Dissertation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Dissertation - Essay Example In addition, each of the three major articles is assigned three minor literature sources that compare and contrast the main ideas presented in the major articles. These articles are analysed below focusing on their value for achieving the objectives of the proposed study. The first article is that of Siddhanta and Roy (2010). The specific article focuses on the relationship between employee engagement and productivity. The examination and the evaluation of this relationship is one of the study’s objectives. The article has been considered as important for the proposed study because of the following reasons: a) it helps to explore one of the study’s objectives, meaning especially the involvement of employee engagement in enhancing productivity in institutions; b) it presents a thorough analysis of the role of engagement within modern organizations. Also, engagement, as a concept, is explained in the context of its relationship with different aspects of the organization, such as ‘productivity, profitability and customer satisfaction’ (Siddhanta and Roy, 2010, p. 172). In all institutional settings, performance measure is specifically important because it is the direct reflection of what the turnover, output or productivity levels of the institution would be. Again, human resource managers and other leaders of institutions and organisations find it prudent to measure performance because it is the only means by which they can assess whether or not they are having the needed returns made in the investments they make in enhancing human capital. Again as reflected in the topic, employee engagement is a very important means of achieving performance. It is therefore a step in the right direction that an index such as the employee engagement index be used in measuring performance. Once this balance is done, the implication is that there will be the avenue to assess each employee as a singular stakeholder for growth and development for the organ isation. The index could thus be considered effective because it offers individualised assessment on employee performance. Barret (2012) puts forth an argument that sharply disagrees with the notion elucidated by Siddahanta and Roy (2010), which puts much emphasis on short term turnover profitability and productivity as the best way to judge the effectiveness of the employee engagement model. In his opinion, employee engagement should be seen as a medium term or a long term strategic change plan rather than a short term one. To this end, the author strongly hold the view that there are many companies who have failed to realize the essence and individual talents of their employees because they dismiss them after one or two years of engagement with no massive returns on the financial books. Contrary to such an attitude, the writer posits that the whole system of organizational change the leads to fatter turnovers grinds slower and so Siddahanta and Roy (2010) cannot be right in their judgment of the output of employee engagement as short term turnover profitability. On their parts, Stringer (2007) and Ulrich (2004) refuse to welcome the debates of the first two writers whether the debate is taken from a short term basis or from a long term basis. Together, the two new writers hold the idea that as much as employee engagement index could be an excellent way to measure performance it is totally out of place to make financial turnover the major focus of the resulting index. In the

Transformational Leadership in Teaching

Transformational Leadership in Teaching This paper is a discussion of possible data collection and analysis methods that could be used to address an inquiry into the effectiveness of novice teachers who use transformational leadership style to manage their classrooms. It is arranged in the following order. Possible abstract, introductory statement, research aims methodology and techniques, researcher position, theoretical framework, research questions, research design data collection, data analysis and states the significance of the study before finally concluding. Abstract The proposed study is an investigation of the effectiveness of beginner teachers in the area of classroom management using transformational leadership style in Zambia. It will adopt a qualitative method and a narrative inquiry approach premised on the fact that the researchers intention is to gain is to gain understanding, give a description and analysis of the stories/narratives of novice teachers (participants).Qualitative data collection methods will take the form of surveys, observations and in-depth interviews while the analysis will comprise data reduction, data display and drawing conclusions (Miles and Huberman,1994). The proposed study intends to use a sample of ten(10) novice teachers in three (3) in three (5) public high schools in Lusaka province during a two (2) months period. It is expected that variability in participants will be maximized by this sample in terms of work area and backgrounds thereby bringing out rich in-depth understanding of beginner teachers experiences in classroom management. The proposed study will contribute to knowledge in the area of effective ways of managing classrooms not only among novice teachers but in the entire education fraternity by illuminating best practices. Introduction That classroom management is a fundamental concern among pre-service, beginner and practicing teachers, and is a topical issue in professional practice literature, school staff rooms including in the media is undisputed (Mc Cormick, 1997).It is an essential ingredient in the attainment of maximum instructional time which has potential to positively impact the outcomes of learning. The effectiveness of instruction is contingent upon teachers abilities to manage and organize the behavior of students. Substantial research suggest that one of the key challenges encountered by novice teachers in achieving the teaching objectives in the classroom is managing order (Cothrane et al.,..) Novice teachers experience struggles with classroom management that negatively impacts student learning (Buckman, 2009, p.5) owing to the detachment between what they learn during training and what they actually experience in practice in line with maintaining order in the classroom. Koki (2000) states that be ginning teachers particularly face difficulties in managing their classrooms and often struggle to apportion adequate instructional time as most of their attention is channeled at handling disruptive tendencies and behavior. It becomes necessary for teachers to work towards consciously organizing and maintaining an enabling learning atmosphere for all learners. Buckman (2009) argues that the process of managing the classroom should be altered and evaluated depending on the need. As such, the importance of teachers having forceful classroom management skills to enhance nurturing and successfully excel in their professions cannot be over emphasized, a minimal number of teachers are proficient in this domain. The persistence of beginner teachers in the teaching career is influenced and determined by their ability to effectively manage their classrooms (Ingersoll and Smith,2003).Unfortunately, many novice teachers struggle to control and maintain discipline among their learners (Koki,2000) which often culminates into developing stress and decreased energy or burn out in the early years of teaching. Hafock (2006) claims that many new teachers quit teaching during the first five years owing to frustrations with classroom and behavior management challenges. Accordingly, Kariuki (2009) observed that teachers require sustainable effective and efficient procedures, regulations and routines carefully planned and managed if instruction time is to be maximized and a reduction on time spent on behavior management. The proposed study will explore the practices, experiences and beliefs of 18 beginner teachers meeting the criteria (defined by the researcher) for being effective and successful classroom managers. Research Aims The proposed study aims to develop theory about the effectiveness of novice high school teachers. The questions that will guide the research are transformational leadership style. Methodology and data collection techniques Qualitative data collection methods will take the form of surveys, observations and in-depth interviews while the analysis will comprise data reduction (text analysis and coding), data display (identification and coding of emerging themes) and verification and drawing (Interpretation). In order to truly gauge the success of an inquiry based on human experience, it is appropriate for me to utilize the traits listed as qualitative research working directly with teachers to unearth their beliefs, practices and experiences .According to Hatch (2002)good qualitative researchers understand the world from the perspectives of those living in it (P.2).Qualitative research going by Merriam et al.,(2000) is premised on the idea that meaning is constructed socially by individuals through interactions in their social world and the meaning it has for them is considered an interpretive qualitative approach(pp.3-4) which is applicable for this proposed study. A qualitative inductive framework will enable explore the participants world in their naturalistic setting.

The Subject of Race in Joseph Conrads Heart of Darkness :: Heart Darkness essays

The Subject of Race in Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness In 1899 Joseph Conrad published a short work of fiction called Heart of Darkness. This novella is often read, discussed, criticized in literature programs throughout the world. It is a work that allows us to tackle a variety of topics, and is therefore responded to in a variety of ways. The work itself as one critic puts it â€Å"might most usefully be considered hyper-canonized† (Padmini â€Å"Why† 104). The work is taught beyond the realm of a normal work in the literature program. Many forms of criticism have taken on the subject matter within the book. Feminism, psycho-analytic, Marxism have all had things to say about the novella. They’ve discussed things such as imperialism, the psychology of Marlow and Kurtz, the role of women in the novella (both literally and symbolically), all these issues are important topics in the novella. For a long time, however one crucial issue in the work was not addressed, that of race. It was not until 1975 when Chinua Achebe gave his famous lecture, â€Å"An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad’s Heart of Darkness† that the issue of race was tackled head on in Conrad’s work. It is this lecture that has become the cornerstone of writing and criticism of Heart of Darkness. It would be hard to find an essay since then that doesn’t in some way discuss or acknowledge Achebe’s essay. Even critic’s who do not use take into account historical or auto-biographical details of a work, such as Miller, have written responses to Achebe. In Miller’s essay â€Å"Should we read Heart of Darkness† he discusses, in his own way, the essence of Achebe’s argument that the novella should not be read because of it’s racist undertones. On critic has even gone on to say that Achebe’s essay has become a work included in the literature canon. The lecture given at the University of Massachusetts in early 1975 was published as an essay in The Massachusetts Review, and later republished in The Norton Critical Edition Heart of Darkness. Achebe’s main theme within the essay is â€Å"the need—in Western psychology to set up Africa as a foil to Europe† (â€Å"Image† 252). Within the context of this theme he goes on to criticize what he considers a work of â€Å"permanent literature†, Conrad’s Heart of Darkness.

How important is the role of complementary therapies and medicines within a modern health service?

Illustrate your answer with examples and, where possible, consider the impact that the growth of such remedies has had on attitudes within both the general public and the medical profession. Over the last decade peoples opinions towards medicine have changed, this has made a lot of people consider alternative treatment for illnesses, which before hand they would have been seen as witch craft. Nowadays it is more socially acceptable and is used more widely to treat illnesses or used just as a relaxation method. When investigating any form of medical treatment, whether that be CAM or scientific medicine we need to be asking questions; Is it effective? Is it safe? How is it regulated? People still make assumptions about complementary therapies, that it is outside the NHS so there is no regulating body to protect the clients or the practitioners, this is true for many areas but with continuing research and the need for more funding I believe that it will gain the recognition that it deserves, and this will open the door for more regulatory bodies to become mandatory. When people say that it is outside â€Å"conventional† medical training, this can be true but many practitioners of complementary therapy train for many years degree level, and there are 20 universities which offer degrees in Complementary Medicine, however there are some people who just decide to practice without any form of training and I believe that these are the people who misuse and harm the ideology of complementary therapies. Is it safe? I believe it is safe as long as you go to a reputable practitioner, who would normally have been trained to degree level and has taken out insurance for their clinic. One good point to argue is that it is natural, and with GP's not wanting to continually prescribe for example antibiotics this is a natural way to treat illnesses without chemical use of tablets. Is it effective?, this has got to be the most crucial question that needs to be answered, practitioners of Complementary Medicine believe that when using therapeutic intervention is effective if it influences the course of a disease in a patient in a beneficial way. When assessing if it effective in treating disease then you would need to compare without any other treatment, as this is very rarely possible then it is hard to gain evidence to support this question fully. Within are lessons we conducted a survey which asked people if they had used Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM), we also asked them whether they considered it to work and if they was referred by their GP or went privately and had to pay themselves. Every person took 10 copies to be filled in by their families and friends then all the data totalling 114 people was collated together, the results indicated that very few people were referred by their GP, but many people said that it worked successfully. The results of this survey are attached to this essay. The most commonly used CAM therapies are: * Acupuncture * Chiropractic * Osteopathy * Homeopathy * Herbal medicine * Massage Therapy There are also many other CAM therapies available, examples of these are, Reflexology, Hypnotherapy, Aromatherapy, Reiki, and Faith or spiritual healing. All of these methods people can find easy access to, if however, they are willing to pay, due to the lack of GP's who have the funding or believe that it will work, I will talk about this more later. Acupuncture originates from the Far Eastern countries and has been practised there for thousands of years, although many practitioners provide a Western form of medical Acupuncture, which is based on modern understanding involving the body's nervous system. Osteopathy and Chiropractic are both highly recommended therapies and seem to be the only two who have their own regulatory councils and gives the name ‘primary care practitioners' to those who carry out the service. Osteopathy is used to treat any age group and it uses soft tissue massage, stretching and manipulation separation techniques, which helps to treat spinal pain, mus cle or joint pain or sports related injuries. Chiropractors treat the nervous system and improving skeletal movement, they also use spinal manipulation to help sufferers of migraines, repetitive strain and sciatica. The Royal Family and 1 in 5 of the population, regularly use homeopathy, it treats people by using the method that whatever can make ill you can also make you well, it is more commonly used to treat eczema, arthritis, asthma and PMS. Herbal Medicine is the oldest method of medicine and is used all over the world with sales topping à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½126 million every year from over the counter therapies. The most common illnesses which it treats are migraines, arthritis, depression, insomnia and lung, stomach, blood and skin disorders. Massage Therapy, is the manipulation of soft tissue for therapeutic purposes, and is commonly used along side cancer therapy and is also popular amongst athletes. In 1995, Kate J Thomas, J P Nicholl and Margaret Fall, conducted a survey of how many GP's were referring their patients to CAM. They sent out their questionnaires via the post to 1226 individual GP's in a random cluster sample or GP partnerships in England, this was 1 in 8 GP partnerships in England in 1995. The method set by them was to assess estimates of the number of practices offering ‘in-house' access to any form of complementary therapies or if this was not available were they making referrals outside the practice, and if there was any funding available for CAM. The total number of returned questionnaires was 964 (78.6%). Out of those, 760 also gave detailed information. The results showed that an estimated 39.5% of GP partnerships offered some form of access to CAM for their NHS patients. An estimated 21.4% offered it via a member of the primary health care team, 6.1% had employed andindependent' CAM therapist, and an estimated 24.6% made referrals for CAM. The volume of CAM available within any individual service seemed to be low; acupuncture and homoeopathy are the most commonly available therapies. The number of patients who had to pay for the services of CAM, which were recommended by their GP's, was 25%. The survey found that fund holding practices were more likely to offer CAM compared to non-fund holding practices, these figures are 45% versus 36%. This proved that fund holding practices had more scope to offer CAM at the primary care level, evidence was also available to show that unless the primary care groups and primary care trusts help to support the provision of CAM to all practices then the level of which it is available will decline w ithin time. There is always going to be doctors who are opposed to CAM, it was easy to find evidence of this, on the BBC website I found two articles straight away, the first headlined as, ‘Doctors attack bogus therapies'. The article goes on to describe how some of Britain's leading doctors are urging the NHS to stop using CAM and to only pay for medicine which has been proven with solid evidence that it is successful, there are concerned about the amount of money that the NHS is spending on â€Å"unproven or disapproved treatments†, like those used by practitioners of CAM. They talk about Herceptin being of high cost so the NHS don't regularly fund it, but these ‘bogus' therapies are being funded. Prince Charles advocates CAM and wants the funding to continue, he also wants it to be integrated with conventional medicine, he told the World Health Assembly in Geneva: â€Å"The proper mix of proven complementary, traditional and modern remedies, which emphasises the active participation of the patient, can Help to create a powerful healing force in the world.† (Prince Charles, BBC News, 2006) This statement is criticised by doctors as ‘Implausible treatment', meaning that more than 12 reviews done off CAM have failed to produce any evidence of the effectiveness of CAM. Dr Peter Fisher, of the Royal London Homoeopathic Hospital, says that these doctors opposing CAM seem to be causing a â€Å"Medical apartheid† within the NHS. Evidence in this article says that about half of GPs are thought to refer patients to CAM. My conclusion is that all the evidence points to the fact that general practitioners are just not ready for the change, they have trained at medical school for 5 years learning to use chemical drugs, and have been taught to trust them, which is good, but I feel that they need to be more open to the fact that the methods that CAM offer is beneficial to complement chemical drugs, and sometimes can eliminate the use of chemical drugs where relaxation is more beneficial. Take for example someone with stress, which can lead to depression, in this case anti depressants would be the most common form of chemical drugs, but say however the patient was offered massage therapy or aromatherapy to relax them, this may in the long run be more beneficial to the patients health. The implications of long time chemical drug use has been publicised many of times, yet there is no evidence to suggest that the services that CAM offer would harm with long term use. So why is the funding not available for more research to be done to help gain peoples confidence in CAM? I agree that times are hard with the NHS, but really in the majority of matters with the government it always comes down to funding or rather lack of funding. If we take funding/money out of the equation then is another problem area for CAM that people have closed minds, in that they do not want to try something new? It would be interesting if the ages of the General Practitioners were available who readily refer patients on to organisations that use CAM, because as people get older they become less accustomed to change, and are the new generation of doctors more open to change, whereas the older generation of doctors are more prone to not changing from chemical drugs. I will be interested to see what happens with the introduction of more CAM services within the NHS, will time change things? We can only wait and see, but personally I would like to see more of CAM introduced in the NHS.

Jury of her peers Essay

After the first reading 1. What do the women think happened at the farm? The women thought Mrs. Wright might have murdered her own husband. After the second reading 2. What is the climax of the story (When in the story does the narrative take a turn)? The story’s climax is when there are more evidences compiled at the end (the dead bird, broken cage, abuse, marital oppression) this turns the story to Minnie Foster as a victim and not as a criminal. 3. How well does this story fit the model of the stages of narrative? The story shows all the stages of narrative in correct order (intro, rising action, climax, falling action) except that the conclusion is left for the readers to think. 4. What other things do you notice? The women were not allowed to be jurors but in this story, they outsmarted their husbands/men in collecting evidences that would point to who the victim and who the murderer was. The strongest evidences would be the abuse and loneliness experienced by Mrs. Wright and the irony of how the bird and Mr. Wright were killed in the same way. 5. What questions do you still have? Â  Will the women tell their husbands/men what they saw? Will the women stand up at the trial for the evidences?

Aquitaine essays

Aquitaine essays Aquitaine est entre les Midi Pyrnes, Limousin, et Poitou Charenets. Il a situ trois cent cinquante miles sud loest Paris. Aquataine a une le frontire avec Lespagne. Aquataine est prs de lOcean Atlantique et les Pyrnes. La Garonne traverse LAquitaine. Il est un grande region en France. La capitale de Aquitaine est Bordeaux, situ sur le Garonne. La rgion est seperated dans cinq parties. En Aquitaine il y a beaucoup de vinyards. Il est trs joli. Il y a un beaucoup d'endroits la visite en France: edifices de Lascoux, La Madeline, Rouffignac, et beaucoup de chteaux. On peut jouer une beaucoup de sports en Aquataine pour exemple, golf et pelote. Pelote est le jeu plus rapide jou avec une balle La plages sont jaune, doux et sableux sur la cte de lAtlantique. Vous pouvez joue une jeu de volley. Aquitaine was name by Julius Caesar in the first century BC. Under the Romans, the province of Aquitania extended almost as far north as the Loire River. The portion south of the Gironde, was made a separate province in the late 3rd century. The remainder became a separate kingdom in the Frankish period. The title duke of Aquitaine was held by the counts of Poitiers from the 10th to the 12th century. The last duke was William X. When his daughter, Eleanor of Aquitaine, married the heir to the throne of England in 1152, the area became an English possession and remained so until the 15th century, when France at the end of the Hundred Years War annexed it. From the 13th century until the French Revolution, Aquitaine was called Guyenne. The name Aquitaine was revived in the 1960s to designate the economic region comprising the French departments of Pyrnes-Atlantiques, Landes, Gironde, Dordogne, and Lot-et-Garonne. ...

Create an Internet Shortcut (.URL) File Using Delphi

Create an Internet Shortcut (.URL) File Using Delphi Unlike regular .LNK shortcuts (that point to a document or an application), Internet Shortcuts point to a URL (web document). Heres how to create a .URL file, or  Internet Shortcut, using Delphi. The Internet Shortcut object is used to create shortcuts to Internet sites or web documents. Internet shortcuts are diverse from regular shortcuts (which contain data in a binary file) that point to a document or an application. Such text files with a .URL extension have their content in INI file format. The easiest way to look inside a .URL file is to open it inside Notepad. The content (in its simplest form) of an Internet Shortcut could look like this: [InternetShortcut] URLhttp://delphi.about.com As you can see, .URL files have an INI file format. The URL represents the address location of the page to load. It must specify a fully qualifying URL with the format protocol://server/page.. Simple Delphi Function to Create an .URL File You can easily programmatically create an Internet shortcut if you have the URL of the page to which you want to link. When double-clicked, the default browser is launched and displays the site (or a web document) associated with the shortcut. Heres a simple Delphi function to create a .URL file. The CreateInterentShortcut procedure creates a URL shortcut file with the provided file name (FileName parameter) for the given URL (LocationURL), overwriting any existing Internet Shortcut with the same name. uses IniFiles;...procedure CreateInternetShortcut(const FileName, LocationURL : string) ;begin   Ã‚  with TIniFile.Create(FileName) do   Ã‚  try   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  WriteString(   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  InternetShortcut,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  URL,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  LocationURL) ;   Ã‚  finally   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Free;  Ã‚  end;end; (*CreateInterentShortcut*) Heres a sample usage: //create an .URL file named About Delphi Programming //in the root folder of the C drive //let it point to http://delphi.about.com CreateInterentShortcut(c:\About Delphi Programming.URL , http://delphi.about.com ) ; A few notes: You could save a web page as MHT (web archive) and then create a .URL shortcut to be able to access an offline version of a web document.You must provide a full file name, along with the .URL extension, for the FileName parameter.If you already have an Internet Shortcut you are interested in, you can easily extract the URL from an Internet Shortcut (.url) file. Specifying the .URL Icon One of the neater features of the .URL file format is that you can change the shortcuts associated icon. By default the .URL will carry the icon of the default browser. If you want to change the icon, you only have to add two additional fields to the .URL file, as in: [InternetShortcut] URLhttp://delphi.about.com IconIndex0 IconFileC:\MyFolder\MyDelphiProgram.exe The IconIndex and IconFile fields let you specify the icon for the .URL shortcut. The IconFile could point to your applications exe file (IconIndex is the index of the icon as a resource inside the exe). Internet Shortcut to Open a Regular Document or an Application Being called an Internet Shortcut, a .URL file format does not permit you to use it for something else- such as a standard application shortcut. Note that the URL field must be specified in the protocol://server/page format. For example, you could create an Internet Shortcut icon on the Desktop that points to your programs exe file. You only need to specify the file:/// for the protocol. When you double click on such a .URL file, your application will be executed. Heres an example of such an Internet Shortcut: [InternetShortcut] URL file:///c:\MyApps\MySuperDelphiProgram.exe IconIndex 0 IconFile C:\MyFolder\MyDelphiProgram.exe Heres a procedure that places an Internet Shortcut on the Desktop, the shortcut points to the *current* application. You can use this code to create a shortcut to your program: uses IniFiles, ShlObj;...function GetDesktopPath: string;//get the location of the Desktop foldervar   Ã‚  DesktopPidl: PItemIDList;   Ã‚  DesktopPath: array [0..MAX_PATH] of Char;begin   Ã‚  SHGetSpecialFolderLocation(0, CSIDL_DESKTOP, DesktopPidl) ;   Ã‚  SHGetPathFromIDList(DesktopPidl, DesktopPath) ;   Ã‚  Result : IncludeTrailingPathDelimiter(DesktopPath) ; end; (*GetDesktopPath*) procedure CreateSelfShortcut;const   Ã‚  FileProtocol file:///; var   Ã‚  ShortcutTitle : string;begin   Ã‚  ShortcutTitle : Application.Title .URL;   Ã‚  with TIniFile.Create(GetDesktopPath ShortcutTitle) do   Ã‚  try   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  WriteString(   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  InternetShortcut,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  URL,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  FileProtocol Application.ExeName) ;   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  WriteString(   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  InternetShortcut,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  IconIndex,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  0) ;   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  WriteString(   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  InternetShortcut,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  IconFile,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Application.ExeName) ;   Ã‚  finally   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Free;   Ã‚  end;end; (*CreateSelfShortcut*) Note: simply call CreateSelfShortcut to create a shortcut to your program on the Desktop. When to Use .URL Those handy .URL files will be useful for virtually every project. When you create a setup for your applications, include a .URL shortcut inside the Start menu- let users have the most convenient way to visit your website for updates, examples, or help files.

Definite Articles in Spanish

Definite Articles in Spanish A definite article, called an artà ­culo  definido  in Spanish, makes a noun refer to a particular item or items of its class. In English, the definite article  is the. In Spanish, there are five ways to say the. The four most common Spanish definite articles are  el, la, los and las in Spanish. A fifth, less frequently used definite article,  lo,  is sometimes appropriate. Definite articles are also sometimes referred to as definite determiners.  Spanish and English have different rules as to when a definite article is needed or can be omitted. In general, Spanish often uses a definite article in cases where English does not. For example, the English sentence, Mr. Brown is rich, does not have the definite article the. The same sentence translated into Spanish would be, El  seà ±or Brown es ​rico.  Ã¢â‚¬â€¹In Spanish, the definite article, el, is used. Agreement in Number and Gender In Spanish, number and gender make a difference. Is the word plural or singular? Are you referring to a male or female or masculine or feminine word? The Spanish definite article must agree with the gender and number of the noun that follows it.   Masculine Form of The The masculine form of the is el if referring to one item, the singular form of the word. For example, the cat is el gato. The masculine and plural form of the, if referring to more than one item, would be los libros, meaning, the books. Feminine Form of The To say the when referring to a singular item that is considered a feminine word, for example, the word door in Spanish is considered a feminine word, puerta. A  speaker would say, la puerta, for the door. To pluralize the word, when referring to more than one door, the proper form of the definite article is, las  puertas. Use of Lo to Mean The Lo  can be used as a neuter, meaning not gender specific, definite article before an adjective to make an abstract noun.  For example,  lo  importante, translates to mean, the important thing, or that which is important. Contraction Using El English has many uses of contractions, such as isnt for is not   or theyre for they are, blending two words together to impart meaning. In Spanish there are only two official contractions in the entire language and they both involve the definite article, el.   The words a el form the contraction al.   For an example, Ella va al auto, means, She is going to the car. A Spanish speaker would literally say, Ella va  a el auto. The contraction al works more smoothly in this case. The words de el form the contraction  del. An example,  El libro es del profesor,  which literally translates to mean, the book is of the teacher, or more smoothly translated, the book is the teachers. The contracted form of  al  usually means to the and  del  usually means of the.

US. Energy Policy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

US. Energy Policy - Essay Example eaties and other incentives to investment, that aim at revamping the energy sector to make it responsive to modern day needs as well as making it sustainable for future generations (Moselle Jorge and Richard 117). The US Energy Policy is a collective responsibility of various organs at the federal, state and local authorities. These organizations have the responsibility of managing production or energy, its distribution and consumption. They also address issues such as gas mileage standards and building codes. Currently, about 85% of energy in the US comes from fossil fuels while the rest comes from Nuclear and Hydro stations. Most of the energy is used in industries, transport and domestic use. A big percentage of oil, gas and electricity imports in the US comes from Canada (Moselle, Jorge and Richard 106). The current energy policy in the US includes three Energy Policy Acts and various initiatives to promote renewable sources of energy, innovation and affordability of energy. President Obama’s administration has instituted various reforms in the energy sector that aim at reducing CO2 emissions in the atmosphere and promote sustainable energy development. The US government has over the years, proposed different initiatives as a response to different energy needs, but there still lacks an elaborate long-term energy policy. The fact that is no elaborate energy policy for the long term has elicited heated political debates with some people criticizing the government for being short cited and only responding to energy crises at the expense of preparing for the long-term challenges. There is also criticism that government energy policies in the US enacted after the oil crisis in 1973 ignore market forces and technology to provide quick fixes for emerging crises. Scholars in the US have also criticized Energy Policies for not focusing on research, innovation and entrepreneurship in the energy sector. They criticize the energy policy for focusing on short-term

Security Cameras in Building Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Security Cameras in Building - Essay Example Some of the justifications given by stakeholders within one of the test schools claim that face recognition cameras will protect their children against known criminal offenders and other types of dangerous persons. Another safety consultant in the schools that adopted the security system claims that they adopted the use of face recognition cameras in order to prevent another saga that occurred in a school in Columbia during the year 1999. Advantages of using cameras in buildings have also been put forward in the GSA (1997) article. Although this has been mentioned shortly, they assert that security cameras in public places and government buildings are essential in detecting assailants and criminals who may have intentions of causing harm. There are no such advantages mentioned by Lyon (2001). Keen (2006) also points out to some advantages of the cameras. She describes how bars in Chicago will be required to install cameras in buildings. She affirms that some business owners feel that this enhances their patron's confidence and security. In the article, the major of Chicago claims that security cameras in business premises such as bars have worked wonders for other cities that have done the same in the prevention of crime. He cites examples like London where they were able to prevent a bomb attack by a potential terrorist through their cameras. Keen (2006) affirms that security cameras in public places will help catch some seemingly passive crimes such as drivers who pass red lights or those who leave bomb packages in public places. The article also claims that placing cameras in buildings is easy and cheap consequently denying residents any excuses. Disadvantages of using cameras in buildings Three out of the four articles also examine some of the mishaps, inefficiencies and misgivings about the use of cameras in buildings. GSA (1997) is the only article that does not look at the disadvantages of using security cameras in buildings. Frank (2007) states that the cost that come with this new technology will only place undue burdens on the consumer of that technology. He claims that for a school to employ face recognition camera systems, they require finances reaching the tune of 30, 000 dollars. This is something that is rather costly considering the fact that those schools still have to go about their daily operations. Keen (2006) also points out to this same problem. She says that many business owners who in Chicago who are required to place security cameras in their premises will have to deal with the additional expenses that come with the system. This means that there will be greater costs for bar owners who may not necessarily see the direct benefits that come with the installation. Keen (2006) also says that security cameras in buildings do not necessary bring about positive effects. In her articles, one of the stakeholders (a president of the Chicago restaurants Association) claim that this is just another form of intrusion from the government since no tangible results are visible. In this same article, some representatives from the American Civil liberties Union claim that security cameras in buildings should only be allowed unless there is a direct link to the September eleven attacks. Since this is not possible, then the idea should be abandoned. The Union claims that The American

IP1 ECON Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

IP1 ECON - Essay Example The price could fall as the A-phone is trying to clear the stock of the current models while developing new models to compete with the promegranate. The curve is likely to move to the left due to a fall in demand. If there is an increase of the price of A-phone due to a flaw found in the promegranate, demand is likely to fall if there are other competitors, but if there is little or no competition, the demand is going to rise (Bernanke and Abel, 2000). The movement is going to move according to the change in demand. If there is a new type of walkie-talkie that has unlimited range, and is basically free, demand for the A-phone is likely to fall. The rate in the fall in demand will depend on how many unique features the A-phone has. There is large number of people interested in the unique features such as cameras, and mp3 players. The price must fall in order to attract buyers even when the walkie-talkie is free, therefore, the curve will shift to the left due to the fall in demand. If it is discovered that there are health concerns when using cell phones, there is will be a drastic fall in the demand and price, since few people w ill be willing to use the phone. In this case, the curve is likely to move to the left due to the fall in demand. If there is a baby boom, there will be an increase in customers and therefore demand is likely to increase, and the price is also going to increase. In this case, the curve is going to shift to the right. If the price of the A-Phone and the Pomegranate both go up, demand is likely to remain the same, however, if the other brands in the market do not raise their prices, the demand may fall. The graph is likely to remain the same if the demand remains the same. If the market price of cell phones goes up, the demand will go down. The supply will outweigh the demand. Therefore there will be excessive supply in the market. If it becomes more expensive to

Child art Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Child art - Essay Example School art is typically distinguished by the subject matter it denotes: visual art, music, dance, or drama. In this article, I suggest a new distinction among the arts genres used in the school, namely, "child art," "fine art," and "art for children." Rather than being categorized by subject matter, these three genres operate across the various media. Each genre is associated with different contents, pedagogies, and evaluation practices. Each is based on a separate set of ideologies and goals, related to different underlying assumptions about the nature of arts and arts learning.(1) Those assumptions are incompatible with each other on both the ontological level (what constitutes art) and the pedagogical level (how to teach it). In the first part of the article I examine the day-to-day "operational curricula"(2) of the three art worlds in the subjects of dance and drama (which, when taught by specialists in the schools in which my colleagues and I observed, were taught as one subject), music, and visual arts. There are fundamental differences among these genres--in their out-of-school manifestations as well as in their ideal curricula--but, I argue, the genres are being diluted and their distinctions blurred, and they are sacrificing their potential contributions to one another.(3) In the second part of the article, I focus on the contexts in which the genres operate. Specifically, I examine the contexts of time and space for arts instruction, as well as the communities of practice in which school art functions. I show that each of the components plays a different, though interrelated, role in the dilution of the three genres of school art. In the third part I suggest that the three genres may be strengthen ed by policies addressing the aforementioned contexts. I argue that similar genres and analogous dilution exist in other school subjects, from language arts to math and science, and that dilution is shaped by the same contexts that shape school arts. That commonality in structures, problem, and cause calls for coordinated action. Accordingly, the development of policies should involve policymakers, teachers, and specialists in each of the genres (e.g., in the subjects of art, science, and math) so that efforts and deliberations may be aligned, informing and supporting each other. School Arts This article is based on two research studies, which examined arts education in elementary schools using qualitative methods. The first, a three-year project, was conducted under the auspices of the National Endowment for the Arts.(4) The second, a four-year project, was sponsored by the Bureau of Educational Research and the research board at the University of Illinois.(5) Observations revealed three genres of arts used in the schools: (1) "child art," meaning original compositions created by children in dance, drama, visual art, and music; (2) "fine art," meaning classical works in the different arts media created by established artists; and (3) "art for children," meaning art created by adults specifically for

Decision-Making Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Decision-Making - Case Study Example Therefore, it can safely be said that it is not the acquiring of the knowledge itself, but the methods of choosing the relevant information and implementing it is a much more daunting task for the leaders and the management of an organization. In the year 2009, the American government announced a fiscal budget cut in the funds that it allotted to the Medicaid services. The Medicaid is an entity which is operating in all the states of the country under different names and which provides healthcare services to the eligible American citizens, most of whom are in the lower income bracket. A 15 % budget cut in this regard has brought the Medicaid departments all across the USA to a as to how they should operate on the fewer resources and which services and programs should be continued and which would have to be discontinued. Barondess (2007), notes that many of the long term facilities that Medicaid provides are already struggling to provide quality care to patients while juggling multiple problems such as a shortage of trained workforce, and a budget cut would only increase these problems and would almost surely eliminate funding for a number of programs that Medicaid runs, and the elderly will be the ones who get effected by it the worst. In such circumstances, as mentioned before, rises the issue of the importance of making an informed decision as the consequences of the choices made have a direct influence on the health standards of a large number of people. For this purpose, and to aid health services to make a well informed policy restructuring decision, the authors Rundall et al. have presented the concept of the Informed Decision Toolbox which â€Å"facilitates the use of research evidence in decision making†. the Informed Decision Toolbox is a set of standardized tools that instruct policy makers at health organizations on how they can find, access and adapt

International Financial Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 1

International Financial Management - Essay Example The basic types of exchange rate regimes are the fixed exchange rate and the floating exchange rate. In the latter case the market decides the movements of the exchange rate. Exchange rate volatility is a common denominator of a country's exposure to international risk through foreign transactions, whether international trade or investment (Madura, 2009). The higher the degree of exposure the higher the degree of risk associated with such exposure. Thus the exchange rate can be considered as an important indicator in monetary policy and it mainly depends on the monetary policy framework of a particular country. Exchange rate can be identified as a target for particular government's policy and that it can actively manage with the other components of a monetary policy such as inflation, balance of payments and so on. For instance the changes in exchange rate in a short term can impact on the real economy and the balance of payments and in the long term those effects can be adjusted with the exchange rate movements. Therefore developing countries that depend on commodity exports to a greater extent are more likely to face a greater degree of risk due to the fact that commodity prices in international markets are subject to huge fluctuations. As a result their currencies against those of advanced industrialized economies are weaker. Even the well developed countries especially UK has been faced with this reality but their ability to manipulate exchange rates in international markets is considerably higher when compared to those developing countries (Wheele, 1995). 2. Literature ReviewCurrently available literature on the subject of exchange rate regime and related price stabilization policy in a modern economy has both a theoretical approach and a broader empirical approach. Price stabilization policy refers to a government macroeconomic strategy designed and executed by the central bank to ensure stable economic growth based primarily on stable prices and lower unemployment levels. This is a contingency macroeconomic model that presupposes a smoothing out effect on erratic fluctuations in aggregate supply. Alogoskoufis (1992) shows that the broader policy level approach includes monitoring and adjusting cyclical growth process and interest rates so that aggregate demand can be managed to achieve broader macroeconomic policy goals.This

Decision-Making Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Decision-Making - Case Study Example Therefore, it can safely be said that it is not the acquiring of the knowledge itself, but the methods of choosing the relevant information and implementing it is a much more daunting task for the leaders and the management of an organization. In the year 2009, the American government announced a fiscal budget cut in the funds that it allotted to the Medicaid services. The Medicaid is an entity which is operating in all the states of the country under different names and which provides healthcare services to the eligible American citizens, most of whom are in the lower income bracket. A 15 % budget cut in this regard has brought the Medicaid departments all across the USA to a as to how they should operate on the fewer resources and which services and programs should be continued and which would have to be discontinued. Barondess (2007), notes that many of the long term facilities that Medicaid provides are already struggling to provide quality care to patients while juggling multiple problems such as a shortage of trained workforce, and a budget cut would only increase these problems and would almost surely eliminate funding for a number of programs that Medicaid runs, and the elderly will be the ones who get effected by it the worst. In such circumstances, as mentioned before, rises the issue of the importance of making an informed decision as the consequences of the choices made have a direct influence on the health standards of a large number of people. For this purpose, and to aid health services to make a well informed policy restructuring decision, the authors Rundall et al. have presented the concept of the Informed Decision Toolbox which â€Å"facilitates the use of research evidence in decision making†. the Informed Decision Toolbox is a set of standardized tools that instruct policy makers at health organizations on how they can find, access and adapt

Free trade Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Free trade - Assignment Example The U.S. on the other side has increased the import of agricultural products to Canada and Mexico (Orme, 1996). The economic basis of trade is to exchange goods and services for currency. It will be abuse to common sense to purchase or rather get poor services in the name of saving our local industries from foreign competition yet we get poor services and goods. We would rather go for a specialist. Research shows American did well economically because they allowed free movement of goods across its neighbors. While Europe, because they are protecting themselves from their neighbors did not do quite well. I bought my nephew a play station made from China. China makes good toys for children. America produces good computers. We can, therefore, sell our computers to China as we buy their toys (Orme, 1996). Free trade has allowed Americans to import textiles from Mexico. My dress was made from Mexico. There are very few people wearing clothes made in America. There have been slogans saying that buy America keep your job. However, it is costly to put trade restrictions in order to save the local industries. The taxpayers pay more than those that have free trade. The benefit of buying American goods is that jobs are saved (Orme, 1996). Trade restrictions should only apply in cases where there is a violation of preservation rules. For example, food or agricultural products posing a danger to human life due to use of hazardous chemicals should be restricted. International trade does not stop competition or even cause unemployment (Orme, 1996). International trade enables countries to be able to have a look at different types of goods and compare them to theirs. It will challenge local industries to produce better goods and services in order to maintain their

Inhibition Effectiveness of Au Compounds

Inhibition Effectiveness of Au Compounds Function of the â€Å"Guiding Bar† on Inhibition Effectiveness of Au Compounds on Thioredoxin Reductase 3 Qi Liu Introduction Mammalian thioredoxin reductase (TR) is an Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) dependent flavoprotein oxidoreductase, which is involved in reducing the disulfide of thioredoxin (Trx) using NADPH (Figure 1). Trx can reduce many important proteins, such as ribonucleotide reductase (RNR), which produces deoxyribonucleotides for DNA synthesis1, 2. Thus, TR and Trx play an important role in maintaining proteins in their reduced state, which involves the regulation of cellular redox reactions, proliferation, and differentiation3. In addition, Trx and TR is overexpressed in a lot of aggressive tumors, and the tumor progression and metastasis appear to be dependent on the Trx system, because tumor cells need constant DNA synthesis. However, tumor progression and metastasis were dramatically reduced when TR knockdown cells were injected into mice4. Thus, the TR was proposed to be a new anticancer drug target5. In mammals, there are three different TRs which have been characterized: the cytosolic form TR1, the mitochondrial form TR3, and thioredoxin glutathione reductase (TGR, also known as TR2)6. All of these TRs are selenoproteins with a selenocysteine (Sec) at their C-terminal active site. In the reaction mechanism of TR, the selenolate of Sec acts as an electron donor to Trx, also selenium can accept electrons from the N-terminal redox center of TR6. This redox center is located on a flexible arm, which is solvent-exposed and reactive towards electrophilic inhibitors, thus representing a target for antitumor drug development1. A number of recent reports suggest that gold-based drugs have strong inhibition ability on TRs, which could be from the direct coordination between Au and the active site Sec on TRs, so that the selenolate group is blocked7. Interestingly, the gold compounds,Bis[1,2-bis(dipyridylphosphino)ethane]gold(I) chloride ([Au(d2pype)2]Cl) and Bis[1,3-bis(di-2-pyridylphosphino)propane]gold(I) chloride ([Au(d2pypp)2]Cl), effect the inhibition effectiveness on human TR1(hTR1) and human TR3 (hTR3) differently (Figure2). The precise molecular mechanism of TR inhibition by gold compounds has not been elucidated. Thus, studies on inhibition of TRs by gold-based drugs are necessary for designing new cancer inhibitors. Available crystal structures of TRs include hTR1, rat TR1 (rTR1), mouse TR3(mTR3), DmTR (thioredoxin reductase from D. melanogaster), and PfTR (thioredoxin reductase from P. falciparum) enzymes9. A recent study showed the crystal structure of hTR1 with its substrate thioredoxin, in which the C-terminal tail of hTR1 was stabilized by a â€Å"guiding bar†, so that the flexible C-terminal tail can be observed (Figure 3). The guiding bar was first proposed in one of the structure studies of hTR1, and is composed of three amino acids: Trp407, Asn418, and Asn419. It functions to suppress random motions and positions the C-terminal tail in catalytically competent position through hydrogen bonding interactions9. However, the crystal structure of mTR3 does not show the C-terminus because of the random motion of the C-terminal without control from the guiding bar. Furthermore, the sequence comparison between hTR1 and hTR3 shows the absence of the guiding bar in TR3 (Figure 4). Research question Though inhibition of gold compounds on TRs has been studied, the function of the guiding bar on the gold compounds inhibition effectiveness on TRs has never been brought up to the studies of inhibition effectiveness on TRs. The goal of this proposal is to investigate the role of the guiding bar on the inhibition ability of gold based compounds on hTR1 and hTR3. The guiding bar will be constructed on hTR3 by mutations of K432W, A443N and S444N. Biophysical characterization will be applied to observe the presence of the C-terminus on TR3 after mutagenesis. My hypothesis is the C-terminal tail of the crystal structure of mutated TR3 will be observed, because the random motion of the C-terminus is reduced by restriction from the guiding bar. Then, two gold compounds, [Au(d2pype)2]Cl and [Au(d2pypp)2]Cl , will be applied to test the inhibition difference on normal TR3 and mutated TR3. I expect to see that the inhibition on mutated TR3 could be stronger than that on normal TR3. Significance of Proposed Research The thioredoxin system plays an important role in the intracellular redox enviornment and is composed of Trx and TR10. Proposed studies will give an insight into the function of the guiding bar on different TR enzymes. The guiding bar is expected to suppress the random motion of the C-terminal tail so that the redox center Sec on the C-terminus can have better coordination with the gold compounds. The coordination between metal and Sec will tightly block the Sec redox center, so the intracellular redox balance will be disturbed and result in potent TR inhibition4. Thus, the presence of the guiding bar can help TR to be a better drug target. Proposed studies Enzyme Expression and Purification Recombinant human TR1 and TR3 will be cloned into E. coli BL21(DE3) cells, and the growth and purification will be done as described previously.11 Mutation of Human TR3 In order to study the impact of the guiding bar residues on TR catalysis, the proposed mutations will be constructed on hTR3 with K432W, A443N, and S444N. These three mutation sites are chosen based on the sequence alignment of hTR1 in the guiding bar region of Pro376-Tyr422 (Figure 3), in which the critical amino acids, Trp407, Asn418 and Asn419, have the function of limiting random motion of the C-terminus. Thus, the same function of the guiding bar on hTR3 is expected to be observed via specific site mutation. Mutations will be introduced by the Quick Change mutagenesis method and confirmed by DNA sequencing. Structural Studies of Mutated Human TR3 The C-terminal tail in human and rat TR1 could be observed by X-ray crystallography, because the guiding bar limits its random motion. However, because the guiding bar is not present in mouse TR3, the C-terminal tail is too mobile to generate sufficient electron density without restriction from the guiding bar. This leads to the absence of the C-terminal tail in the crystal structure of mouse TR39. The mutated hTR3 after insertion of the guiding bar will be studied by X-ray crystallography. The presence of an ordered C-terminal tail in the crystal structure and the interaction between the guiding bar and the C-terminal tail will suggest restricted motion of the C-terminal tail. I expect to see that the interaction of the guiding bar on the C-terminal tail will improve the inhibition effectiveness of Au compounds on hTR3. Electrospray ionization mass spectroscopy (ESIMS) Characterization ESI is an ionization technique which is used to detect high molecular weight molecules, such as proteins, peptides and other macromolecules, so ESI MS is an important technique for studying a complex biological sample9. Instead of fragmenting the macromolecules into smaller charged particles, this process turns the macromolecules into small droplets by ionization, and these droplets are further desolvated into even smaller droplets, which creates molecules with attached protons12. As a putative target for anticancer metallodrugs, the selenoenzyme TR is the drug target for gold compounds, such as [Au(d2pype)2]Cl and [Au(d2pypp)2]Cl. The TR inhibition is thought to occur through direct binding of the gold to the active site Sec following ligand substitution. So, TR3 and mutated TR3 will be separately incubated with the two gold compounds mentioned above for 30 mins at room temperature, and then the products will be analyzed by EIS-MS. The results will be compared and are expected to explain the binding of the gold onto the hTRs. I hope to see the gold compounds have better binding on mutated hTR3 than normal hTR3. This can be explained as the guiding bar can reduce the motion of flexible C-terminal tail, so that the gold compounds can bind onto the Sec of mutated hTR3 easier than the normal one and cause more inhibition on the mutated hTR313. TR Inhibition Assay The solvent-accessible selenolate group, arising from enzyme reduction, very likely constitutes a high affinity binding site for gold compounds. Tightly blocking the active site Sec through metal coordination should result in potent TR inhibition9. Thus, after ESI-MS characterization, the TR inhibition study will be performed with the two different gold compounds, [Au(d2pype)2]Cl and [Au(d2pypp)2]Cl, on hTR1, hTR3 and mutated hTR3 respectively. In addition to Trx, some low molecular weight disulfide-containing substrates, including 5,5†²-dithiobis-(2-nitrobenzoic acid) (DTNB), lipoic acid, and lipoamidem, can also be reduced by TRs9. Here, DTNB would be chosen as the substrate for TR inhibition assay to keep consistent with the previous studies from other groups9. The NADPH dependent TR catalyzed reduction of DTNB will be monitored and determined by the increase in absorbance at 412nm. Inhibition of hTR1, hTR3 and mutated hTR3 will be done by using different concentrations of go ld compounds ([Au(d2pype)2]Cl and [Au(d2pypp)2]Cl). The inhibition results from different TRs and gold compounds will be compared. Based on the assumption that the guiding bar can suppress the motion of the C-terminal tail, greater inhibition effectiveness on mutated hTR3 than that on normal hTR3 is expected to be seen. This will show that the C-terminus is limited by the guiding bar on mutated hTR3 helps the gold compounds inhibit the active site Sec more. Binding Studies by Isothermal Titration Calorimetry (ITC) ITC is a technique used to determine the thermodynamic parameters of interaction in solution. It can be applied to study the interactions between protein-protein, enzyme-inhibitor, protein-small molecules, protein-DNA, and so on. Thus, the binding between gold compounds and the three TRs (hTR1, hTR3 and mutated hTR3) can be investigated by ITC. Applying this method will tell us how well the inhibitors, the gold compounds, bind to TRs. The binding affinity (Ka) could show how strongly the gold compounds and TRs will bind, and the higher Ka, the stronger the binding. In addition, enthalpy changes (ΔH) can tell the amount of energy released or obtained. Then, the entropy change (ΔS) and Gibbs energy changes (ΔG) can be determined by the following equation (1): ΔG = -RTlnKa = ΔH-TΔS (1) Comparison of the binding parameters between gold compounds ([Au(d2pype)2]Cl and [Au(d2pypp)2]Cl) and TRs (hTR1, hTR3 and the mutated hTR3) will give more information about the function of the guiding bar on the inhibition effectiveness of TRs. The higher Ka of hTR1 compared to normal hTR3 is expected to be seen, because the absence of guiding bar in hTR3 will lead to a flexible C-terminal tail, which will give a lower inhibition. In addition, Ka of the mutated hTR3 is expected to show higher binding affinity than the normal hTR3, because the guiding bar mutated on hTR3 will help reduce the random motion of the C-terminal tail, so that the redox center Sec can be easily inhibited by the gold compounds. Thus, the guiding bar can help improve the inhibition effectiveness of gold compounds on mutated hTR3. Conclusion Through mutation and structural studies, the presence of the C-terminal tail which is restricted by the inserted guiding bar is expected to be seen in the mutated hTR3. The ESI-MS characterization and binding study can give information about if the gold can successfully bind to the specific active site on the mutated hTR3. Finally, a better understanding of the inhibition effectiveness will be tested and compared by the inhibition assay with hTR1, hTR3 and mutated hTR3. Thus, a better understanding of the function of the guiding bar in the TR system will give an insight into the effect of the guiding bar on the drug inhibition effect on TR3 so that it can become a better drug target. References O. Rackham., A. M. Shearwood., R. Thyer., E. McNamara., S. M. Davies., B. A. Callus., A. Miranda-Vizuete., S. J. Berners-Price., Q. Cheng., E. S. J. Arner and A. Filipovska,Free Radical Biol. Med. 2011, 50, 689–699 Lothrop A. P.,Snider G. W.,RugglesE. L., PatelA. S., LeesW. J., and HondalR. J., Biochemistry.2014,53, 654–663 Fritz-Wolf K, Kehr S, Stumpf M, Rahlfs S, and Becker K., Nat Commun.2001, 2, 383 Fritz-Wolf K., Urig S., Becker K., J. Mol. Biol. 2007, 37, 116–127 Lothrop, A. P., Snider, G. W., and Hondal, R. J., Biochemistry. 2014, DOI: 10.1021/bi400651x Pratesi A., Gabbiani C., Michelucci E., Ginanneschi M., Papini A. M., Rubbiani R., Ott I., Messori L., J. Inorg. Biochem. 2014 Gabbiani C., Mastrobuoni G., Sorrentino F., Dani B., Rigobello M. P., Bindoli A., Cinellu M. A., Pieraccini G., Messori L. and Casini A.,Med. Chem. Commun. 2011,2, 50–54 Lu J.,Chew E. H.,Holmgren A.,Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci.2007, 104,12288 Yoo M.H., Xu X.M., Carlson B.A., Gladyshev V.N., Hatfield D.L., J BiolChem, 2006, 281, 13005–13008. Arnà ©r E.S.J., Holmgren A., Eur. J. Biochem, 2000, 267, 6102–6109 Gromer, S., Urig, S., and Becker, K., Med. Res. Rev. 2004, 24, 40-89 http://chemwiki.ucdavis.edu/Analytical_Chemistry/Instrumental_Analysis/Mass_Spectrometry/Mass_Spectrometers_(Instrumentation)/Electrospray_Ionization_Mass_Spectrometry Lu, J., Chew, E.H., Holmgren, A., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci.,2007, 104, 12288–12293. Berners-Price S. J., inBioinorganic Medicinal Chemistry, ed. E. Alessio, Wiley-VCH, Weinheim Berners-Price S. J. and Filipovska A.,Metallomics, 2011,3, 863–873

Comparison of 3 Stocks :: essays papers

Comparison of 3 Stocks All my stock market choices are technology based. nVIDIA is a producer of video card software, AMD a provider of motherboard processors and Electronic Arts a videogame publisher. nVIDIA is an example of a decreasing-cost industry. While a rather early new comer to the video card industry, nVIDIA was showing potential from the start. Major competition to nVIDIA’s foothold in the industry included 3dfx’s voodoo technology and ATI’s Rage. Although 3dfx’s foothold seemed unmovable, the next wave of technology to rise brought about their eventual downfall in the market. 3dfx’s lack of support for their next generation video cards (the voodoo4 & voodoo5) resulted in their being bought out by the nVIDIA Corporation. While nVIDIA released patches to over double the performance of the GeForce2’s technology, 3dfx’s patches for the Voodoo4 and Voodoo5 were riddled with flaws, resulting in performance issues for all of their customers. After the buyout, nVIDIA were now free to utilize the voodoo technology and excel in the market. Now ready to explode even bigger than before, will be the arrival of the GeForce3; boasting results over ten fold that of previous video cards, the GeForce3 will have unparallel performance in the market. This is observed by the slow increase in the percent gain, which will rise dramatically with the release of their new board. AMD, Advanced Micro Devices Inc., was a company entering a seemingly unbreakable market. Processor technology with a high initial cost categorizes it as a decreasing-cost industry. AMD, now the most popular provider of processor technology, came in against the multi-billion dollar corporation of Microsoft. Microsoft’s Pentium processor currently held a foothold in the market; however, AMD’s cheaper K-6 series (although not as powerful processor) provided an economical alternative to Microsoft’s more powerful Pentium II processor. With sales being lost to the more economical K6 series, Microsoft released the Celeron processor, which was widely accepted as a poor alternative to AMD’s K6. However, customer familiarity with the Microsoft brand name, allowed for Microsoft to recoup some of its losses in the field, but with AMD’s following rising, the K7 (Athlon) processor, took a firm hold in the field against the Pentium III. Furthermore, the Athlon Thunderbird (the successor to the K7) has now taken a majority control of the market, by outperforming the Pentium IV in most performance tests.

The house of Seven Gables Analysis Essays -- essays research papers

â€Å"The love of money is the root of all evil.† This basic proverb it the foundation that Nathaniel Hawthorne builds upon in The House of Seven Gables. Like all of hawthorns works he exploits the evils of the puritan heart in is 1851 Romantic Fantasy. Hawthorne tells the story of the Pyncheon family’s struggle to overcome the inherrated problem caused by the sins of their ancestors. The Pyncheon family, however, thinks the problems come from an inherrated curse that was placed on the family. The House of Seven Gables shows Hawthorne’s opinion of the puritan heart (Gioia and Kennedy p. 196). He believed that their hearts were full of sin, and that they were blinded by the sin and evil so much that they could not even see that the problem lies with themselves. Hawthorne believed that the inherrated evil of the heart could only be overcome by true love. To understand the family history, you must first meet the family. The Pyncheon family history starts in 1692 with the introduction of Colonel Pyncheon. He was a strict puritan whom everyone thought was a good godly man. However, his heart was greedy and evil. He had a man put to death so that he could gain the man’s property. These sins and evils are passed down through several generations of Pyncheon’s. In some generations the evil is stronger or weaker. The traits are passed until the later 1900’s to an elderly woman named Hephzibah Pyncheon. Hephzibah, the great grand niece of the Colonel, did not inherit all of his evil traits. Her heart was not greedy or full of hate, but she feels that she is better that everyone else because she is a Pyncheon. By the time the novel focuses on her however, she is nearly seventy and she realizes that she must open up a penny shop to survive. Hephzibah’s brother, Clifford, lives with her in the house of the seven gable s. Clifford is an emotional man who has spent most of his life in prison for the murder of one of his uncles. Clifford, however is the only male Pyncheon who is not full of hate, he killed his uncle to stop his uncle from killing others. Clifford and Hephzibah live in the house and are occasionally visited by their cousin, Phoebe Pyncheon. Because Phoebe moved from another town, she is unaware of the supposed curse and the inherrated evil that is supposed to dwell in her. Phoebe is perfect in every way. She is beautiful, happy, and she has a good heart. She is ... ...razy and others to become more powerful or richer to cover the feeling of grief (Anthony Trollope p 308). The ghost is also the on who resolves the conflict. Once the Pyncheon’s realize that all they have to do is confess their sins and come to terms with themselves and the Mauls then the conflict will end, and they will live happily ever after. The novel as a whole was excellent. The plot and the theme were excellent, and the novel should be converted into a movie because it has all of the things a good thriller and horror movie should have. The only drawback was the language and the style in which it was written. Nathaniel Hawthorne is a master of words and the human language, but describing a half-dead chicken does not need a two-page description. If someone could re-write the novel in today’s English, without loosing the quality of work, this could easily be the best novel ever. The theme of the novel is perfect for Hawthorne as well as everyone in every time period. It describes Hawthorne’s views as puritans as evil hypocrites, as well as showing every generation that just because you inherrated a bad family, it doesn’t mean you have to relieve the inherrated experience.

Ways to Save Energy

We live in the State of Louisiana and our electric is supplied by Enterer formally Gulf States utilities. Enterer provides electric for the states of Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Orleans and Texas. Enterer supplies their electric to our parish from River Bend Nuclear Station in Saint Branchville, Louisiana in West Felicia Parish which Is only 17 minutes from where we are In Jackson, Louisiana. I did not have to research for the source of electric that our company use because this is where my second oldest son works.At this time Enterer is also using renewable energy such as wind and hydro also In producing some of their electric. Last year at this time our electric bill was very high but I reduced our bill this year by only using lights that are needed at that moment, by setting our A/C at 780, only using our oven on the stove as needed, and reducing the usage of our microwave, of course everything in our home is electric so that do cause some problems, some people Just walk out of a room and leave the light on or go out of the door with the air on and leave the door open.The idea of having heating oil or coal coming from Russia would put a change thin a lot of households, imagine having to pay close to $500-$600 Just for lights, there would be a big change with all people because this meaner that the amount of time that it take to use your stove for cooking would change, even the time that is spent on the internet for class or Just for fun would change and all those days from having a television on Just for noise In the background would have to end also.Electric coming from Russia would mean a reduce of usage because there would be a raise in the price of oil, gas and coal. Currently the debate that has my attention has to do with the usage of high ethanol gas. This gas supposed to be cleaner and reduce the emission from regular gas. Currently our ozone layer is steady being destroyed from pollutions that are entering the environment.Having high ethan ol gas would help to reduce this emission but then also having flex-fuel vehicles or an electric vehicle would count towards helping the environment. Explaining Chart: Electric usage for television, computer, electric stove, oven usage on two days, hot water for bathing, cordless phone going down needed recharging, A/C on for cooling the home, ceiling fan on in the living room. Solar: Came to a good usage blinds up on windows did not have to use lights as often.Gas: Two days In a row gas had to be put in our truck, husband and son job hunting and these two days were spent going out of East Felicia Parish looking for work, Gas was use going to the doctor for my monthly check-up which also made more gas added to the truck. Chart enclosed References Smith, J. Dune 26, 2011). How to Improve Your Homes Energy Efficiency Rating retrieved trot mm. ‘. Correspondence. Com on August 21, 2013 Enterer The Power of People retrieved from wry. Enterer. Com on August

Great Expectations so successful Essay

Pip almost breaks down in relief when Magwitch allows him to go, â€Å"I faltered†, he is relieved but still shaken. His childish imagination shows, when Magwitch is picking his way through the graves, â€Å"as if he were eluding the hands of the dead people†, he imagines very fearful images, that he will always relate to Magwitch and the events that have just taken place. Pip has more childish thoughts, and his imagination runs wild, and he imagines the convict â€Å"were the Pirate come to life†. His imagination makes the convict even more frightening to him. â€Å"It gave me a terrible turn when I thought so†, Pip is terrified by his own visions of the convict. Pip is very nai ve, â€Å"I looked all around for the horrible young man, and could see no signs of him†. Pip believes Magwitch’s story and his invented character, and is genuinely scared of the young man, which intimidates Pip even more, as this threat will stay with him long after Magwitch is out of sight. The setting almost always symbolizes a theme in Great Expectations, and throughout the book sets a tone matched to the dramatic actions. The misty marshes are used to symbolize danger and uncertainty. Throughout the chapter Dickens uses Pathetic Fallacy to give human traits to nature. At the beginning of the chapter the day is portrayed as â€Å"raw†, which gives the impression of it being a painful and isolated place. Dickens then gives you strong images of the churchyard, â€Å"bleak place overgrown with nettles†, this portrays the churchyard as uncared for, and that not many people venture there. Pip’s life outside of the churchyard, â€Å"dark flat wilderness beyond the churchyard†, is lonely and isolated, the â€Å"wilderness† is like Pips life which is lonely, and which does not have many people in it, he is uncared for, just like the churchyard. The sense of bleak isolation is reinforced by the low leaden line† of the river and the description of the sea which follows. The place is dark, bleak, and heavy. The â€Å"sea† is there almost as a lair, and a den. â€Å"Savage lair†, this is like a brutal animal attacking. Magwitch will come from such a lair, were other things are hiding, and waiting to attack to Pip, not only now, but in the future as well. Pip is isolated in the graveyard, â€Å"a mile or more from the church†, Pip is along way from home and safety, there is nobody around to hear or help him. Even though there is the terror of Magwitch turning Pip over, a short way away is the church, which shows the contrast of holiness and serenity to the evilness of Magwitch. The marshes are depressing and dark, â€Å"cold wet flat†, the marshes are welcoming for no one but animals. The scratching and stinging plants, â€Å"brambles that bound the green mounds†, shows that it is pain and misery that hold this place together. â€Å"When the rains were heavy, or the tide was in†, the marshes can be dangerous and life threatening. The marshes that were â€Å"just a long black horizontal line† are bleak and dark, and full of uncertainty and danger. Dickens uses Pathetic Fallacy to describe the sky, â€Å"just a row of long angry red lines†; he gives the sky the image of being angry and dangerous. â€Å"Red lines and dense black lines intermixed†, this a mix of red which represents danger, and black which represents death. Only two things on the marshes are tall and noticeable, â€Å"the only two black things in all the prospect that seemed to be standing upright†, everything else is flat and eerie like death. â€Å"The beacon by which the sailors steered†, this is a signal to help prevent danger, which shows there could be some safety mixed up in all of the danger. Dickens shows signs of barbarity of the contempory penal system everywhere. A gallows looms over Pip, â€Å"a gibbet, with some chains hanging to it†; this is a clear symbol of death and evilness. Everywhere Pip looks there are signs of death. In the whole of the novel as well as in this chapter, whenever Pip goes into the mists of the marshes, something dangerous is likely to happen. In the essay I have found that the convict is mainly portrayed by Dickens, as a frightening though believable character, who inflicts terror, anguish, pain, and distress. Despite these points though, at the end of the chapter, when Magwitch is ‘limping’ away, the reader feels some compassion for him. Magwitch is a very guarded person, and intrigues the reader, and makes them guess a lot of things about Magwitch’s character. Pip is a small defenseless little boy, who is exposed and vulnerable to the dangers of the world. The reader automatically feels concern, and sympathy for him. As soon as the action starts between Pip and Magwitch, Magwitch is portrayed as the bad person, and Pip as the good, the reader automatically sides with Pip, and you follow his feelings and emotions right through the chapter. The setting helps create the dismal, eerie, and bleak atmosphere. The overgrown churchyard helps to create the perfect setting for what is going on in the chapter, as it represents Pip’s feelings and emotions. Pathetic fallacy is found quite a lot in the chapter; it is used to give human traits to nature, e. g. ‘savage lair’. Pip’s life and world is the microcosm of the chapter, and contains in miniature all the features of the larger structure (macrocosm). Dickens chose the themes of the convict and crime, as these represent dishonesty, law breaking, and wrongdoing. He chose these images of the unacceptable and violent behavior, as the readers of the time would have had very strong vies on these. He also uses symbols such as the gallows, which people also associate with badness and law breaking. The theme of darkness and violence draws in the reader, and they become involved in everything that is going on in the chapter. Throughout the chapter Dickens uses different techniques such as the setting corresponding with feelings and emotions, and the great aspect of violence, to draw in the reader, and make them become more involved with the characters, and almost feel what they feel. Dickens skillfully leaves the chapter as a cliffhanger, making me (the reader) want to read more. Zara Smalley Page 1 Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Great Expectations section.

Equity Theory of Motivation Essay

As the cliche goes, no man is an island. Everything man does is influenced by other men and his environment. Be it in school or at work, the reason why people persevere lies on the desire to achieve a certain goal. Hence, motivation is essential to keep the drive of doing things passionately and effectively. However, the enthusiasm to sustain the dream and keep the motivation alive can be tampered by life’s uncertainties. Given the unique characteristics that each student possess, the amount of effort exerted by an average student does not always equal the amount of effort exerted by an outlier in class, yet the results are the same or sometimes exceeded by the outlier. Perhaps there are instances when studying overnight and not studying at all yielded the same result. These situations affect the level of motivation a student harness when studying. The feeling of unfairness affects how he/she will prepare for the next exam. In the workplace setting, motivation is likewise an i mportant factor to increase productivity. For example, an employee who worked overtime to get the job well done vis-a-vis an employee who slacked off and produced a mediocre output both received the same salary and the same praises from their boss. The hardworking employee might feel wronged upon seeing how his extra effort was overlooked. To give justice to the unfairness he feels, he opts to mimic the other employee, thus also producing a mediocre output. The equity theory of motivation, developed by workplace and behavioral psychologist John Stacey Adams in 1963, is grounded on the concept that employees tend to seek equity or balance in the amount of input they give to their job or relationship with their bosses, and the output they receive. The inputs referred in this theory include college degree, hard work, effort, committment, ability, adaptability, determination, flexibility, skill, loyalty, tolerance, enthusiasm, trust in superiors, support from colleages, personal sacrifi ce and the like. On the other hand, outputs come in the form of financial benefits like salary, bonuses, and perks, and also intangible benefits such as recognition from superiors, praises, responsibility, job security, good reputation, sense of achievement, personal growth and the like. When an employee’s inputs outweigh his or her outputs, he or she becomes demotivated and unhappy. To achieve equity, the behavioral response is to balance out the input-output equation by asking for an increase in the output side, or  simply diminishing his or her input. The state of equity lie on the perception of an employee in relation to another employee’s input and output ratio, which shows that employee motivation is subjective nature. However, an employer or manager’s role of keeping employees motivated should not be deterred by this notion. Instead, understanding the sources of employee dissatisfaction and demotivation can help managers address the issues surrounding t he workplace to allow for a more productive and work-conducive environment. The equity theory is more commonly known as the social comparison theory or the inequity theory since an employee compares his input-output ratio with another employee’s input-output ratio to determine equity, and an employee who feels inequity or unfairness reduces this through his behavior and attitude towards work. The â€Å"exchange relationship† between work and compensation in comparison with a colleage draws forth discernment of what is fair and unfair. To grasp the intuition behind the theory, four objects must be present which include the person, whose aim is to reduce whatever inequity feeling he or she has; the comparison to other, which pertains to the benchmark person from whom equity and inequity is determined; the inputs and the outputs. According to the theory, a person first compares inputs and outputs with a comparison other, then determines if there is inequity or unequal input/output ratio between himself/herself and comparison other. Basically, the theory assumes that an individual addresses his/her inequity feeling after comparison to others, and remains at the level where equity is achieved. Several ways a person does in reaching equity include altering his/her inputs, altering his/her outputs, distorting his inputs and outputs cognitively, finding a new job, or changing the person of comparison. (Gogia, 2010) In line with this, Huseman, Hattfield and Miles (1987) dissected the equity theory into four basic ideas. First, the notion of fairness is conceived through comparing an individual’s input and outcomes ratio with others. The other does not necessarily require a colleage, because it can also be his/her old self. Comparing the amount of effort exerted and the amount of salary received to a colleage’s or an old job facilitates the judgment of what is fair to an individual. Second, if the compared ratios are not equal, then there is inequity. The two kinds of  inequity are underpayment inequity and overpayment inequity. Underpayment inequity happens when an individual deems that his/her ratio is smaller than others, or in other words, his great effort mismatches with the benefit received as compared to another employee. On the contrary, overpayment inequity occurs when a big compensation is received from the little effort exerted, as compared to other coworkers. Third, the greater the difference in inequity, the greater tension and distress the individual feels. The different attitudes people have toward life’s unfairness in general brought about the three kinds of equity-sensitive people namely the benevolents, the equity sensitives and the entitleds, with the benevolents being the most tolerant of underrewards, and the entitleds having the most preference of over-rewards. The equity sensitives just want their ratio to be the same with others, but the entitleds believe that the world owes them, so it is just rig htful for them to receive more. Forth, the more intense feeling of tension brought about by inequity, the harder an individual will work to restore equity. This is just like how a more oppressed victim is more thirsty he is to seek justice, if not revenge. The ways in achieving equity varies from person to person. Upon experiencing the feeling of unfairness, the assumption of this theory is that employees will find ways to reduce inequity. The two most typical ways are through behavioral options and cognitive options, where the latter is used more often used since it is both less riskier and easier to do than the former. For behavioral options, the employees change their input to match outcomes like slacking off or leaving work early, changing outcomes to match input by asking for an increase, or perpetrating a crime like theft or fraud, persuading others to change inputs by complaining to superiors, and withdrawal through tardiness, absenteeism or quitting the job. As for the cogni tive options, the employee distorts his own inputs or outcomes by underestimating his own performance so that the inputs will match the output; distort the inputs or outcomes of others by thinking that others earn more because they probably deserve it; change the comparison others by choosing a different benchmark for them to feel better. (â€Å"Motivation theories†, 2009) Applying this theory in the government office place gives a clearer understanding as to why in general, government employeees are unmotivated and unhappy with their jobs. Perhaps they have once tried to work dilligently, but only end up with having the same  across-the-board incentive as fellow workers who do not work as hard as them. Hence, the Aquino administration came up with the performance-based incentive system to allow a fair compensation to those who deserve to be rewarded. By altering the outcome through a performance-based bonus, government employees try to match their performance to the amount of bonus they wish to receive. Motivation Theories. (2009, April 26). Why Do Employees Take More Initiatives to Improve Their Performance After Co-developing Performance Measures? A Field Study (Groen, Wouters & Wilderom, 2012)  Usually, people work more conscientiously when their performances are being monitored, be it in school, at work, or even in playing games. Knowing how grades, scores or output are obtained help an individual’s goal setting and invoke the determination and commitment to achieve the said goal. What more if the employees themselves determine how they are to be rated? Having an opinion and first hand experience in developing performance measure criteria make employees not only feel valued, but also feel a sense of fairness because they know that the criteria they set are attainable and reasonable. Groen, Wouters and Wilderom (2012) conducted a field study to investigate why employees perform better when they are involved in developing peformance measures. The study used the theory of planned behavior, which states that beliefs predict how individuals behave or plan to behave. Gathering data from meetings, interviews, company information data, quantitative questionnaire and first-hand experience in the field in a beverage manufacturing company, bottling line employees were found to be more motivated, have more initiative, and more positively affected by social pressure when they were involved in developing performance measures. The  variables examined in the study included attitude towards the job, social pressure from coworkers, capability from personal skills. All these variables were found to positively and significantly influence an employee’s intiative towards his job, thus increasing his productivity. The study showed that productivity and initative of the employ ees who were aware and had a say on performance measurement criteria improved the departments’ overall performance. 7. Models of Performance-Measurement Use in Local Governments: Understanding Budgeting, Communication, and Lasting Effects (Melkers & Willoghby, 2005) Since performance measurement has been emphasized in various literatures, the importance of having them adopted and implemented is no longer debatable. Performance measurement schemes help in understanding the strengths and weaknesses of the organization, and it also serves as an objective basis of planning the budget to be used to fund government projects. The study of Melkers and Willoghby (2005) paid close attention to the usefulness of performance-based information on the operations of the local government in the US, communication, and budgetary decisions. The pervasiveness of performance measurement implementation in the US was also studied through the results obtained from a national survey of city and count y administrators and budgeters of nearly 300 governments. Multiple regression analysis was implemented to find out whether dependent variables budget effects, communication effects and lasting effects index were individually affected by independent variables community characteristics, respondent characteristics, organizational culturea and performance measurement characteristics. The results showed that although the use of performance indicators was pervasive, the respondents were apathetic with regards to the effectiveness of these performance measurements for budgetary concerns and operational processes within the government unit. Promoting the Utilization of Performance Measures in Public Organizations: An Empirical Study of Factors Affecting Adoption and Implementation (Julnes & Holzner, 2001) It is true that performance measurements are vital for making informed decisions. Both public and private firms need to be guided on a set of parameters that help them determine where they have done well and what areas need improvement. If the government departments are serious  in improving their service to the public, then coming up with a set of criteria and implementing these evaluation criteria would be essential in determining where to start the change. Despite recognizing the importance of having performance measures, there are several issues that impede the development and usage of a performance measurement scheme. The empirical study by Julnes and Holzner (2001) examined the factors that hamper the utilization of performance measurement in public organizations in the US. A sample of state and local governmen t employees were drawn from the Government Financial Officers Association, International City/County Management Association of College and University Business Officers obtained from GASB. A total of 934 questionnaires were sent to state and local government employees across the nation in 1997. The variables used in the survey included adoption and implementation for the dependent variable, and external requirements, internal requirements, internal interest groups, external interest groups, attitudes, risk taking, information, resources, goal orientation, percent unionized, government type and position. Using ordinary least square mulitple-regression analyses, the results of the study revealed that output measures were developed for various programs, but efficiency measures and outcome measures were less developed. Looking at the performance measure usage, the researchers found out that efficiency and outcome measures were less used for strategic planning, resource allocation, progra m management, monitoring and evaluation, reporting to internal management, electec officials, citizens or media. Aside from these, the researchers’ findings showed that internal requirements, external requirements, goal orientation and access to information positively and significantly affect the adoption of performance measures, while external interest groups and internal requirements positively affect implementation of performance measures, but unionization negatively affect implementation. Overall, the policy of using performance measures would more likely be adopted if it were an internal requirement wherein top management commits to the effort of evaluating government programs. On the contrary, external requirement would not automatically merit the implementation of performance measures since factors such as organizations’ ability, politician’s support, sufficient resources and commitment to the purpose were lacking if not missing. The study suggests that p ublic administrators be aware that  performance measure is a two-step process namely adoption and implementation, wherein factors affecting adoption include mostly rational and technocratic theory, while actual implementation are determined by political and cultural factors. (Julnes & Holzner, 2001) The Use of Performance Measurement Systems in the Public Sector: Effects on Performance (Spekle & Verbeeten, 2013) Performance measurement information are collected and used in various ways such as strategic planning, budgeting, and employee bonus planning. The immense benefits of measuring performance outweighs the costs of collecting such data, which is why most government agencies have already instilled in their system a peformance measurement mechanism for reference. In the study of Spekle and Verbeeten (2013), the researchers explored whether the pefromance measurement system actually improves or deters organizational performance. They also introduced the concept of contractibility, which means clear goals, undistorted pefromance metrics, managers’ knowledge and control of the transformation process. Public sector organizations that have high contractibility were expected to be better than those organizations with low contractibilty in terms of performance. The test was d one through a survey of 101 public sector organizations in the US. The results showed that contractibility influences the way incentive-oriented use of the performance measurement system and performance. More interestingly, the researchers concluded that usign the performance measurement system for incentive purposes negatively influences organizational performance, unless contractibility is high. Disregarding contractibility, performance measurement system tends to enhance performance. Hence, the effect of the performance measurement system in public sector organizations are greatly affected by the level of contractibility and managers’ usage of the system. Determinants of Incentive Intensity in Group-Based Rewards (Zenger & Marshall, 2000) Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) in the Public Sector: A Study in Malaysia. Economic Incentives and the Choice of State Government Accounting Practices (Ingram, 1984)

GM Acquiring Ford Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

GM Acquiring Ford - Research Paper Example General Motors Company is a classic car manufacturing brand present in US since 1931. The brand is popular with its classic distinctions in both car and truck sections. Its network is present worldwide, covering Europe, Africa and United States. It is one of the leading competitors of Ford Corporation since 1980s, when both brands introduced new classic models into the market regions (Salamie & Stansell, 2006). With such massive global network of automobile, Ford Corporation has been facing a lot of challenges in its internal divisions (New York Times, 2012). Alan Mulally the CEO of the company has talked about several challenges the company has faced in the recent times, which if it gets merged with any company like General Motors, will add several risk factors in the organization system (New York Times, 2012). It has been seen in recent years that Ford Corporation is facing big time challenges in both American and European markets, while GM decisively focusing on the European section because of its fallback in the Central Europe since 2008, will expect Ford Corporation to support its European region (New York Times, 2012). If Ford gets merged with General motors, probable chance is that it invites uncertainties of General Motors prevailing in the European market. (New York Times, 2012) According to New York Times, due to lack of efficiency and operation, GM has lost its entire position in the Central Europe market segment. The company has received big time debts and bankruptcy cases which has deprived company’s dominating position in the Central Europe. More investments are made on the European side as the formal CEO Rick Wagoner of the company suggested restructuring of the company in that region. On this node if Ford gets along with such present situation of General Motors, it will have to invite challenges of European market carrying risk of sales regression, brand devaluation or deflation of the brand culture. According to New York Times (2012), Ford