Cuban Missile Crisis and Cold War Assignment Essay

During the 1960’s, one of the most thing that the American government and the American people had to face was the Cold War. People who grew up during the 1950’s, 60’s, and 70’s would have talked about the war like it was an everyday thing. But, as the years and decades have gone by people have might have a different option and some might not even know or remember what it was. Interviewing 3 people will show what the average citizen knows or remembers about the Cold War. During the interviews, I asked 3 questions that would help me find this answer. They included, what words or phrases come to mind when you think of the term Cold War? Did you ever study the Cold War in school? If so, what are some aspects of the Cold War that you remember? Who were the parties involved in the Cold War? Can you name any key events that we mainly associate with the Cold War? The first person that was interviewed said the first word that came to mind when asked about the Cold War was the Cuban missile crisis. This person did study the Cold War in school and remembered that the United States was trying to keep most of the things discrete when it came to the political side of the war. The parties involved according to this person were the United States and the Soviet Union. Some of the key events that were associated were of course the Cuban Missile Crisis, the dealership of arms at the time, and the nuclear weapons involved. This person remembered a key point in the Cold War but, did not remember in detail what was taught in school. The second person that was interviewed stated the key things that came to mind about the Cold War, was the Soviet Union. They also mentioned that the Soviet Union had fallen after the Cold War. This person has also studied the Cold War in school and remembered that it lasted a long time and was after WWII. This person said the parties that were involved were the Soviet Union and the United States. The key elements that most people would relate to the Cold War were the length of the war and that it cost the United States so much money. They stated that the war was over a 4 decade period and said it cost upward to 8 trillion dollars and countless numbers of lives lost. This person knew about the cold war but only remembers a little of what was taught from school. The final person that was interviewed, stated that the first thing that came to mind when asked about the Cold War was the war was based the state of military rivalry and political tensions. The war consisted of the United States government and the government of the Soviet Union. The United States lost many lives in the hundreds throughout the long drawn out war. The person stated that they did study the Cold War in school and can remember how controversial it was for the American people and also with the government. The individual stated that the two parties they can think have been the United States and the Soviet Union. Finally, a key element of the war that was known across the United States was that the war had the complications of nuclear weapons and the countries trying to become a leader in arms dealing. Basically, see who had the most weapons and the more military firepower and power overall. This person had more knowledge as far as the understanding and remembrance of the Cold War. After conducting the interviews about the Cold War, there are some similarities to what the people who were interviewed had said. The definition of the Cold War was similar to the one given at the beginning of the assignment. All of the definitions of what the cold war was about and what were the key elements have to do with the political issues and the issues of the American people. This shows that people were divided in deciding if the Cold War was the right way to go. There was a lot of tension and cautiousness about the topic of the Cold War.

Potential hazards Essay

Doors are being left open is a big hazard because it opens a various amounts of hazards such as the children walking through the nursery alone without supervision. Having a doors open can also allow people to come into the nursery which jeopardizes the safeguarding of the nursery. The nursery overcomes this by having code locks on all entrances of the nursery as well as all of the internal doors. Hazard number two: sharp objects. In Nursery the children have a craft area and there are pots of scissors on a top a cupboard that the children can reach, this is a hazard because event thought they are safety scissors they are still sharp and can cause harm to the children. Another sharp objects that can be found around nursery can be the knifes at dinner time, they have to make sure that they are rounded and blunt in case the children dropped them on the way to their tables. Hazard number three: sockets. As the nursery is an old building the sockets and electric works are low down so if the plug sockets do not have a safety plug in the children run the risks of shoving objects in to the sockets and electrocuting themselves. The positioning of the sockets are positioned low to the floor to prevent a trip hazard. Hazard Number four: slip hazards. With the nursery providing drinks throughout the day and liquids there is a potential hazard of the children slipping and hurting themselves. To prevent this the nursery does regular checks of the toilet because the children wash their hands they drip their hands and they monitor the children when they have a drink. Hazard number five: hot food temperatures. In the nursery they operate a self-serve lunch service so when they give the children the food they have to make sure that the food is not hot enough for them to burn them if they drop the food as well as when the children eat the food that it is not to hot that they burn themselves when eating the foods. During food preparation the food has to be heated to a high temperature to kill off any bacteria that can cause disease. Hazard number six: registers.

Assignment Working Capital Essay

Abstract In this paper I’ll analyze the fundamental differences between the working capital structures and components for Google and Oracle, and speculate upon the main reasons why such differences exist; how each company could improve its working capital positions. As a Wall Street Analyst who has to recommend one of the companies as an investment to a company’s clients; based solely on that company’s working capital; as an Investment Banker who has to recommend loaning a substantial amount of capital to one company based solely on that company’s working capital. Working capital structures The selected companies that I have selected to compare are Google and Oracle. Google Inc. is a company that specializes on providing online tools such as search, differences between the working capital structures and components for each chosen company. Oracle Corporation is responsible for developing, marketing, and servicing of database and middleware software, system hardware and software applications. The company also offers consulting services in areas such as business architecture planning and design, and enterprise and information technology alignment. Both Google Inc. and Oracle Corporation have been performing well thus investments can be made in the companies. In the financial year 2014 Google Inc. had a net income of $16.86 million, an increase of 17% compared to the previous year. The net profit margin for the company was registered at 29%. (morningstar.com)The balance sheet provides that the Morningstar.com had total asset amounting to 72.89 million which is an increase f rom previous year. Total organizational profits were amounting to 110.9 million and shareholders’ equity of 87.31millions. The financial ratios for the company indicate that the company had a debt to equity ratio 0.05 indicating that its equity is enough to cover debt. The current ratio for the year 2014 was 8.0 showing that current liabilities cannot be fully covered by the current assets. Another financial ratio indicating company financial condition is book value per  share which amounted to $145.68. Investment return ratios include return on equity of 14.80%, return on assets of 11.65% and return of capital of 18.1 indicating that the company is adequate using its assets and equity to generate returns for the company. Morningstar (2014) provides that Google had a price earning of 18.88 and earnings per share of 27.72 indicating that income is high. In order to determine the risk of investing in the company I identified the beta value which is provided at 0.91. (morningstar.com) On the other hand Oracle Corporation registered 28.62% decrease in net income in 2014 which is .7% increase compared to 2013. The net profit margin for the compared is established at 81.09%. The total assets in the company as at 31st May 2014 was $ 99,726.00 indicating a strong asset base while the total liabilities amounted to $13,377.00 and shareholders’ equity was valued at $ 47.93 million. The financial condition in Oracle can be identified using financial analysis such as current ratio which is determined to be 2.8 for the company showing that current liabilities are greater compared to current assets. The debt to equity ratio is determined to be 0.40 thus the company is able to meet its debts as and when it arises. Interest coverage is provided at 16.4 while book value per share is 10.50. Oracle’s return on equity for the financial year 2014 was 23.4, return on assets 12.13% was while return on capital was 17.42 thus the company is effective in generating returns for equity. The diluted earnings per share is 2.38 and the beta value is provided at 2.39. (Morningstar.com) Improve working capital Improving working capital position, a company is able to compare from year to year any increase in revenue; increase in production due to a decrease in variable or fixed costs, increase in sales due to a new sales workforce and any increase in liabilities; new short term creditors, a higher accounts payable account due to the need to purchase new materials. A company can improve its working capital by trying to keep a healthy balance between the two accounts, cutting costs, and analyzing its current short-term debt in terms of how to decrease it or find alternative ways to avoid it such as restructuring production procedures. (Schroeder, el. 2014) Role of a Wall Street Analyst As Wall Street Analyst deciding which company to invest in I would determine  whether the company is stable financially, investment returns and risks associated with the investments. Gross working capital means the amount invested in the current assets of the company.Net working capital means the difference between the current assets and current liabilities. If the current assets are more than the current liabilities, then it is positive working capital. Otherwise, it is negative working capital. Working capital is the measure of company’s solvency, its ability to pay its suppliers without any delay. Considering these factors I would invest in Google since it has higher earnings per share and an investor is likely to receive higher returns when dividend is paid. Google has registered stronger growth compared to Oracle evidenced by increase in profit levels. (Schroeder, el. 2014) Investment Bank As an Investment Bank whom with solely working capital by increase in current assets is the outflow of cash and when the company increases its current liabilities, it is inflow of cash. If the changes in working capital are negative, it means the company is heavily investing on current assets or reducing the current liabilities. When the changes in working capital is positive, it means the company is selling of current assets or increasing its current liabilities. I would especially invest in Google’s bonds compared to stock since bonds have a guaranteed rate of interest thus I would be receiving returns after an agreed period. Selection of bonds over stock is supported by the fact that the company has a lower beta vale compared to Oracle thus it has less risk to default on the loan. (Schroeder, el. 2014) References Google Inc. Financials Report Retrieved November 16, 2014 http://financials.morningstar.com/ratios/r.html?t=GOOG Msn. (2014). Oracle Corporation. Financial Results. Retrieved November 16, 2014 from Http://Moneycentral.Msn.Com/Investor/Invsub/Results/Statemnt.Aspx?Lststatement=Balance&Symbol=Us%3aorcl&Stmtview=Qtr Oracle Corporation Financials Report Retrieved November 16, 2014 http://financials.morningstar.com/ratios/r.html?t=ORCL Schroeder, R. G., Clark, M. W., & Cathey, J. M. (2014). Financial Accounting Theory And

Maintaining the pH in Its Normal Levels Prevents the Growth of Research Paper

Maintaining the pH in Its Normal Levels Prevents the Growth of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus - Research Paper Example Methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA), just like other S. aureus strains avoids such immune response through catalase, which efficiently breaks down hydrogen peroxide into water and oxygen. This activity of the catalase in the escape of the host’s immune reaction has been shown in a murine animal model (Das and Bishayi, 2009). What was not mentioned in the primary reference is that what is so distinct about MRSA is the fact that the bacteria cannot be killed by the most common antibiotics, penicillin and cephalosporin groups, characterized by their beta-lactam ring. Briefly, these antibiotics prevent the production of the bacteria’s peptidoglycan-rich cell wall by inhibiting transpeptidation. MRSA contains beta-lactamases that bind to beta-lactams, and render these bactericides inactive (Agrawal, n. d.). Effectiveness of alkaline solution against MRSA infection It has been proposed by Shannon Brown (2010), in his article, â€Å"End of MRSA-How?†, prevention of M RSA infection simply involves avoiding acidic food products and stress, which increases the acid in the digestive tract. According to Brown, the acidic environment allows the normal flora of the gut to die and the acidophilic MRSA to thrive. The solution to a potential MRSA infection is said to lie on increasing the pH of the environment to which it is exposed to. Despite the seemingly simple solution to the problem of MRSA infection, prevention still poses a great challenge as the current food products available in the market are cultivated using acidic fertilizers and pesticides. Many people also enjoy drinking coffee, tea, wine and alcohol, all of which make the gut more acidic. As such, the article suggests that alkaline solutions can prevent uncontrolled MRSA growth in the body. Specifically, taking in pHenomenal, an alkaline water concentrate, as food supplement is said to potentially increase the pH of the digestive tract, and to subsequently prevent MRSA infection. Such acti vity has been shown through an in vitro pH neutralization test, whereby lactic acid was neutralized by pHenomenal at approximately 1:22 acid-to-pHenomenal ratio. Another alkaline product suggested to prevent MRSA infection is B-pHree, which can be applied on the skin, where MRSA normally resides. In an antibacterial efficacy assay done on this substance, it was found that it effectively inhibited the growth (100% growth reduction) of Staphylococcus aureus inoculated in Tryptic Soy Agar (TSA) incubated for 24 hours. Despite the promise of MRSA prevention and the availability of prophylactic measures, there are potential problems regarding the claims of preventing bacterial infection by increasing the pH in the gut. Literature review Normally, the stomach is highly acidic, with pH of approximately 2. This acidity is a strategy to control the activity of pepsin, which catalyzes the breakdown of proteins into organic compounds that can be used by the body in its various physiologic proc esses. In addition, the highly acidic environment of the stomach prevents the growth of most pathogens that cannot thrive in such extreme conditions. In fact, it has been shown by Suzuki (1994) that the low pH of gastric pH is directly related to decreased amounts of pathogenic bacteria such as Staphylococcus and MRSA in the gut. In addition, it was found that cancer patients before and after operation, who have high levels of gastric pH are more likely to have Staphylococcus and MRSA in the gut. Although the in vitro experiments have both supported

Discrimination in hispanic business Research Paper - 1

Discrimination in hispanic business - Research Paper Example The majority of the Hispanic business owners underline that employees in their companies are lacking of management skills. There is no essential source of financing directed on employees skills development. On the one hand, it is rather effective to promote Hispanic business in case of employees are of Hispanic origin, because very often non-Hispanics are not hired as a major part of employees. Hispanic business owners are prevented from private and public market options. A great number of respondents agree upon the fact that the government does not give them an equal opportunity for business development and promotion. There are many cases, when Hispanic business owners were oppressed and discriminated. One of the main examples is the following: "Latino business owners in Queens have complained that they feel discriminated against by Community Board 3 when they apply for licenses to sell alcohol" (Medina, 2012). There is a clear rejection in license because of business owners Hispanic origin. Palagauchi accuses government of racial prejudices. He underlines that Hispanic business owners know English and they can be good specialists, but they can find no help. The government remains silent. Other businessmen of Hispanic origin underlined that a hostile mood, an aggressive behavior, total prejudice and abuse were experienced by them in the process of documents collecting and applying for alcohol trade license. Very often people in different business fields are complaining about a cruel attitude. It is necessary to introduce new perspectives and the new waves of immigrants of Hispanic origin to America are also looking forward to finding new ways of personal realization of business goals. On the one hand, America is a big country and there are many different options for realization of goals of these people. As a matter of fact, ethnic minorities are exposed to

Discuss how mass production transformed architecture by focusing on Research Paper

Discuss how mass production transformed architecture by focusing on either canonical works of modern architects or the works of - Research Paper Example This article shall discuss how mass production transformed architecture, mostly focusing on either canonical works of modern architects or the works of non-architects. Body The introduction of computers have transformed design processes as well as design economics as it has also changed the quality of products which can be secured. The design software which designers have come to use has shifted from being a discerning environment and concept to a more generic mass produced design. The quality, the artistic-focused design as well as the modified quality of buildings, mostly homes, based on architects have generally been indicated for the rich and privileged members of society (Mumford, 2003). However, the traditional concept of prefabricated buildings also includes in the discussion a different type of craft not often seen among the low and middle class. Prefabs seem to be the answer to the issues on governmental housing systems, emergency shelters, as well as the need to secure envi ronmentally friendly homes (Friedman, et.al., 2013). Just as museums have guaranteed for art, the prefabrication exports effective work for the general public. This is known as the commoditization of architecture and this paper shall further discuss the need for a strong interest in prefabs and related commoditization. Prefabs are generally an encompassing term. It is easily understood within the concepts of non-architects with great interest in architecture (Harker, n.d). It is often viewed with confusion by those who are not aware of design concepts. Prefabs also do not present with a specific definition, one which would allow for a strong appreciation and showing in the market. In general, all the houses are created in the US with prefabricated elements, but mostly, they do not have the necessary elements which would indicate that they are genuinely prefab (Harker, n.d). Modular housing is generally associated with prefabricated housing, but should also not be confused with manuf actured housing, within the concepts relating to construction quality as well as associated processes. Although the manufactured homes bring up different ideas on mobile housing, which are not nearly acceptable, modular housing presents more attractive site-assembled parts. Moreover, the Building Research Establishment in Scotland indicates that prefabs, whether they be of full volumetric indication or founded on component application, the need only covers construction applications, not the end-result or product (Phillipson, 2001). In general, there are different elements of prefabs: the kit home, the panels, and the volumetric modules (Blauvelt, 2007). The kit home refers to the parts which would be delivered on site, already packed with different parts to be assembled. The panels call for additional on-site work. One of the panels is delivered in large panels, including the walls, the roof, and floor; the rest are put together by skilled labourers (Buchanan, 2007). The module home covers a complete and defined prefab home. The different parts of the home are built in the factory with all the necessary parts built together, unless the different parts are used due to issues in the transport (Blauvelt, 2007). Moreover, the volumetric module is at 90% completion after shipment. As such, securing results from delivery to the handling of keys covers a

Evaluate Legislators in Manassas, Virginia (United States) Essay

Evaluate Legislators in Manassas, Virginia (United States) - Essay Example He stated that he tends to be one of those people who get very passionate about issues, and he is not afraid to stand up and speak. Herring stated that the reason why he had voted against the original transportation package because it shifted most of the responsibility off of the state legislature and onto the local governments. He thought that the original bill is unworkable. He stated further that the local government is really a prerequisite for serving in the General Assembly. Herring ran on a platform of focusing on the three issues: transportation, education and managed growth. Sandy Sullivan, president of the Loudoun Education Association, who endorsed Herring this year, worked on Herring's campaign two years ago. Herring got funding for the projects on his list and delivering results to the citizens.Herring vowed that he will focus not only on finding funding for new projects, but ensuring that the money already allocated for specific roads stays there. Herring said illegal immigration has been a concern of some citizens. Herring said he has worked on two pieces of legislation that would help address the issue of illegal immigration and public safety. ... The first would require courts to check citizenship status of everyone arrested for a felony and withhold bail from those in the country illegally. He reasoned that if a felon is an illegal immigrant, then he is a flight risk. The second measure would make consequences tougher for businesses that are not following the employment laws. Herring believes in a good and quality education for the young people of Virginia. He also wants to make sure that the local schools are retaining quality teachers year after year. Herring worked on legislation that will give grants to Virginians who graduated from a local community college and want to transfer to a Virginia university. Herring's dedication to education is total. The Loudoun Education Association has acknowledged his support. His motivation for becoming a legislator was the same as his motivation for becoming a lawyer. He said that helping people solve their problems motivates him as a legislator. Senator Herring fought hard to repeal the abusive driver fees. Then he therefore, co-sponsored Senate Bill 1. Senate Bill 1 is a bill which would not only repeal the abusive driver fees but it would also refund with interest any fees that drivers have already paid. The hated abusive driver fees were the wrong approach to trying to solve the transportation problems of Virginia. The consequent impact studies on the abusive driver fees have shown they have not been effective at deterring bad driving behavior. Herring aims to continue to work with other members to try to find ways to improve the transportation funding package. To help restore the public trust in the land use process, he introduced a

General nursing skills Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

General nursing skills - Essay Example I will also be discussing them in this assignment how important the skills I garnered will be in my future profession. The purpose of reflection is basically looking back at an event or time and analysing the emotions, feelings and other things involved at that point in time. Reflection usually involves questions such as â€Å"What went well?† and â€Å"How did I feel at that time?† Normally, reflection is done spontaneously, not based on formula. It normally occurs when feelings, emotions and thoughts about a particular event gradually surface (Atkins & Murphy 1994). However, there is no use in reflecting upon an activity if I the skills that I acquired during the activities and others that I improved upon will be going to waste. This is where the NHS framework is important. NHS knowledge and skills framework provides a comprehensive and consistent framework for review and development of a staff member. It determines and describes which knowledge and skills are important for staff to apply during at work and to deliver excellent services (Agenda for Change Project Team 2005). The NHS knowledge and skills framework has several purposes. NHS knowledge and skills framework is based on good people management. It is involved in looking at how people would like to be treated and more importantly, how they should be treated. Because of these, one of the purposes of NHS knowledge and skills framework is to check on the development of services by investing in staff members. This is done so that the service provided has good standards and it meets the needs of the public (Agenda for Change Project Team 2005). Another purpose of the NHS knowledge and skills framework is to support the learning process of the staff members, whether as a team or as an individual. It promotes effective learning and development. It aims to support the learning process of the members of the staff by letting them grow in various ways and

Networking topic Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Networking topic - Research Paper Example mmunication facilitates the similar communication as telephone without loss in reliability, functionality or quality; as well as in fulfillment by the ITU (or International Telecommunications Union) presented communication specifications. The term of VoIP is as well employed to denote the software and hardware utilized to perform such calls over the Internet network (BestPriceComputers). Internet Telephony is acknowledged as Voice over IP, which facilitates people to speak to other people over the Internet. Specifically, Internet telephony makes use of the Internet in place of public switch telephone to establish a connection between a calling party and one or more called parties. To do an Internet call, caller needs to install Internet telephone software. Because when the caller talks into a computer microphone, then the Internet telephone software and the computer’s sound card digitize and condense voice and then distribute the compressed voice over the Internet to the target party or listener. In the same way, a call receiver also needs to install the Internet telephone software as software at the receiving end reverse this procedure as a result call receiver can listen what caller party have said (Shelly, Cashman and Vermaat 464). In every VoIP communication system, caller’s voice is transformed into online data packets of data, similar to small fi les, as well as then distributed to the target or receiver over the web/Internet as well as decoded at the receiver end back into our voice. Also, to complete this process quickly, these online data packets are compressed prior to distribute, in the same way as we zip our files and folders for reducing their size (ProgrammerWorld) VoIP communication offers lot of advantages regarding better and effective communication. Below I have outlined some main advantages of the VoIP technology: (Garden), (BestPriceComputers), (Unuth) and (TechTarget): Facility of IVR, conference calling, automatic redial, call forwarding

Deviant Then, Revered Now Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Deviant Then, Revered Now - Coursework Example For his work, he was posthumously awarded with ‘President’s Medal of Freedom.’ Talking of the eight people, who received this award, President Obama said, â€Å"Each of them was an agent of change. Each saw an imperfect world and set about improving it, often overcoming great obstacles along the way.† (â€Å"cbs5†). This tremendous change in perception of people of U.S.A. towards Harvey Milk was brought about by a series of events. What triggered this change was the acceptance of homosexuality by American Psychiatric Association. The same association had earlier considered homosexuality to be a ‘mental illness’. Some political issues also contributed to the cause. In an attempt to gain the votes of LGBT (Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender) society, democratic leaders refused to discriminate based on sexual orientation and supported gay rights. Clinton, during his tenure, authored an executive order banning discrimination based on sex. All the hard work of gay activists has paid off and citizens of United States of America have realized that the sexual orientation of a person is a private, and not public, issue; that looking down on a person because he/she is homosexual is unjust. Most of the provinces have legalized same sex marriage. (Head) .All this began with a man who was unabash ed of his homosexuality and refused to be treated like criminal for being so. Harvey Milk was offered a tribute in the form of the movie ‘Milk’ that was released in 2008. In my opinion, the events mentioned above did not lead to a change in the perception of American citizens towards Harvey Milk. Rather, it was Mr. Milk’s work for gay rights and his acceptance of himself that led to the above events and finally, towards the freedom of

Texting While Driving Essay Example for Free

Texting While Driving Essay Sitting on the highway in traffic and the cell phone goes off. Hearing the recognizable text message ringtone a person starts to think, â€Å"Maybe it’s my friend telling me about the update on the party tonight, or my mother, what if something is wrong? † It does look like traffic is going to be moving anytime soon, and knowing that it would only take a min, if that, to respond, they do. Before they know it the car in front of them stops too fast and there in an accident. Texting while behind the wheel takes your eyes off the road, you lose your focus, and it has a high risk factor. Texting while driving is very dangerous and can cause serious harm. Texting while driving takes away the one thing that absolutely everyone counts on while behind the wheel, vision. No matter where the phone is placed, whether it is on the dash board or on the steering wheel, one’s eyes are not where they need to be. People’s eyes are suppose to be one the road at all times. Texting takes that away and it doesn’t matter how quick someone thinks they are, there is always a possibility. Just for that split second of reading a message that is o so important, a crash could happen. Eyes are the most important thing needed when driving and when not on the road a lot of harm can be caused. Yes some people are able to text without looking at their phones, and they might think it is safe, but it isn’t. Just because someone’s eyes aren’t on the phone doesn’t mean their focus isn’t. There is a saying that goes, â€Å"Just because your hear me, doesn’t mean you’re listening to me. † This can also be said about sight. Just because someone is looking at the road, doesn’t mean they are paying attention to what’s going on. That is exactly how it is with texting. A persons eyes might be on the road, but their focus is on what they are saying in that message. While they are trying to make sure they hit the right key on their phone their not noticing what’s going on around them. This can be dangerous because people don’t only have to worry about how they are driving but concentrate on the drivers around them. With their focus on the phone a car could easily dart out in front of them before they notice it and cause a accident. The element of surprise also makes texting while driving dangerous. People never know what is going to be in a message. It could be something so surprising that a person completely forgets that their driving to celebrate. It could be something so sad that someone could break down in tears and lose control of the wheel. Not knowing what one is going to read or how they are going to react is a good reason not to even take the risk. Mostly everyone in their own way is guilty of texting while driving. Even though someone might think they’re the fastest person at texting, there is always a chance. They may not believe that it can be that damaging but in reality it can. A life is more important and is worth waiting until not driving anymore.

Political Events and Shipping Demand Essay Example for Free

Political Events and Shipping Demand Essay Introduction Modern shipping is the life-blood of the world; without it, much of the demand for imports and exports would not be met. In 2006, world seaborne trade was estimated to have reached 30,686 billion ton-miles, having grown by 5. 5% over the previous year. Despite the prevalence of air transport, up to 90% of world trade is carried over the oceans in humble ships. The demand for seaborne trade is driven primarily by the world economy; various industries produce the goods that need to reach different parts of the world. In its most recent World Economic Outlook , the International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecasted global growth of 3. per cent for the rest of 2008, lower by 0. 2 per cent from the previous month’s estimate. In spite of the dip, the world economy is still growing annually, led by the emerging markets that are hungry for resources to fuel their growth. Beyond the economy, there are several other factors that determine demand for shipping. This paper seeks to evaluate the role of political events and its impact. In addition, it seeks to look into which commodity is most affected by such incidents. In his book, Maritime Economics, Martin Stopford writes that ‘no discussion of sea transport demand would be complete without reference to the impact of politics’. In the following paragraphs, this paper will address the main types of events that affect shipping demand both positively and adversely. 2. 0Political events that have affected shipping demand the most 2. 1Opening-up of the Chinese economy The accession of China into the ranks of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and Beijing winning the bid to host the Olympics in 2001 were events that had large political motivations and caused a tremendous rise in demand for shipping. Since then, China’s economy has seen astronomical growth. In order to fuel this development, the country has increased both its imports and exports in almost every industry. This has taken the world by storm as countries the world over compete to feed and fuel the world’s most populous country. Hence, seaborne trade and demand for shipping worldwide has been skyrocketing as a result of China’s booming economy. 2. 2War and the economic embargoes Conversely, war and economic embargoes and sanctions are the leading cause of a drop in maritime activity. In broad terms, the hostilities in the Middle-East region have led to disruptions in movements of oil shipments to the developed world. In the 1950s, the Suez Crisis between Britain, France and Israel against Egypt, led to the diversion of ships around the Cape of Good Hope to avoid the tensions. Two decades later on 17 October 1973, the ongoing Yam Kippur War caused the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries to stop shipping oil to nations that supported Israel’s war efforts. The impact of this embargo on shipping was the collapse of the oil tanker market and led to a series of recessions and periods of high inflation that persisted until the 1980s. Other examples would include the Korean War in 1950 and the Gulf War in the early 1990s. . 0Commodities affected Crude oil accounted for 26. 9 per cent of total goods loaded in 2006. Due to the sheer quantity of oil being shipped worldwide, any political event jeopardizing seaborne trade would usually entail oil shipments being affected. This is because the resource is abundant in only certain parts of the world; the Middle-East is one such region that is plagued with rogue political regimes and instability. In the above-mentioned events in the region, the hostilities resulted in disruptions to the oil trade and consequently, oil price. This would be discussed in the section on Iran. Another sector that would be affected would be the metal industry trades and in particular, that of iron ore. Western Australia and Brazil are major exporters of iron ore to growing markets like China which need it for its continued development. 4. 0Opening of China’s economy Since the 1970s, China has been gradually introducing economic reforms and providing enterprises with autonomy. However, it was only in the last 2 decades that the world’s 2nd largest economy has opened itself up to greater foreign investment and world trade. This was carried out through the relaxation of import and export controls and trade reforms in the form of reduced tariffs. All this led to a significant milestone for China and the world – its ascension into the ranks of the WTO on 11 December 2001. In addition, Beijing won the bid to host the 2008 Olympics that same year. These 2 events have set the stage for China’s rapid development. In the following paragraphs, this paper will explain its effects on the world and global trade and shipping. Based on a working paper by the IMF written in 2004, the international impact of China’s ascension into the WTO is far reaching. Firstly, sustaining the growth of China would provide benefits to its trading partners; beyond the processing of trade, there has been significant growth in imports for domestic use and outbound tourism. Secondly, China’s insatiable thirst for energy and metal imports have since fuelled the rapid rise in imports of such commodities. Lastly, multinational companies are tapping into the large domestic market especially with the freeing up of the country’s banking sector. This paper believes that China’s meteoric rise over the last two decades and more significantly, since the dawn of the new millennia, have created a surge in demand for world seaborne trade and shipping. 4. 1China’s role in transforming Western Australia and beyond As a result of China’s booming steel industry, Australian exports of iron ore to China reached more than A$4 billion last year. BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto, two of the world’s largest resource companies, share the metal-rich Pilbara of Western Australia to feed China’s demand. The latter is hoping to double its 2007 iron-ore production in four years. This mining boom in the traditionally ‘sleepy’ side of Australia spells good news for its economy and residents. In an interview with the Economist , Eric Ripper, finance minister of Western Australia, said that his state has been fighting to bring in a A$9 million surplus seven years ago. Last year, the country’s largest state (by land area) grew by 6. 3%, twice that of the entire country. In addition, it now boasts a healthy surplus of A$2 billion. Besides iron ore, China has a tremendous hunger for other natural resources. All across the world, Chinese firms are finding new sources for crude oil, natural gas, metal and coal. Ships have been queuing off Newcastle in Australia to load cargo bound for China; at one point in June 2007, the queue was 79 ships long . In short, the rise in import demand by the Mainland has helped countries in Latin America and Africa grow their own economy. Another country that has seen business grow is the shipping giant of Greece. 60 per cent of China’s imports of raw materials and energy are carried on the backs of Greek ships. Greek ship owners want to capitalize and many have made orders to build ships in China which has caused the order books of the large manufacturers to bulge and many smaller players to join in the fray. . 2China’s effect on shipping demand In terms of shipping, China is a force to be reckoned with. Just 2 years after joining the WTO, China handled 48 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) in 2003, an increase of 11 million TEUs the year before. This made the country the largest container shipping market for the first time with both Sh anghai and Shenzhen joining the mega-port league of over 10 million TEUs throughputs . On two of the most important container trades from Asia to North America and Europe, mainland China and Hong Kong corner 60 per cent of the market share. More recently, with an increasing portion of China’s imports of oil products coming from Latin America and West Africa, ton-miles demanded associated with this trade has increased. Referring back to the example of Australian iron ore, China’s high volumes mean that Chinese companies are sourcing for metals from further abroad such as Brazil. In addition, China has always been a net exporter of coal. However, in the last few years, China has become a net importer; this forces its neighbors to source for coal from further afield. All these factors serve to increase ton-miles demanded. It is important to note that though ton-miles demanded may increase, actual volume may remain unchanged. 5. 0Iran and the Strait of Hormuz The on-going tension between Israel, the United States of America (USA) and Iran over its suspected nuclear-weapons programme has brought about fluctuations in oil prices in recent times. Several factors have made this all the more pressing in the last few months. These include a weakening Bush administration, Iran’s continued uranium-enrichment programme, a lackluster Western diplomatic approach to handling the situation and Israel’s jitters have raised the idea of a possible war in the Middle-East. In retaliation to suggestions of a military strike, Iran has threatened to cut oil exports and close the Strait of Hormuz . This strait’s importance lies in that it is the only viable path for much of the oil from the gulf to reach the rest of the world. By comparison, the Suez and Panama Canals are passages that have alternative albeit costlier, routes. A horseshoe-shaped body of water that stretches between Iran and the northern tip of Oman, the Strait is the only passage in and out of the Gulf. Every day, around 50 tankers carry between 4 million and 17 million barrels of oil and oil products through the 180km-long strait roughly 40 per cent of the worlds internationally traded supplies . If Iran were able to close this waterway by use of anti-ship missiles, only 3 million barrels would be able to be diverted via the Red Sea. Thus, oil and oil product shipment would be greatly hit worldwide. In addition to oil, Jebel Ali, a port-town in the United Arab Emirates, handles ab out half of all maritime trade between Europe and Asia. Currently, it is the largest port between Rotterdam and Singapore. Large portions of what enters some of these free zones in the gulf are transshipped to other parts of the world. Experts who have monitored the Suez Crisis in the 1950s and how it led to the Six-Day War understand that such an action from Iran would result in the Middle-East suffering economically. On a larger scale, the world would be faced with supply cuts in almost all goods. 6. 0Maritime terrorism Another threat to the maritime industry is terrorism at sea. Terrorism is broadly defined as attacks to create fear and often have an underlying belief that the terrorists want to spread. Since the world-changing September 11th attacks on the United States of America in 2001, many other acts of violence have been carried out with ships as targets. An example would be the infamous Al-Qaeda attack on the French oil tanker, the Limburg, in Yemen in 2002. Such attacks create not only a sense of uncertainty in the shipping industry, but have raised the costs of shipping as well. In the case of the Limburg, the insurance payout reached US$70 million . This example highlights the trend of insurance companies charging higher insurance premiums to shipping companies whose ships sail through more ‘dangerous’ waters. As a result, shipping cost has risen over the years and this has led to a dip in demand. Amongst the main trunk routes that ships often ply, the greatest number of such incidents happens in the South China Sea and the Straits of Malacca. These acts of terror also do not differentiate between the types of ships they target; almost everything from boats to tankers has been looted for their cargo and entire ships stolen. This paper would like to caution that the distinction between maritime terrorism and piracy is blurring. 7. 0Conclusion This paper has looked at examples of how political events have caused a stir in the maritime world. This is largely a result of the correlation between world trade, shipping and movement of commodities. Such incidents can spark both a decrease as well as an increase in demand for shipping. In the case of China’s reforms towards a more open economy, trade between this country and the rest of the world has increased dramatically. This has spurred the shipping industry not just in terms of seaborne trade but in other forms such as ports and shipbuilding. Beyond its shores, it has helped to lift the economies of countries that enjoy a high level of trade with China. On the other hand, the tensions in the Middle-East have brought about uncertainty throughout the world over oil prices and world trade. The strategic position of the most hostile nations in the region has given them leverage over the Western world in terms of threats to block the major waterway, the Strait of Hormuz. Lastly, the concerns over maritime safety and rising insurance costs to cover ships and their owners have caused a dip in demand for shipping. This is because of the higher costs now associated with shipping; it is intuitive yet unfortunate that the world’s major shipping routes are also the most dangerous.

Facebook Marketing Report

Facebook Marketing Report James Byrne   Ã‚   Task 1: Facebook Consumer Behaviour Introduction Consumer Behaviour has been described as the processes involved when individuals or groups select, purchase, use or dispose of products, services, ideas ir experiences in order to satisfy needs (Solomon et. al., 2010). It is increasingly recognised that consumption is a process not just a purchase event. This is especially evident when examining behaviour on social media platforms, in this case Facebook. Traditional models of consumer behaviour do not directly apply to this online environment. There is no inherent monetary purchase decision as Facebook provides it user end services seemingly for free. Founded in 2004, Facebook is currently the biggest social networking service based on global reach and total active users. Worldwide, there are over 1.79 billion monthly active Facebook users (Facebook MAUs) which is a 16 percent increase year over year. (Source: Facebook as of 02/11/16). This is despite the hyperchoice available to consumers in regards to social media platforms which i nclude Instagram, YouTube, Google Plus and many others. Such a plethora of platforms present the consumer with a choice not based on cost but on factors such as time, user experience and connectedness. This paper will examine the success of Facebook both from a users perspective and commercially and examine the challanges facing the platform going forward. For the purposes of this study a user diary was kept over 17 days where activity of particular interest was monitored and recorded -see Appendix at end of document. Behavioural patterns across different users are detected and discussed. Motives for Joining and Using Facebook Motivation can be described as the processes that encourage behaviour (Solomon et. al., 2010). Facebook has very successfully positioned itself as both a communication channel and an informational tool between individuals, brands and news outlets. Consumers use Facebook to fulfil a number of primary needs socialising, entertainment, self-status seeking, and information (Park et al, 2010). Some examples of can be seen in this study; Socialising The user initiated the communication through a public post of photos that indicated they were on holiday in Australia. A friend subsequently enquired How was the trip? and the response was I did it!! Absolutely sensational Im still buzzing à °Ã… ¸Ã¢â€ž ¢Ã…’ Miss your face, hows home?. This conversation illustrates the role Facebook plays in reinforcing personal relationships. This post also displays self-status seeking as such a foreign holiday is highly desirable and portrays a certain lifestyle. Entertainment Many humours videos and images are posted to Facebook. This one features potential trying to steal a bike which is tethered to a fence and subsequently falling off. Comments included: That sXXX was funny. They can sue his ass though for personal injury. Thats what they get for stealing lol Homeboys got wreeecked Users frequently shares these posts with their friends. This action provides a indication of the users personality. Self-status seeking This seemingly humours post also fufills the function of portraying a desirable possession. Convertible cars tend to be more expensive than hard tops and indicate a particular type of lifestyle. That is message is linked to possessions is underlined by one self aware comment I have a vw polo and brought a 10ft tree home in it today . who needs a convertible The post also fulfils the need for uniqueness to stand out from the herd. It emphasises the individual and their (relatively) unique qualities (Solomon et al, 2010). Information As well as using Facebook to access organisational news sources users can request information to queries from their friends. This post received 9 comments with suggestions. Word of mouth whether initiated or requested is an important component in the platforms user experience. Individuals often trust the opinions of their peers more than commercial communications such as advertising. Opinion seekers thus may regard recommendations by peers and associates as credible and reliable thereby increasing the chance the will influence purchase decisions (Shu-Chuan Yoojung, 2011). In their proposed model, tie strength, homophily, trust and two types of interpersonal influence, normative and informational, are proposed as the main influencing components of electronic word of mouth. Gà ¼lnar et al, 2010 categorised the motivations for using of photo/video sharing websites such as Facebook, under seven headings. In order of importance they are: narcissism and self expression, media drenching and performance, passing time, information seeking, personal status, relationship maintenance, and entertainment. Here are some examples of those that differ from Parks earlier classifications. Self Expression This post displays remembrance, history, gratitude, patriotism and politics. It conveys a lot of information about the users beliefs and values. Interesting to note the inclusion of a Pearl Harbour hashtag, a feature that is more commonplace on twitter than Facebook. not commonplace on Facebook. Posts displaying narcissism might include those promoted by lifestyle bloggers whether they operate on the worlds of fashion, fitness or health. The concept of media drenching refers to a users gratification through the frequent posting of images. Here is such an example where 86 photos of a holiday in Vancover are posted. Narcissism    Reinforcement of personal status and relationship maintenance can be seen in the following post. The drivers outlined by Gà ¼lnar et al, 2010 overlook the factors that influence avoidance of social media and the approach-avoidance conflict inherent in some users attitudes due to a range of factors including fake news, perceived time wasting and privacy issues. Reinforcement of personal status and relationship maintenance The user is celebrating his recent engagement with his online community. Such a noteworthy personal event is recognised by the number of likes (170) and comments (32) all of which were in the form of congratulations; Sooo happy for you!!!!!! Shes one in a million xxx So thrilled for you both. Fab piccie! Xx à °Ã… ¸Ã… ½Ã¢â‚¬ °Ãƒ °Ã… ¸Ã… ½Ã¢â‚¬ °Ãƒ °Ã… ¸Ã… ½Ã¢â‚¬ °Ãƒ °Ã… ¸Ã… ½Ã¢â‚¬ ° Just fantastic superb news! à °Ã… ¸Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ‚ °Ãƒ °Ã… ¸Ã‚ Ã‚ »Ãƒ °Ã… ¸Ã… ½Ã‚ ©Ãƒ °Ã… ¸Ã… ½Ã¢â‚¬ °Ãƒ °Ã… ¸Ã… ½Ã¢â‚¬ °Ãƒ °Ã… ¸Ã… ½Ã¢â‚¬ °Ãƒ °Ã… ¸Ã… ½Ã¢â‚¬ °Ãƒ °Ã… ¸Ã… ½Ã¢â‚¬ ° congratulations you troopers xxxxxà °Ã… ¸Ã¢â‚¬â„¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¢Ãƒ °Ã… ¸Ã¢â‚¬â„¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¢Ãƒ °Ã… ¸Ã¢â‚¬â„¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¢ The use of emojis helps convey the positive reinforcement. Thus the personal relationships both with his fiancà ©e and broader peer group were strengthened. Entertainment This post received 26 likes and 1 comment Guys !!! Yall are absolutely beaut. Wish I couldve been a part of this. Facebook is both used as a vehicle to communicate and portray a users lifestyle and Virtual Identities The self-concept refers to an individuals perception of themselves (Solomon et al, 2010). High self esteem indicates a positive self concept. Marketing communications can sometimes tap into the variance between an individuals actual self (existing state) and ideal self (aspirational self). Brands tend to focus on the positive aspects of the ideal self rather than the negative connotations of the actual self. For example a gym posting on Facebook in December might tend to focus on the potential of getting in shape in the new year rather than avoiding eating less over the Christmas period. An extreme example of the reverse was the response to this ad by Protein World last year where it was perceived as focusing on peoples inadequacies. Debate raged whether portrayal of such imagery as the ultimate definition of attractiveness in marketing communications presented negative body image connotations to the audience particularly younger females. The controversial generated nearly 400 complaints to the UK ad watchdog that it objectified women and was socially irresponsible. Such an ideal of beauty can cause conflict if the viewer does not share these characteristics (Solomon et al, 1990). Such marketing communications may go some way to explain why consumers have become increasingly more wary of marketing communications (Bousch, Friestad Rose, 1994). However such ideals of beauty evolve. In the early part of the twentieth century it was fashionable to be pale skinned as it denoted one who spent time indoors ie. Not involved with manual labour. However as air travel and package holidays expanded in the 1960s a summer tan became fashionable as it implied wealth and status thus fulfilling hedonic needs. Tactics understanding these western cultural norms can be seen nowadays online in holiday postings by travel agents and social bloggers. Generally direct ostentatious displays of wealth or conspicuous consumption are avoided on social media, particularly during the recent recession in many western countries. Rather such status is implied through the postings or experiences such as a foreign holiday or dinner at an exclusive restaurant. This contrasts somewhat with the theory proposed by Veblen, 1899 who proposed that some consumers namely a leisure class consciously consume visibly in order to inspire envy in others. Possessions continually aid the concept of self through symbolism (Levy 1959). Consumer behaviour can further be examined in the concept of the extended self whereby the buying and using of objects contribute towards our individual identities. The extended self comprises individual characteristics such as appearance, ideas and experiences plus external factors including persons, places and objects that form part of existence (Belk, 1987). The extended self encompasses 4 levels: Individual Family Community The posts show pride, association and tribe identity based on common geographic association. The National Geographic story received national coverage. Comments include: Some county for one county! Seen that sure best place to live à °Ã… ¸Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ‚  I say it time and time again. We are so lucky to live here. we already knew this though right?! The most beautiful and the most fun! Cannot wait to go back. Its going to be epic! Group The act of consumption is varied and depends on the product or service in question (Holt, 1995). Consumption particularly in group environments encompasses four interrelated facets; experiencing, integrating, playing, and classifying. Integration, the act of integrating objects of consumption in best way to manage self identity echoes Belks extended self concept. Examples of such consumption in Facebook can be seen in posts at sporting and other events. In many posts such as this the user is not featured in the image, rather the event itself is the subject. The experience is the essence of the consumption. Other examples of this are music festivals and holidays. Displays of experiences consumption can reinforce self identity derives by hedonic motives. Consumers might also avail of products and services for socio-cultural reasons (Solomon et al, 2010). This post by a GAA club, in Letterkenny, Co. Donegal was for a fund raising draw in which the first prize is a house. The promotion garnered national media attention while the draw pages generated 631 likes by mid December. The post is aspirational showing the prize but not the entry cost so as to reduce approach-avoidance conflict. The post taps into community pride and local identity. Reference groups such as this can have a significant effect upon its members evaluations, aspirations and behaviour (Park Lessing, 1977). Online communications have accelerated the spread and impact of word of mouth communication, especially when marketing communications are integrated through an omnichannel approach. Shares and likes boost visibility among other users. Behaviours in virtual communities have been found to differ from open forums (Kling Courtright 2003). Approach-avoidance conflict occurs where individuals desire a product or service while at the same time appreciating the real or perceived negative consequences. One example of a user expressing a case in point is illustrated here. The abstention from chocolate (presumably for a longer objective goal) is causing inner turmoil. An illustrative conservation with a friend ensues: Friend: Ah its Christmas Poster Im going to explode if I so much as look at another box of celebrations Friend: just enjoy u will deflate in January Poster: Naw, seriouslyI dont even like chocolate. Im a crisps gal me but theres chocolate everywhere, just begging to be eaten. This struggle is real haha! It could be argued that the initial Facebook post facilities biological / psychological needs in that tension is reduced by the cause being shared with colleagues. The state of unpleasantness is reduced through application for drive theory. Facebook posts and shares can be seen as a conspicuous form of self-presentation. Consumers create and manage their online identities by associating themselves with signs, symbols, material objects and places (Schau Gilly, 2003). This post shows an idealised view of homelife. Each photo is carefully framed to show specific elements. Seasonality is explicit in the Christmas tree. The users conveys their media consumption through the HD television. The tone is one of contentment and fulfilment. Self-presentation as conceptualised here builds on Goffmans (1959) theories of identity and social performance. His thesis was that identity is a built through a conscious effort to project specific presentation norms. Consumers can inhabit various parallel identities online. For example a man can be a son, father, husband, sportsman, professional and friend. Social media activity may focus on one or more of any of these aspects of his life and identity. For example in this post the man poses as both a partner and a father in another idyllic Christmas scene. Families are the bedrock consumer group for many brands. They facilitate collective decision-making whereby products and services are decided on jointly and brand communicators must take into account the roles and objectives of each of the groups members. Children are increasingly involved in such decision making especially in the technological sphere. On the other hand parents may limit childrens access to online sites and social media to protect them from unsuitable content and users. Taking self-presentation a step further some celebrities have been accused of photoshopping images thereby creating a fantasy self portrayed as reality to their followers, Such imagery can suggest unattainable goals and increasing hedonic satisfaction among this elevated grouping. Symbolic interactionism as defined by Mead (1934) focuses on the roles that object acting as symbols play in self-identity. For example in the following post the concert ticket acts as a metaphor for the users self-perceived identity through lifestyle and interests. The ticket itself is to an old concert and is nominally worthless but is obviously of perceived value to the user. Consumption helps to define the individual or extended self (Belk, 1988). In the past consumers may have defined themselves through material possessions such as a record collection. Nowadays their self identity could be intrinsically linked to abstract factors such as quantity of Facebook friends or number of virtual birthday wishes. In the past consumers may have defined themselves through material possessions such as a record collection. Nowadays their self identity could be intrinsically linked to abstract factors such as quantity of Facebook friends or number of virtual birthday wishes. Consumers tend to use products and services that compliment their actual and ideal identities (Clairborne Stringy, 1990) Needs and Goals Maslows (1970) hierarchy of needs categorises five needs ranging from basic psychological needs, through safety, belongingness, ego needs to self-actualisation at the highest level. Facebook generally fulfils elements of the top three needs. Here is an example of belongingness need fulfilment from this studies diary. Belonginess encompasses love, friendship and acceptance. A   tactic of Facebooks is to acknowledge friendship overtly by providing an album of shared experiences. Text on 1m 4 sec Friendversary video: Hey A B. Four years ago today You became friends on Facebook Nice! Photo album On Cover: Youve Shared All of This Together. By A B. You seem to like each other a lot. 452 times to be exact. Close photo album And while there are billions of friendships.. theres only one like yours 😉 Thats awesome! From all of us at Facebook (logo included). The felling is home spun. Facebook positions itself as a central ingredient in the friendship a facilitator and admiring observer celebrating mutual co-creation. Scale and individuality are both themes. Vinyl record player and photo album are nostalgic items physical cues for a digital relationship. Examples of ego need posts include images of a new car inferring status or a graduation scene inferring accomplishment. Self-actualisation is conveyed through the consumption of enriching experiences such as a holiday or concert. Maslows hierarchy of needs is limited to rational behaviour and is culturally specific (Solomon et. al, 2010). Consumers desire sometimes is in conflict with rationality. Dangerous pursuits and unhealthy products can be seen as attractive on one level yet not on another. This video posted by online publisher Lad Bible plays on that theme. It   was created by French ad agency BETC to drive alcoholism awareness and has been extremely successful generating 4.8 million views and 2.5k comments. In every frame across a wide range of situations and environments the female subject is accompanied by some form of alcoholic drink. However comments mixed with many seeing the imagery as promoting an inspirational lifestyle. Though it created a conversation, irrationality in consumer decision making muddies the debate. This post emphasises danger and is targeted at the extreme sports enthusiast. 5. Concerns and Issues with Facebook Fake News Following criticism of its role in the recent US election, Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg maintained that Facebook is not a media company. (Ingram, 2016). The debate over whether social platforms should control and regulate the content hosted on their platforms has increased. The issue for Facebook is whether fake news and other dubious content affects its credibility among consumers. Only 4% of web-using adults in the US have a lot of trust in the information available to them on social media (Mitchell, 2016). They are much more cautious about content received through this medium than that received from local news organisations (22%), national news organisations (18%) and family and friends (14%). This is despite the growth in access to news online which has risen to 81% from just 12% in 1996. 62% of adults now access news through social media a figure that rises to 84% for 18 to 29-year-olds. Further questions have been raised about the potential of such platforms to fac ilitate deception, defamation and bogus profiles (Light and McGrath, 2010). The low trust invested in the information received from family and friends contrast with studies that indicate that consumers rely on such more than advertising (Arndt, 1967) One example captured during research was a post from FOX8, a news station in North Carolina. Here is the text of the video commentary: This is what happens when a fake news story goes viral. A Salisbury man is now in jail and facing some serious charge for firing a rifle inside a D.C. restaurant called Comet Ping Pong. Edgar Welch told police he was self-investigating an online conspiracy that the restaurant was tied to a child abuse ring. Welch had his first appearance in court today. This illustrates a disconnect between so-called traditional and social media whereby newspapers and TV stations resent the perceived lack of regulation applied to social platforms in regards to authenticity and accountability. Any decline in trust in and involvement with online content is of primary concern both to Facebook and also advertisers on the platform. Consumers are increasingly media literate and sceptical of commercial communications tactics (Bousch, Friestad Rose, 1994). Consumers use Facebook to communicate directly with brands. Complaints and comments need to be rapidly responded to and resolved to ensure a positive online consumer experience and maintain brand legitimacy. A Filter Bubble creating an Echo Chamber Facebook as with other social media platforms incorporates algorithms, based on user profiling through recording of online behavioural patterns, to define which updates are most relevant for them and to be display them on their pages. Thus users become more exposed to posts that align with and reinforce their established interests and opinions. One extreme example references the recent Brexit vote in the UK. This remain voter could not find any evidence of support for the leave campaign on his news feed on Facebook. A user in the study for this paper was similarly frustrated with receiving filtered posts from third parties. Only seeing posts that you agree with might suggest that everyone agrees with you which is commonly a distortion of the world view. Such selective exposure increases the likelihood of confirmation bias (Bessi, 2016). It could also polarise opinion through reinforcing pre-existing beliefs and increase antagonism when those that hold a differing view are encountered either in the on or offline environments. Influence on Children Although social media and online in general provides opportunities for learning and interaction there are fears of the potential threat of addiction, early sexualisation, bullying and a sedentary lifestyle have on impressionable young people, Despite Facebook having a rule preventing children under the age of 13 from opening an account, between 23% and 34% of kids under that age have Facebook accounts (Aiken, 2016). A recent report by UK telecoms regulate Ofcom found that social media is central for both tweens and teens. Some 23% of 8-11s and 72% of 12-15s have a profile. Children are messaging, sharing and liking throughout the day, including during school hours and late into the evening, with 9% of 11-15s communicating via social media at 10pm. Both 8-11s (43%) and 12-15s (52%) consider Facebook their main social media outlet. Another recent survey found that three-quarters of UK children spend less time outdoors than prison inmates (Carrington, 2016). The poll also found children spent twice as long playing on screens as playing outside. 74% of 5-12 year olds spent less than 60 minutes playing outside each day. Spam and other Unsolicited Posts Here is an example of a poor customer experience leading to a complaint to the company in question regarding their frequent unwanted invitations. Such features on news feed can be seen as intrusion and negate positive interactions. Also of concern is the trend towards links with ambiguous headlines (click bait) and trolling comments (keyboard warriors) and disclosure of private details (Ng, 2016). 6. Conclusions and Opportunities for Further Research The motivations for joining and using Facebook are wide and varied encompassing individual and gold needs and goals. Central to its appeal is the facility to develop and shape different virtual identities to various peer groups. However the attractiveness of the platform could be stifled be perceived weaknesses and barrier in the online user experience. This study is limited as some Facebook behaviour as some functionality behaviours cannot be observed through news feed. Behaviours of consumers in the context of user-generated content has been categorised as posting, lurking, and networking (Morrison et al, 2013). Behaviours omitted from this study include closed group conversations, direct messaging either to other users or organisations and viewing without follow up action. This could be research through surveys and diaries of a robust sample size. There is also the opportunity to compare consumer behaviour on Facebook versus other social media networks. Brands and organisations must recognise the evolving environment to take full advantage of this opportunity to communicate to and with their consumer bases. Task 2: Facebook Revenue Model Introduction Facebook has a market capitalisation of $342.75 billion. It employees over fifteen thousand people. Marketers are employing the Facebook platform because of

Culture Shock in The American Expatriate Community Essay -- Social Iss

Dealing with Culture Shock in American Expatriate Community The American expatriate community is the population of all Americans that are temporarily or permanently living outside the borders of the United States. These overseas-Americans, numbering over 6.32 million strong (Association for American Residents Overseas), confront many issues when they leave their homeland and transition to a new life in a foreign country. These issues can include dealing with the local language or trying to unravel the esoteric tax laws overseas workers must follow. One of the major issues that American expatriates (or â€Å"expats†) confront is the issue of culture shock (Top Eight). Culture shock, in general, is the stress a person may feel experiencing an unfamiliar way of life after immigration, visiting a new country, or a move between social environments (Macionis and Gerber 54). Culture shock results from differences in culture like language or values toward personal space or cleanliness. Cultural differences that cause culture shock have been classified by Annelies E. M. Van Vianen, Irene E. De Pater, Amy L. Kristof-Brown and Erin C. Johnson in their article â€Å"Fitting In: Surface- and Deep-Level Cultural Differences and Expatriates' Adjustment" as being either â€Å"surface-level† differences or â€Å"deep-level† differences (700). Surface-level differences are those differences that are readily apparent to new expats. These would be things like food, housing conditions, climate and other easily observable aspects that a tourist would notice on vacation. Other aspects of a culture, like beliefs and values (such as openness to change and attitudes toward self-advancement), are classified as deep-level differences. An expat will only recognize de... ...ra. â€Å"A Needs-Driven Approach to Expatriate Adjustment and Career Development: A Multiple Mentoring Perspective† Journal of International Business Studies , Vol. 36, No. 5 (Sep., 2005), pp. 519-538, JSTORS. Web. 4 Apr. 2012 Schilling, Maria.†Avoid Expat Culture Shock† HR Magazine, July 1993, FindArticles.com. Web. 12 Apr, 2012. "Shaking Hands Around the World." Welcome to Wisc-Online.com. Wisc-Online. Web. 01 Mar. 2012. . "The Top Eight Expat Concerns According to HSBC." Expat Info Desk. ExpatInfoDesk International Limited, 4 May 2011. Web. 23 Feb. 2012. Weeks, Kelly P., Mathew Weeks, and Katherine Willis-Muller. "The Adjustment of Expatriate Teenagers." Personnel Review 39.1 (2010): 24-43. Emerald Insight. Emerald Insight. Web. 27 Feb. 2012. .

Book Review: The New Terrorism by Walter Laqueur Essay -- essays rese

THE NEW TERRORISM BY WALTER LAQUEUR Walter Laqueur’s book, â€Å"The New Terrorism: Fanaticism and the Arms of Mass Destruction†, is empowering readers with the entire spectrum of terrorism. The reasons behind terrorism are not easy to understand, but Laqueur goes into great detail to try and bring the reader to an understanding of what the terrorist is thinking in order to justify the means to the end.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Laqueur sheds enlightenment into a new arena for terrorism: Arms of Mass Destruction. The chemical and biological weapons of yesterday are available and relatively cheap on today’s open market. Mr. Laqueur goes into depth on previous usages by terrorist organizations using these types of weapons as well as the possibility of further use. One frightening point that Laqueur makes is that the use of nuclear devices could very well have a possible future in terrorism.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  With nuclear devices as a possible method for inflicting terrorism, there will be no safe place for any citizen of any nation. The United States has recently been the object of terrorist harassment and more than likely the will continue to be a target of the new form of terrorism greatly threatening American security.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The author’s main thesis focuses around this new type of nuclear terrorism, and he gives many different types of examples of groups that have already used biological and chemical methods to achieve favorable resul...

Death Penalty :: essays research papers

DEATH PENALTY  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The death penalty has been a staple in the justice system of America since its inception. Though very controversial, it has stood the test of time as the ultimate punishment. Many countries are currently abolishing their death penalty practice. America, on the other hand, has thirty-eight of fifty states with laws regarding the death penalty. It seems the United States requires the death penalty more than ever due to the increased rate of violent crime. Since nineteen ninety more than three hundred fifty people have been put to death with another three thousand three hundred in the waiting on death row. On a larger scale, since nineteen seventy-six five hundred fifty-two executions have occurred in the United States, the breakdown is as follows: three hundred ninety-four by lethal injection, one hundred forty-one by electrocution, eleven by gas chamber, three by hanging, and two by firing squad. Half of the post- nineteen seventy-six executions have occurred within the last five years, including fifty-two so far this year. Although the death penalty has brought many viscous criminals to a â€Å"fitting† end, the process by which the death penalty is based upon is an inconsistent one. The system of tangled appeals, court orders, and last minute pardons has rendered the entire system ineffective. As displayed by the swelling of the stagnant pool of death row inmates, criminals are not deterred by the punishment. â€Å" An evil deed is not redeemed by an evil deed of retaliation. Justice is never advanced in the taking of human life. Morality is never upheld by legalized murder.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Many loopholes exist in the structure of the death penalty. The outcome of the case is decided by the quality of the lawyer defending the accused. Many criminals cannot afford a competent lawyer, resulting in a greater chance of that particular person being issued the death penalty, as opposed to life in prison. A fine line separates these two charges, and a defendant who can afford a competent lawyer stands less of a chance of being assigned the death penalty than one who cannot. Also studies show that the application of the death penalty is racial biased. The amount of violent crimes are split almost equally between the white and black ethnic groups. Since nineteen seventy-seven eighty-two percent of the criminals assigned the death penalty have committed the crime in question against a Caucasian. Another glaring defect of the structure of the death penalty system in America are the laws regarding the sentencing of criminals under the age of eighteen. Minors can be sentenced to death in twenty-four states.

Pacific Medical Supply Company

PACIFIC MEDICAL SUPPLY COMPANY| Case 6| | Submitted to | Samy AhmedFaculty Member: MKT 445Sales Management| Submitted by| Medhad Nasser Chowdhury082735530Section : 01| 3/24/2013| Case Background Pacific Medical Supply Company was a prominent supplier in the southern California region. They used to supply medical instruments and all other itineraries using a distribution channel consisting of sales commission based Sales force. Jim Shine, the owner of Pacific Medical, started off his career with a background of a salesman at a beach application store.His first venture into the medical supplies business commenced in a garage and slowly climbed up to be a fully fledged business covering Southern California meaning major cities such as Los Angeles. With the company growing big Jim’s role moved from sales rep to sales manager to now in a position where he focuses into the whole companies operations. Jim had adopted a business model which ensured the company to be in the profit side of the margin. Then there was the Jim’s sales commission policies which clearly stated how the commission percentage was set. He also had a major list which stated how the sales commission would be structured.Everything seemed fine till Jim employed his most recent and the youngest sales employee, a young business grad female person, named Nicole Landis. Nicole was very good at her job as a sales rep and brought a different meaning of the sales commission. She worked hard and climbed up the ladder in making more revenues for Jim and consequently commission for herself. Jim saw his projected figures going up my immense degree and was glad he made the decision in hiring Nicole but as time passed, Nicole’s achievement increased so did the negative perception by the other employees.Soon came a scenario where Jim realized his sales force was in jeopardy and he had failed in the sales manager’s role. Case Analysis Nicole Landis, the youngest sales person in Jimâ€⠄¢s sales force channel, was a young marketing graduate who had evolved into the best salesperson with the highest sales figure consequently making the highest annual sales commission. Nicole was a natural in sales if there ever was one. She could bond and rapport with anyone from purchasing agents to direct customers.Her sales style was to nurture her customers by being honest and prepared. She approached her sales role as an expert consultant who could solve customer’s problems and fulfill needs with her products. Nicole basically put a tick on all the best traits a salesperson could have: Jim Shine’s business model was excellent as per the business’s requirement. He took up the opportunity of Chinese products having very low cost and a high margin of profit. The 80-20 profit model was formed where only 20 percent of the products sold had a 80 percent profit margin.His business model was designed with excellence with a vision very well stated. Jim Shine had hi s business running with a sales force for a distribution channel. He believed his sales commission structure was well to do till one of his employees Nicole Landis maximized her sales productivity and cracks started being visible in Jim’s commission structure. It was seen, while making the structure Jim put up lucrative commission percentages on high quantity of products sold as he never thought any employee would outperform those sales targets.Jim Shine never realized a sales manager’s role stands very effective if there is an unbalance in the sales force. He found Nicole’s extravagant performance very superb as with the sales figures running high his profits increased consequently. Jim made sure all operations were going smooth nevertheless moving a long way from his Sales Manager’s Role. His whole sales force was getting jeopardized and the companies alignment was getting weaker. Case ConclusionFirst Jim Shine should strengthen his Sales managerial rol e and bringing in stability in his Sales force. He should look into Nicole’s situation and bring about a sustainable decision where his best employee Nicole can be retained. He should see if he himself is capable in sustaining the sales managerial role or he should look for a new manager. He should see how can he bring the traits seen in Nicole into the other employees. He should balance the two ideas of making Nicole a manager or bring about a complete re-engineering in his sales commission structure.

Assessing Writing Skills in a Communicative Paradigm Essay

Communicative Language Testing is intended to assess learners’ ability to using the target language in real life situations. Its now ten years since Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) has been introduced in secondary English curriculum of Bangladesh. Therefore, the test of English at the SSC level is now facing the challenges of assessing learners’ communicative skills. This study looks at the existing model of the SSC English test and explores the possibilities of incorporating a more communicatively based test format. The study is carried out on the basis of an evaluation of the test items on writing skills set in the SSC test papers. It also explores the views of Bangladeshi secondary English teachers and internationally renowned Language Testing Experts. In this paper, it is argued that, though secondary English education in Bangladesh has stepped into a communicative era ten years back, the current SSC test is not in accordance with the curriculum objectives. It is found that the test items on writing lack both validity and reliability. Suggestions made for improving the current SSC test include: defining the purpose of communication in English for SSC level learners, drafting test specifications, setting test items which are more relevant to a communicative purpose, and developing a marking scheme to mark the subjective items. Introduction The concept of Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) has had much influence in the fields of English language teaching, curriculum and test design. Since the 1970s, there have been considerable developments in the area of language testing. Various theories and practical testing models have evolved following the concept of communicative competence. Bangladesh has introduced a communicative English curriculum at its secondary education sector. However, the aims and objectives of the communicative curriculum can never be achieved without a testing system that assesses the communicative ability of learners. This paper looks at the existing Secondary School Certificate (SSC) English examination to identify the elements of communicative testing in it and examines the suitability of this testing system to the curriculum goals. The study involves a critical analysis of the current SSC test. It also explores the views of Bangladeshi secondary English teachers and two internationally renowned language testing experts on the SSC test and investigates the ways of making it more communicatively based. Background of English Language Teaching (ELT) in Bangladesh The teaching of English in Bangladesh has a long history that traces back to the colonial era. However, the British models of teaching English continued to influence the ELT scenario of post-colonial Bengal even after the colonial rule was over in 1947. Since then the grammar translation method continued to influence the ELT scenario as the most dominant teaching method in the Indian subcontinent. After the independence of Bangladesh (1971), several attempts were made to re-design ELT sector with little or no success. In 1990, a four year ELT project called Orientation of Secondary School Teachers for Teaching English in Bangladesh (OSSTTEB) was jointly launched by the Government of Bangladesh and DFID, UK to improve English Language Teaching and Learning at secondary level. This project revised, adapted and revamped the secondary English curriculum (Hoque, 1999). In 1997, a major step was initiated with the introduction of English Language Teaching Improvement Project (ELTIP). The project started working with a view to improving the communicative competence of the secondary level learners. Under this project, a communicative curriculum, revised text books and newly written Teachers’ Guides (TGs) were developed and some 30 thousand English teachers, test administrators, and markers were trained. The SSC examination The SSC is the first public examination in Bangladesh that learners sit for after 10 years of schooling. Students take English as a compulsory subject at this level. The examination is administered countrywide through the seven Boards of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISE). The question papers are set by the respective BISE independently following the national curriculum and syllabus of National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB). The syllabus document of NCTB explicitly recommends a testing system that is in keeping with the spirits of CLT. The new syllabus document for classes 9-10 (NCTB 1999: 135) mentions, â€Å"Until and unless a suitable public examination is devised that tests English language skills rather than students’ ability to memorise and copy without understanding, the aims and objectives of the syllabus can never be realised.† Moreover samples of question papers were provided in the TGs and Teachers were encouraged to follow the test models. Research Questions This study is concerned with the following research questions: 1. How are students’ writing skills tested by the existing SSC English examinations? 2. To what extent are these test items communicatively based? 3. What do Bangladeshi teachers and the international testing experts think of the current SSC English examination? 4. How can the SSC examination be improved to reflect the goals stated in the national curriculum and syllabus document? Research methodology The approach to this resaerch belongs to the interpretative epistemology which argues that knowledge, in social research, is concerned not with generalization, prediction and control but with interpretation, meaning and illumination (Usher, 1996: 12). The approach here is guided by the belief that reality is a complex phenomenon which does not admit orderly events or simple cause-effect relationship. The data used is not only concerned with facts but also with values. In looking at a testing system which is comparatively new in the context of Bangladesh, it is admitted that reality is a human construct. The aim here is to explore perspectives and shared meanings (Wellington, 2000: 16) and the data used here is qualitative. The research procedure uses three different sources for collecting data and involves three steps. They are: a) a critical evaluation of the SSC English test format, b) collecting the views of Bangladeshi English teachers through questionnaires and, c) interviewing the two Australian testing experts based at Melbourne Univeristy. The evaluation of SSC examination includes a close analysis of the existing SSC test papers, syllabus document and marking criteria. The questionnaire attempts to explore the values and attitudes of secondary English teachers in relation to the SSC English testing system. The interviews with the language testing experts are intended to generate valuable ideas that could be applicable in improving the testing system of SSC. The development of modern language testing The development of modern language testing occurred in three historical phases prior to and during the 1970s. These three periods are- the scientific era, the psychometric-structuralist era and the integrative sociolinguistic era Spolsky (1978:5). According to Spolsky, the pre-scientific era was characterised by a lack of concern for statistical matters or for such notions as objectivity and reliability in language testing whereas the psychometric-structuralist period was concerned with tests that focus on discrete item tests. In fact, the psychometric-structuralist approach provided the basis for the flourishing of the standardised language test with its emphasis on discrete structure point items. However, discrete point tests were also criticised for being insufficient indicators of language proficiency (Oller 1979: 212). Language testing was directed to global tests in the 1970s, which opened up the psycholinguistic-sociolinguistic era (Weir, 1988: 3). This format of global and in tegrative tests (such as cloze) gained theoretical support from many researchers. Davies distinguishes four important types of language tests on the basis of their function or use- achievement tests, proficiency tests, aptitude tests and diagnostic tests (Davies and Allan 1977: 46-7). While achievement tests are concerned with assessing what has been learned of a known syllabus, proficiency tests are based on assessing the learning of either a known or unknown syllabus. The concept of communicative competence The idea of communicative language teaching emerged in the 1970s following Hymes’ theory of communicative competence, which greatly emphasised learners’ ability to use language in context, particularly, in terms of social demands of performance (McNamara, 2000: 116). Hymes believes that knowing a language is more than knowing its rules. Once Hymes proposed the idea of communicative competence, it was expanded in various ways during the following two decades. The term competence was interpreted in many different ways by researchers. To some it simply means the ability to ‘communicate’; to others it means the social rules of language use; and to yet other, it refers to a set of abilities including knowledge of linguistics, socio-linguistics and discourse rules (Bachman & Palmar, 1984: 34). However, the basic idea of communicative competence remains the ability to use language appropriately, both receptively and productively, in real situations (Kiato, et al. 1996: 1) The development of communicative language testing The idea of communicative testing was developed on the basis of Hymes’ two dimensional model of communicative competence that comprises a linguistic and a sociolinguistic element. Davies et al. gives the following definition of communicative language tests: Communicative tests are tests of communicative skills, typically used in contradistinction to tests of grammatical knowledge. Such tests often claim to operationalise theories of communicative competence, although the form they take will depend on which dimension they choose to emphasise, be it specificity to context, authenticity of materials or the simulation of real life performance.   (Davies et al. 1999: 26) Harrison mentions three ingredients which distinguishes a communicative language test from other tests. He argues: 1. A communicative test should assess language used for a purpose beyond itself. 2. A communicative test should depend on the bridging of an information gap. It has to propose a language using purpose which can be fulfilled by the communicative skill so far acquired by the learners. 3. A communicative test should represent an encounter. The situation at the end of it should be different from what it was at the beginning, and this means that there has to be some sequence within the test. (Harrison, 1983: 77-8) Competence Vs performance There have been debates among the researchers regarding the nature and function of communicative tests. One issue of controversy was how to specify the components of communicative competence and to relate them in measuring performances. Another complication arose as the terms ‘competence’ and ‘performance’ were used differently by various researchers suggesting important distinctions between them. Chomsky (1965) claimed that ‘competence’ refers to the linguistic system which an ideal native speaker has internalized whereas ‘performance’ is mainly concerned with the psychological factors that are involved in the perception and production of speech. Later Hymes (1972) explicitly, and Campbell and Wales (1970) implicitly proposed a broader notion of communicative competence in which they included grammatical competence as well as contextual or sociolinguistic competence. They, however, adopted the distinction between communicative ‘competence’ and ‘performance’. According to Canale and Swain (1980: 3) ‘competence’ refers to knowledge of grammar and other aspects of language while ‘performance’ refers to actual use. For the language testing researchers it was difficult to determine an ideal test model, which could be valid and reliable enough to test communicative competence. They were concerned with what performances for task based activities need to be devised in order to assess learners’ communicative competence. The most discussed answer to this query is the one provided by Canale and Swain (1980) who, in their influential work ‘Approaches to Second Language Testing’ specified four aspects of knowledge or competence- grammatical competence, sociolinguistic competence, strategic competence and discourse competence. What makes good communicative tests? Though a communicative language test intents to measure how students use language in real life, it is difficult to set a task that can measure communicative competence in real contexts. Ellison (2001: 44) argues that testing by its very nature is artificial and unless we are to follow an examinee around all the time noting how he/she deals with the target language in all situations, we necessarily have a less than real situation. However, it should be the aim of the test setter to try and complement real situations as much as possible. Referring to the difficulty of identifying the elements of communicative testing Morrow (1991) states: The essential question which a communicative test must answer is whether or not (or how well) a candidate can use language to communicate meanings. But ‘communicate meanings’ is very elusive criterion indeed on which to base judgment. (Morrow, 1991: 112) There have been attempts to develop a model for communicative competence and valid tests of its components. Bachman and Palmer (1984: 35) describe three approaches: the skill-component approach, communicative approach and measurement approach to specify what language tests measure. Offering a detailed interpretation of the Canale-Swain communicative approach, Bachman and Palmer specify some factors (trait factors, modal factors, method factors) that should be considered while designing a performance test. Having examined the structure of a model which encompasses these three factors, Skehan (1991: 9) regarded it as ‘being of pivotal importance in influencing the language testing theories and practices throughout the 1990s.’ Later Bachman went further as he offered important distinctions between task-based and construct-based approaches to test design. He explained: The procedures for design, development, and use of language tests must incorporate both a specification of the assessment task to be included and definition of the abilities to be assessed. (Bachman, 2000: 456) Task based language assessment gave rise to two questions: a) How real-life task types are identified, selected and characterized and how pedagogic or assessment tasks are related to these (Bachman, 2000: 459) . The discussion of different approaches to language testing are concerned with their strengths and limitations in terms of the criteria of validity and reliability. Validity in language testing is about whether a test can measure what it is intended to measure. Other arguments regarding the test validity include the question of content relevance and representativeness, task difficulty etc. Reliability refers to the extent to which test scores are consistent. Assessing second language writing Assessment of second language writing has been discussed on the basis of two different approaches: objective test of writing and direct test of writing. Objective tests claim to test writing through verbal reasoning, error recognition and other measures that have been shown fairly highly with measured writing ability (Lyons, 1991: 5). In direct tests of writing, actual samples of students’ writings are assessed. In fact, direct tests of writing have won the support of many researchers as they engage students with more communicative and creative task types. However, this approach has also been criticised for lacking reliability. Despite their problems with reliability, direct tests are still very popular in many academic settings throughout the world. Kiato et al. (1996: 2) refer to some typical problems of testing writing. They point out that testing writing objectively may not necessarily reflect the way it is used by the students in the real world. On the other hand, testing of writing in a way that reflects how the students use writing in real world is difficult to evaluate objectively and the test setters has less control over the writing tasks. However, they argue that the ability to write should involve six component skills- grammatical ability, lexical ability, mechanical ability, stylistic skills, organisational skills and judgment of appropriacy. Among the writing tasks they find useful are: gap filling, form completion, making corrections, letter and essay writing. Weir (1988: 63-4) offers an elaborate discussion on both indirect (objective) and direct tests and distinguishes the two types. He argues that writing can be divided into discrete elements such as grammar, vocabulary and punctuation etc. and these elements are tested separately by the use of objective tests. He suggested that both productive and receptive skills can be broken down in to levels of grammar and lexis according to a discrete point framework and objective tasks such as cloze, selective deletion, gap filling etc. can be designed for testing reading with writing. Weir describes the direct test of writing as a more integrative test which tests a candidate’s ability to perform certain of the functional tasks required in the performance of duties in the target situation. Research on writing involving both native speakers and second language are also concerned with basic studies of the nature of writing process in order to relate them to the validity of writing test tasks. Some of the questions concerned are: 1. To what extent is performance influenced by the amount of prior knowledge that writers have about the topic that they are asked to write about in a test? 2. Does it make a difference how the writing task is specified on the test paper? 3. Do different types of tasks produce significant difference in the performance of learners in a writing test? (Read, 1991: 77) Johns (1991: 171) suggests three criteria for academic testing of writing- (1) use of reading for writing assessment: testing for audience awareness, (2) exploitation of common writing genres: argumentation and problem solution, and (3) testing of subject matter, conceptual control and planning. He insists that reading and writing be combined to give a more authentic context for testing writing for academic purpose. He says: Because reading and writing are interconnected at all academic levels, it seems unprofessional and certainly unacademic to test writing without the genuine interactivity that reading provides. (Johns, 19991: 176) Literature on testing has suggested different strategies to cope with the problem of making direct writing tasks. The problem with these tasks is they are very difficult to mark as the marking of such tasks is somewhat subjective. One solution suggested by many testing experts is to use an analytical marking scheme to help make the marking consistent. Murphy (1979: 19) outlined the nature of a marking scheme demanded by the Associated Examining Boards, â€Å"A marking scheme is a comprehensive document indicating the explicit criteria against which candidate’s answers will be judged; it enables the examiners to relate particular marks to answers of specified quality.† There have been discussions on two types of marking for free writing tasks- impressionistic and analytic. However there are arguments over what valid and reliable measures of writing can be used and what might be the relationship of these measures to overall impressionistic quality rating. The TOFEL examination included a direct writing measure (Connor, 1991: 216) in 1986 for the test of written English that was marked holistically (TOFEL test of written English guide 1989). A great deal of research was conducted by the Educational Testing Service into the development and validation of a measure to assess communicative competence in writing (Bridgman Carlson, 1983; Carlson et al. 1985). A holistic scoring guide was developed to mark two general topics-comparison/contrast and describing a graph that had six levels and included syntactic and rhetorical criteria. The Test of Written English Scoring Guidelines (1989) identified the following criteria of a written task. An essay in the highest category is- well organized and well developed, effectively addressed the writing task, uses appropriate details to support or illustrate ideas, shows unity, coherence and progression, displays consistent facility in the use of language, and demonstrates syntactic variety and appropriate word choice. (The Test of Written English Scoring Guidelines, 989) The marking scheme suggested by ELTIP to help teachers assess writing compositions is made on the basis of five criteria- grammar, vocabulary, mechanical accuracy, communication and content. A Marking scheme like this shows how developments in language testing research are providing models to cope with the challenges of marking writing tasks. The SSC Curriculum, syllabus and the test The SSC is the school leaving public examination for grad 10 students. English is a compulsory subject at this level and the test of English is an achievement test in kind. The test is designed to test reading and writing skills only as there is no provision of testing listening and speaking skills. The NCTB syllabus of English focuses on the development of the four skills through learner-centred activities within meaningful contexts. It gives importance to choosing contexts which reflect actual social situations outside the classroom and make the learning of English ‘relevant, interesting and enjoyable’. It is expected as per the syllabus that students should achieve an ‘elementary to intermediate command of the four language skills’ by the end of secondary level. The curriculum document specifies the objective and purposes of learning English as it states: English needs to be recognised as an essential work-oriented skill that is needed if the employment, development and educational needs of the country are to be met successfully. Increased communicative competence in English, therefore, constitutes a vital skill for learners at this stage. (SSC Syllabus Document, 1999, NCTB: 136) Terminal competencies in four skills are specified in the NCTB syllabus. The competencies for writing skills for grade 10 are defined as follows: Students should be able to- a) write simple dialogues, formal and informal letters including letters of application and reports. b) demonstrate imagination and creativity in appropriate writing forms. c) fill in the forms (i.e. job applications etc.) and write a curriculum vitae d) plan and organise the above tasks efficiently so as to communicate ideas and facts clearly, accurately and with relevance to the topic. e) take notes and dictations f) use different punctuation and geographical devices appropriately.