledge. For example, Line 122, Watson ask, One moment! asked Watson. Did the stable boy, when he ran out with the dog, leave the door unlocked behind him? This allows us to see that Holmes requires Watsons help. We can tell this because of Holmes response is; Excellent, Watson! murmured my companion. The importance of the point struck me so forcibly that I sent a special wire to Dartmoor yesterday to clear the matter. This response tells us that Holmes requires Watsons knowledge. It also in a way steals Watsons clever work, ideas and his theory about the crime. This also tells us that Watson is not just a friend who helps Holmes by being with him, but Watson is an important part to Holmes cases, because of his knowledge. The writer Doyle gives us the impression that Watson is telling the story that makes the reader think that Watson does not play a major part in the case. A good example of this is: Excellent, Watson! murmured my companion. Murmured my companion, those three words tell us that Watson is telling the story. Also it also states Holmes and Watsons relationship, which is that the two are very close companions. Also I have noticed at the end of the short story Watson evaluates the story and the case after Holmes has explained the mystery and the puzzle of the case. Also a lot of the crime solving and puzzles are explained by Homes, the reason why I think this is because Watson is seen to be Holmes pupil. The reason why I think this is because all the explanation is done by Holmes and all the introduction to the cases are done by Homes. As example of this is shown on the first page to the story, Holmes explains to Watson about him leaving, and then Watson offers to come along, and once this is said by Watson, Holmes is very glad and happy that Watson has offered to come along. So overall I feel that his relationship between Holmes and Watson is very strong and powerful, this is because they have friendship, partnership and a lot of trust in each other. There partnership is also very successful because they both see each other as very useful, and are always happy to listen to each others views without arguing or disagreeing.

Karl Marx Biography

Karl Marx Biography In this essay I will seek to assess the contribution of Karl Heinrich Marx, to the writing of History in this present day. To do that I will look at the factors that influenced the man such as the thinking during the period he grew up in, the political atmosphere at the time, the persons who Karl Marx associated with and those who influenced him and finally I will look at how the writings and theories of Karl Marx changed the way History is written today. Karl Marx was born on the 5th of May 1818 in Trier in Prussia in the geographical area of what is now Germany. He studied at the universities of Bonn, Berlin and Jena. After finishing school he went and wrote for the Rheinisch Zeitung. Marx married his girlfriend Jenny von Westphalen and then he moved to France, it was while in Paris that Marx began to mingle with the working class, while appalled at their poverty while at the same time he was surprised and impressed by their comradely. It was also in Paris that Marx met and became close friends with Friedrich Engels; they both shared similar views on capitalism. Karl Marx had numerous influences and to understand his reasoning we would have to understand his influences, perhaps the greatest influence on Karl Marx was Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel. He was one of the foremost philosophers in Germany, with his opinions being widely thought, however his followers were divided into right wing and left wing Hegelians. The Left Wing Hegelians of which Karl Marx associated with were mostly revolutionary figures in politics. Marx did not interact with Hegel on a face to face basis but rather studied under one of his pupils who was Bruno Bauer. Marx was also influenced by his close friend Engels book, The Condition of the Working Class, which had led to the Marxs conception of the historical dialectic of class struggle. Social classes develop on the basis of the different positions that individuals fulfill in the prevailing mode of production-that is, the economy as quoted from Power and Society: An Introduction to the Social Sciences by Brigid C. Harrison, Thomas R. Dye. The central theme of Marxs thinking was the issue of class struggle, he was not the first to understand that society was divided into stratified classes, however he was the first to discover that the existence of classes were interlaced to the forms of production or economic structure in place and that the proletariat which has it meaning in the Latin word proletarius which means the lowest class in society could revolt and lead to the creation of a society without classes. The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles. As quoted from The Communist Manifesto and Other Writings by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels which basically meant that Marx viewed all forms of society before and up to his time as s tratified ones with persons of the lower classes fighting for a more prominent or higher social class than the one they currently occupied. Karl Marx noted in The Germany Ideology that the class which is the dominant material force in society is at the same time its the dominant intellectual force. Which simply meant that the persons in a position of authority at any period in time are the ones who determine the goals of that age and if we delve deeper into that we can comprehend that if a select group of persons control the thought patterns they will basically use that intellectual advantage to forward progress in their favor or use it to keep to lower classes under subjection or in perpetual poverty unless those lower classes collectively come together to overthrow the ruling classes and ensure that advancement is in favor of all. The contribution of Karl Marx to historiography created a different way of analysis of the past. Historical Materialism was a theory of Marx that afforded the opportunity to use a methodological approach to historians as well as bringing to the forefront, the predicament of persons in the lower classes of society which also ties into History from Below which simply means observing and commenting on historical progress from the view of ordinary persons in society as opposed to the Great Man View which means only writing history from the perspective of kings and other such persons of great influence in society. His reasoning was that, changes in history occurred not by a series of accidents but were the outcome of relationships between people. The hypothesis of Historical Materialism was first originated by Marx in the book Das Kapital: A Critique of Political Economy. He maintained that division of labor is not equal therefore it would lead to some having more than others and out of that would arise conflict and the only path to the complete change and abolition of societal hierarchy would be through social or political upheaval. The theory of Historical Materialism is divided into a three-part social structure, which are: the productive forces, the relations of production, and the political and ideological superstructure. The Functional Explanation is what is put forward by the theory in an attempt to explain why these three parts are an asset to each other and are essential for progress. An example of this view in use by a historian can be seen in the works of F.W. Walbank who speculated that these productive forces were responsible for the fall of the Roman Empire, whos rate of production remained the same whilst the cost of maintenance and expansion increased and that when combined with the use of slaves who were offered no incentives and viewed all forms of labor with contempt was what kneelt the death blow to the roman empire. Marx deemed that to prevent a repeat of the fall of the Roman Empire in modern societies, society would have to develop and move forward in a series of stages. Some of which had already come to pass and the present one in which he lived. These stages in order of appearance were; Communalism or Primitive communism because of the lack of individual ownership of property and the lack of social hierarchy, where persons who lived under this system shared everything and life was not looked at from an individual stand point but rather from the stand point of the group as a whole as they hunted and gathered together, The stage that followed was the Slave Society, this was such as it was the emergence of classes where there was a section of society that owned slaves and then there was the slaves themselves, agriculture was developed to a point where it could support large populations also persons no had private property and such some persons had more than others and possess the wealth to buy even persons and view them as property, after came Feudalism which came to prominence during the European middle ages, where the lands were ruled by a small land owning nobility who got their positions of power by; inheritance, conquest or marriage, the major classes during Feudalism were; Kings, Lord and Serfs who were on par with slaves with the difference mainly being in the name and the fact that they were not legally owned by the landlords, nest came Capitalism which had an economy based on mechanical production, most individuals had personal property, it was not ruled by monarchs but it was a democracy where power was awarded by the people through election, this however does not mean that there was universal suffrage, also in a capitalist system workers were paid wages for duties performed which in turn led to the existence of financial institutions, however Marx viewed capitalism as an evil to be abolished for a better for of society because capitalism still had a minority ow ning most of the resources while the majority had none and labored for miniscule wages in deplorable conditions, Socialism was the next best thing as it had a planned economy with no personal ownership of property with the ruling being done by groups of the common people who had no real higher social status than the persons who they governed and finally came Pure Communism which was basically the same as socialism but without any remnants of capitalism. The contribution that Marx therefore had on history was that Historians who used his theories in research focus on specific points such as the growth of productive forces in society, civilizations characterized by the dominate classes and their relationship to production, and the view of political institutions in a broader social context. Marx also was criticized heavily for is theory on history, in Historiography: Ancient, Medieval, and Modern by Ernst Breisach it was said that the theory was destructive to the existing social order, to empirical research, and to a truly historical view of the world. This was due to the strict guidelines by which Marx viewed history as in there was no leeway to explore other reasons for the way things happened and the way they are now. In conclusion, the theory of Historical Materialism by Karl Marx was influential the world over to both historians and on-historians alike, it offered tools and definitions that aid the study of history today. He brought to history the focus on the classes of society and the effect they have on civilization also he started to shift away from the notion that history was only to be written about Great Men but instead can also be written from the perspective of common folk. It was said of Marx by Che Guevara he suddenly produces a qualitative change in the history of social thought. He interprets history, understands its dynamic, predicts the future, but in addition to predicting it, he expresses a revolutionary concept: the world must not only be interpreted, it must be transformed.

Symbolism and Theme in William Faulkners A Rose for Emily Essay

Symbolism and Theme in William Faulkner's A Rose for Emily  Ã‚  Ã‚   In William Faulkner's short story "A Rose for Emily," a series of interconnected events collectively represent a single theme in the story. Symbolism is the integral factor involved in understanding the theme. "A Rose for Emily's" dominant theme is the search for love and security, a basic human need which can be met unfavorably in equivocal environments. Faulkner's use of symbolism profoundly develops the theme of the story, bringing to light the issues of morality that arise from a young woman's struggle to find love. Faulkner provides the necessary pieces of symbolism, speckled through out the action of the story, for the reader to assimilate and assemble. Curiously, it is a broken time line that Faulkner follows, that allows him to achieve maximum effect at the end of the story. The placement of the conclusion or denouement at the beginning of the story, allows the curiosity of the reader to become strongly engaged on the character of Emily Grierson. As the narration begins with the funeral of Emily, the juxtaposition of the image received in the opening paragraph, is sharply compared to that of the information found in the third paragraph. Where in the first the town has come to pay respects to a fallen monument, in the third it is learned that she was really, "...a duty, and a care; a sort of hereditary obligation upon the town..." (276). The story progresses through flashbacks, and Emily is heard speaking to the gentlemen representing the Board of Aldermen, and it is noticed that she is wearing a thin gold watch chain. It is not until a lull takes place after the spokesman announces the purpose of their visit, that they then,"... could hear the inv... ...uest for love and security, and Emily has provided this for herself. Whether she knew the process through which she gained it was moral or not remains a mystery whose answer died with her. She sought refuge from the cold, and inhospitable environment of abandonment. She sought to get away from the only life she ever knew. The strategic placement of symbolism in the action of this story, provides vast areas with depth of knowledge from which the theme comes forth. The reader is pulled into character early on, by placing the conclusion up front, and placing the falling action at the end of the story. This creates a greater sense of surprise or shock value, and may even evoke a sense of true pity for Emily from the reader. Work Cited Faulkner, William. â€Å"A Rose for Emily.† Literature for Composition. 4th ed. Ed. Sylvan Barnet, et al. New York: HarperCollins, 1996. Symbolism and Theme in William Faulkner's A Rose for Emily Essay Symbolism and Theme in William Faulkner's A Rose for Emily  Ã‚  Ã‚   In William Faulkner's short story "A Rose for Emily," a series of interconnected events collectively represent a single theme in the story. Symbolism is the integral factor involved in understanding the theme. "A Rose for Emily's" dominant theme is the search for love and security, a basic human need which can be met unfavorably in equivocal environments. Faulkner's use of symbolism profoundly develops the theme of the story, bringing to light the issues of morality that arise from a young woman's struggle to find love. Faulkner provides the necessary pieces of symbolism, speckled through out the action of the story, for the reader to assimilate and assemble. Curiously, it is a broken time line that Faulkner follows, that allows him to achieve maximum effect at the end of the story. The placement of the conclusion or denouement at the beginning of the story, allows the curiosity of the reader to become strongly engaged on the character of Emily Grierson. As the narration begins with the funeral of Emily, the juxtaposition of the image received in the opening paragraph, is sharply compared to that of the information found in the third paragraph. Where in the first the town has come to pay respects to a fallen monument, in the third it is learned that she was really, "...a duty, and a care; a sort of hereditary obligation upon the town..." (276). The story progresses through flashbacks, and Emily is heard speaking to the gentlemen representing the Board of Aldermen, and it is noticed that she is wearing a thin gold watch chain. It is not until a lull takes place after the spokesman announces the purpose of their visit, that they then,"... could hear the inv... ...uest for love and security, and Emily has provided this for herself. Whether she knew the process through which she gained it was moral or not remains a mystery whose answer died with her. She sought refuge from the cold, and inhospitable environment of abandonment. She sought to get away from the only life she ever knew. The strategic placement of symbolism in the action of this story, provides vast areas with depth of knowledge from which the theme comes forth. The reader is pulled into character early on, by placing the conclusion up front, and placing the falling action at the end of the story. This creates a greater sense of surprise or shock value, and may even evoke a sense of true pity for Emily from the reader. Work Cited Faulkner, William. â€Å"A Rose for Emily.† Literature for Composition. 4th ed. Ed. Sylvan Barnet, et al. New York: HarperCollins, 1996.

Discovery :: essays research papers

Discoveries reveal things that we often would prefer to keep hidden. Discuss the concept of â€Å"Discovery† and the effects it has on those who are involved. You must refer to your set text and supplementary material which you have studied in relation to this topic. The topic discovery involves the reviling of past things that were previously unknown. These truths can range from physical objects to self-awareness, from new knowledge to hidden memory. However, discovery can be such a powerful thing that some things may be better left hidden. An example of someone discovering the past is in the set text, Sally Morgan’s â€Å"My Place†. The supplementary material that will be â€Å"Paperbark-tree† by Oodgeroo Noonuccal and Sarah’s Story from the National Inquiry. Two issues that are raised in â€Å"My Place† are the discovery of self and the search for historical truth. Part of growing up involves the discovery of self. This normally means finding out your family’s history. In â€Å"My Place†, Sally grows up feeling that there is a lot about her past that she doesn’t know. â€Å"the feeling that a very vital part of me was missing and that I’d never belong anywhere.† When she was a child, her best friend was Winnie the Pooh. She felt that she had a lot in common because they both felt like misfits. Both her mother and grandmother know that Sally doesn’t know much about their Aboriginal heritage, and so therefore tell her that she is Indian.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Come on, Mum, what are we?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  What do the kids at school say?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Anything. Italian, Greek, Indian.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Tell them you’re Indian.† Eventually Sally find’s out that she is Aboriginal and by finding this out, starts her on a quest for knowledge. This feeling of having not much idea of who you are may make you want to go and find out the truth. A big example of this is Aborigine’s who were taken from their parents as children and sent away to work as slaves. In Sarah’s story she explains how as a child, just like Sally, she was told that she was not aboriginal. She was white skinned living with her white skinned father and had to be taken away because people believed that white skins should not mix with natives. â€Å"We were discouraged from any contact with Aboriginal People.† The second issue that is faced in â€Å"My Place† is historical truth. Know matter how the reader interprets the story, they are always going to be able to read about Australia’s past.

Philips Versus Matsushita Case Essay

Philips and Matsushita are two giants in the global consumer electronics market. Their international strategies and organizations are very different — while the former pursued a localization strategy, the latter pursued a global standardization strategy; while the former made use of highly self-sufficient national organizations (NOs) for strong local responsiveness, the latter adopted †one product one division† structure for cost cutting. Nevertheless, both companies encountered their difficulties as global environment changed and have then undergone major restructuring over the years. So what are the recommendations for these companies to survive in the changing environment? Philips has developed local responsiveness through its decentralized structure of national organizations (NO). This structure has a great advantage in being able to sense and quickly respond to the differences in the local markets. As a result of product development is a function of the local market conditions. Philips had developed 8 major R&D facilities throughout the world that are highly specialized. They have been a success introducing such products as first color TV in its Canadian NO and first stereo TV in Australia. However, these inventions were not shared with the rest of the NOs in Philips because of the lack of communication between NOs and headquarters. For example, Philips’ Beta videocassette format wasn’t shared with other divisions as the strategically valuable invention, as a result North America Philips rejected this invention outright choosing instead to outsource and sell Matsushita’s VHS tapes. In order to prevent these strategic mistakes, the main role of the headquarters should be scanning of business activities across countries and identifying resources and capabilities that might be a source of competitive advantage for other companies in the firm. In the 1980s, Philips competitive position weakened significantly. Competition from rapid technological change, emergence of global standards for electronic equipment and low cost Japanese manufactures all contributed to the overtaking of Matsushita. Past efforts to develop technological capabilities abroad have f ailed due to the company’s highly centralized R&D structure in Japan. Matsushita have transferred significant resources to local R&D centers, however the delegation of many responsibilities and framework of R&D came from headquarters in Japan. This philosophy was not well accepted by engineers of the acquired local companies because of the excessive functional control from the headquarters.  As the result of central R&D dictatorship overseas companies were not able to develop innovative capability and entrepreneurship. The challenge for Philips is to adopt a more flexible integrative process to balance its decentralization with controls and put in place suitable global coordination mechanisms. As NOs take over the development, manufacturing, marketing and services functions on Philips, these powers have to be reallocated to a centralized module or directly sell to other companies so as to control their powers and facilitate global integration. Yet, the technology capabilities should not be a trade-off for cost cutting purposes as it is where Philipsà ¢â‚¬â„¢ core competency lies at. Customer-focused approaches like quality after-sales service or intensive market researched should be conducted to promote the strength of its technology and branding. Moreover, an information system should be established to allow free knowledge or information exchange between NOs. The challenge for Matsushita is to enhance its local responsiveness to balance its centralization with innovation and entrepreneurship and put in place suitable localization mechanisms. First, Matsushita should establish an information system for technology and produce development for all its subsidiaries. Global knowledge transfer is important to provide basic foundation and technical support for innovations. Second, Matsushita should form cross-functional teams to investigate the local market. By employing a diversified profile of people, they can give findings or suggestions on various parts of operations like customer-relationship management, manufacturing, marketing, rather than just produce development alone. Lastly, they should recruit more local talents to stimulate the company culture as well as gather more insightful thoughts.

A Project-Based Learning

A project-based learning approach is extended in which knowledge acquired in water resources engineering lessons is utilized to devise a storm-water management scheme. The goal of the project is to accentuate the significance of assessing design skills attained in the coursework. The students are expected to apply an understanding of material they learned from their lessons in water resources engineering and environmental engineering; which led them to develop a solution for storm-water management scheme. Also, the project aims to introduce students to the power of internet resources and computer technology and quickly carry out the many iterative analyses often required at the detailed stages of design. Considering the importance of project-based design work in enabling proficiency attainment and understanding fundamental natural resources along with engineering concepts are discussed with an approach proposed for facilitating the assimilation of design teaching within water resources engineering course. Approach presented seeks to exploit student enthusiasm for engineering project work in order to enhance an understanding for water resources engineering. The design project considers a â€Å"real† problem, i.e. storm-water management system. It is argued that reality plays an important role in maintaining student commitment, which is essential for effective learning. This paper provides an overview of how design teaching can provide an integrating theme within a water resource-engineering course. The emphasis of the current approach on student-centered active learning rather than the traditional passive learning methods is also discussed. Finally an assessment is made of the project-based approach to design teaching and its ability to develop an understanding of engineering principles, to develop skills in various software packages, and to maintain student enthusiasm using active learning techniques. Design teaching is seen as important, both in itself and as an integrated theme running throughout environmental degree courses. One of the prime objectives is to demonstrate the requirement for integrating the material covered in traditional environmental engineering courses within a design context. In this way, the importance relevance and application of water resources and environmental engineering courses can be emphasized. In addition to this, it is recognized that project-based work is important in developing student enthusiasm for engineering and can therefore provide a mechanism for maintaining the required levels of interest throughout the course. Design projects are very often carried out with the students working in groups, which can be applied to develop teamwork and effective communication. One of the major advantages of project-based design work over traditional, formal lectures is that it is student-centered, requiring active learning rather than the passive acquisition of information through lectures. Although the amount of material that is possible to cover within a single design project is demanding in terms of both student and faculty time, it is argued that project-based work may be a more effective method for acquiring knowledge and developing understanding. The importance of reality in effective design teaching has been highlighted by other authors who argue that the production of the artifact or system designed is an essential part of the educational process. Project-based design teaching often provides the opportunity assessing an existing design through an audit or for producing a new prototype, which would not normally be possible within a conventional lecture coarse. Project-based teaching, therefore, offers the additional advantage to students of dealing with real problems and it is arguably more tangible than other teaching techniques. Although formal lectures provide an important means for acquiring knowledge, it is suggested that students often have more difficulty in understanding the material and seeing the relevance in course material when it is delivered in this way alone. The educational objective of project-based design teaching within water resources and environmental engineering degree courses are not always fully appreciated. Therefore, it is the aim of this paper to discuss a range of objectives and show how they may be achieved within the context of a particular stormwater management design project. A shelter belt system along with a stormwater transfer management system was analyzed using EPANET2 and EPANET2 at SWMM5 design software packages. The shelter belt technology is a proven technology being used in Germany and the Netherlands for controlling stormwater. It was combined with the most-advanced Japanese water transfer technology. A group of students worked on the software packages to simulate the experience while another group of students worked on stormwater management using rainwater gardens and calculated various parameters. Students were encouraged to search for the information on the internet and other sources. Required information and guidance were provided by the instructor. The projects aim to demonstrate the importance of integrating water resources and environmental engineering in the design process as well as to develop team work and communication skills. In addition, it is student-centered, requiring active learning. The project-based development, which enables the advantages discussed above to be achieved, is recommended as one that could readily be adopted within environmental and water resources engineering courses. In the following sections, an outline of the project specifications is first given. The educational objectives are then presented in detail and the educational value of project based design teaching is discussed. However, before discussing the detailed aspects of the design projects, it is helpful to consider the present projects in the context of an overall design model (a range of design models is discussed). The design process may be considered to comprise the following well-established phases: project specifications, common conceptualization, manifestation, and detail. This process pertains largely to original designs, but aspects of the overall process are also relevant to variant design into which category the current design projects in general fall. In variant design, an existing design solution is adopted and modified. Therefore, the present design projects identify a case study in variant design. The generation of design solutions requires some consideration of the original design process discussed above. But the majority of the project is concerned with the detailed design phase.Specification of design projects: The following projects were conceived based on the interest of various groups of students:Using shelter by technology for effective stormwater management.  Use of rainwater garden for stormwater management.Designing stormwater management for rural areas.Applying SWMM5 for real life data from Toledo, New Orleans, and Flint.The students were required to choose their topic in the beginning of the semester and were expected to carry out a litereature review, which was part of their final report.In addition, students were allowed to explore all the internet resources and EPA software, such as SWMM5. Objectives: The ultimate aim for the students is to establish a strategy for dealing with stormwater due to hurricanes (e.g. Katrina, Harvey).The aim is achieved by ensuring the following specific objectives are met: ? To use rainfall data.? To estimate runoff based on the current features for a particular site.? To explore possible solution for the problem.? To employ SWMM for modeling purposes.? To calculate various parameters manually.? To use EPMNET2 for finding the water transfer.The design projects are structured in this way to ensure that particular educational objectives are achieved, and these are discussed for each of the above items in a later section. Methods: The design project is carried out over a period of 12 weeks with a total of 10 hours allocated for the project. Students were encouraged to utilize Blackboard for communicating with the instructor and among themselves. During the first session, students came up with their interested project topic selection. If for any reason students were unable to come up with a topic, the instructor helped them by suggesting alternative topics. Students were given specifications and guidelines on a weekly basis depending on the progress they made on their projects. Students using the software were given a step-by-step procedure for utilizing the software package. Some exercises were also prepared for the students, which were directly related to the project. The first session concludes with a discussion of the project specification between the project supervisor and the students enabling any initial problems to be overcome.At the beginning of the second session, it is expected that students will generate a conceptual diagram along with data and tables, which can be utilized towards laying out the flow of the project. Students utilizing the software were expected to learn the software. In the second session, students are expected to identify all the necessary specifications and to comment on their effect on the success of their projects. This is carried out by means of discussions during the second session with the project supervisor. By the start of the third and final sessions, students are required to present their findings in the class and critique by other groups. In the fourth session, they were required to write the final report, whichreceived comments by the project supervisor. Assessment/feedback: The work of the students is assessed by a group project report that shows details of all the hand calculations and details of the proposed design. A project report rubric was provided by the project supervisor to the students in the beginning of the semester when students came up with the project topics. Their final presentation was also assessed according to a presentation rubric, which was also posted in the same manner. Assessment is carried out in particular to identify the following: ? The ability to generate a simple model for a complex stormwater problem to enable realistic operating conditions to be calculated.? The ability to employ environmental and water resources engineering concepts.? The ability to interpret the results obtained.? The ability to produce a well-structured technical report in which arguments are put forward cogently and design decisions are justified.Feedback to the students takes place throughout the course of the project through discussions with the project supervisors and detailed comments relating directly to the students' reports. Educational objectives:Use of design, knowledge, and making simplified assumptions.Manual calculations.Discussion/conclusions: The design projects discussed in this paper had been run for six months, with some modifications as feedback became available. It is argued that the projects are successful in demonstrating the importance of environmental and water resources engineering within a design context. Furthermore, it provides an integrated approach combining computer software, environmental and water engineering, and design for the consideration of a real design problem. In this way, it is suggested that it is possible to maintain the students' interest and enthusiasm for environmental and water resource engineering through the use of project work. At the same time, this develops students' understanding of the required engineering and design principle. In addition, it develops students' skills in the use of computer software. Environmental and water resources engineering degree courses have been discussed in terms of the need for knowledge acquisition, the acquisition of skills, and the development of understanding. The projects described in this paper requiresknowledge acquisition, the accumulation of actual information, and the developing understanding of computer skills. The approach presented is effective for the development of understanding because it is student-centered, requiring active learning. It requires the students to express their understanding of concepts and discuss them, and to get rapid feedback during the discussion. The process of carrying out design projects in this way is closer. Therefore, to a tutorial approach to teaching and learning than to a lecturing approach and therefore has many advantages. The disadvantage of the project-based approach largely relates to instructor and student time requirements. In addition, it is argued that within given design projects, only a limited domain of environmental and water resources engineering can be considered. The project based approach to student learning, therefore, needs to be run in parallel with more traditional methods but cannot replace them. The projects discussed in this paper are highly suitable. It is argued for inclusion within conventional, environmental, and water resources engineering courses. This would then fulfill the purposes of both reinforcing the understanding of environmental and water resources engineering principles in a way that maintains the students' interest and enables the environment and water resources engineering courses to be run in an integrated way with the design teaching. The importance of design as an integrating theme running throughout environmental and water resources degree courses has not been established. There is growing concern among industrialists and employers of graduate environmental and water resources engineers of the way in which computer software packages and applying knowledge to real world problems are used. These design projects discussed in this paper address this issue directly and it is suggested that a more questioning attitude among students in the use of software packages achieved with a more integrated approach to engineering and design teaching. The importance of reality in teaching engineering design has been discussed by several authors since it is found that much greater impact and lasting effect on memory may be achieved if these students can see the necessity for what they are doing for the real world. The present design projects considered a stormwater management problem and the students applied their knowledge obtained through several sources.