Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Disciplines of Humanities, Social Science and Management Essay

Disciplines of Humanities, Social Science and Management - Essay Example One such idea, that hadn’t been put in place during the founder’s time, but that has since seen some use and development, includes Frederick Taylor’s (1856-1915) Scientific Management Method. The founding idea behind Frederick Taylor’s scientific management theory was the concept that â€Å"the principal object of management should be to secure the maximum prosperity for the employer, coupled with the maximum prosperity for each employee.†1 Taylor’s theories can be seen in many organizations that exist today, but perhaps most easily in the processes that characterize the popular fast food chain McDonalds, especially if one studies the means by which the company has redesigned their work areas since my teenage years to produce the greatest possible product in the least amount of time with the fewest manpower hours necessary to keep customers happy. Another development in management science that has occurred in the past 50 years, but accelerate d in the past 20, has been the concept of a knowledge society and economy. Rather than being focused upon products and materials, the new economies and philosophies are based more upon the concept of information management and communication. To understand some of these concepts, Taylor’s Scientific Management Method will be introduced and applied to one of my earliest positions as a McDonald’s employee, examining how application of the theory has changed this organization in the intervening years, before examining the changing base of management to one of information and how that applies to my current position as a network administrator. Frederick Taylor’s theory centered around the concept that management and the workforce should work in tandem for a mutual benefit, but that it was essential for management to make benefits directly applicable to the employee who

Monday, October 28, 2019

Sex and marriage Essay Example for Free

Sex and marriage Essay The Country Wife shows us that peoples attitude towards love, sex and marriage have not changed in over 300 years How far do you agree with this statement? The Country Wife is a 17th century drama set in the period when the restoration was evolving. The once puritan England was vastly flourishing with greater tolerance towards political and social change under the influence of Charles II. Soon theatres of the past reopened with fresh enthusiasm and risqui ideas were portrayed openly to audiences of the time. The Country Wife was just one of the many comedies of its era and Wycherley was commonly displaying the spirit of the age. Interestingly, the modern audience of today can also relate to some of the humour in the Country Wife, this poses the question, has peoples attitudes towards social aspects changed? Throughout the Country Wife, there are many references to love, marriage and sex although there is more content focusing on the latter. The characters that Wycherley has used reflect the ideas of the time. The plays focus is primarily on Horner; the witty rake who like many of the other men in the play is simply out to satisfy his own sexual desires. This type of behaviour does not surprise a modern audience and if anything, we can relate to it as a norm in our present society. What the reader must bear in mind when reading the Country wife is the fact that people were recently formally repressed and forced to live a puritan lifestyle. When the restoration took place, many people were willing to explore their sexuality and freedom willingly and that is why there are many references to sex in the play. One of the common fears of the men in the play, particularly Pinchwife is to be made a cuckold, which in modern terms is simply a husband who has been cheated on by his wife. Pinchwife claims, What is wit in a wife good for, but to make a man a cuckold? This interestingly portrays how men were extremely conscious of their wives purity and faithfulness, however, what provokes humour in the play is the complete one sidedness attitude of the men especially when Horner says, But tell me, has marriage cured thee of whoring which it seldom does This shows how men thought that they had the right to be unfaithful however; if a woman were to commit adultery, the man was seen as a fool. Obviously, this idea has changed over the years and the word cuckold is now one of the past. The similarity nevertheless between these two ideas is that people nowadays have different views over a woman having many sexual relationships in comparison to a man. The main idea being that a woman is classified as having a reputation if she has many sexual partners whereas a man is generally seen as a stud.

Friday, October 25, 2019

One of the Greatest Concerts Ever :: Music Bands Essays

One of the Greatest Concerts Ever It was a cold windy day in late November. The sky was blue, but the air had a chill to it. It was a typical Colorado fall day. My friends and I stood in a circle lightly bouncing trying to keep ourselves warm. It has always been our tradition to get to an arena at least an hour before a concert starts and wait for the doors to open. This day was no different we refused to let the weather break our tradition. We ended up paying for it because our nose and cheeks began to turn rosy red and our fingers and toes were going numb. When the doors to the arena finally opened we all breathed a sigh of relief and rushed inside to warm up. Inside the arena, the excitement of all the fans could be felt. People were talking about how much they liked the bands that would be performing, and many were amazed to be there because it was their first concert. Many other people also seemed to be doing the â€Å"pre-concert ritual† which is seen at many concerts, and that is getting as much beer in them as possible. Everyone seemed to be having a good time preparing for the concert ahead. The arena was separated into two different sections; the reserved seating section which goes all along the arena and then the general admission section which is all along the floor of the arena closest to the stage. My friends and I were on the floor; this is our traditional spot and seems to be where all of the action takes place. This is where people mosh in the mosh pits and fans can try and get as close to the stage as possible. Not only is being on the floor the liveliest and most fun spot to be, it is also the most dangerous. People will begin moshing and run into the rest of the crowd, and many fights will break out because people want to get as close to the stage as possible. Being a smaller girl is a huge disadvantage at a concert like this. It is really easy to get pushed and sometimes it is hard to see over other people because they are taller. My friends and I were as close to the stage as we could get and we were having a great time listening to the band Trust Company.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Dolphin

New research suggests that dolphins are second only to humans in smarts. – MRI scans indicate that these marine mammals are self-aware. – Researchers think dolphins are especially vulnerable to suffering and trauma. When human measures for intelligence are applied to other species, dolphins come in Just behind humans in brainpower, according to new research. Dolphins demonstrate skills and awareness previously thought to be present only in humans.New MRI scans show that dolphin brains are four to five times larger for their body size when compared to another nimal of similar size, according to Lori Marino, a senior lecturer in neuroscience and behavioral biology at Emory University, and one of the world's leading dolphin experts. Humans also possess an impressive brain-to-body ratio. â€Å"If we use relative brain size as a metric of ‘intelligence' then one would have to conclude that dolphins are second in intelligence to modern humans,† said Marino, who p erformed several MRI scans on dolphin brains.Marino will be presenting her findings at next month's American Association for the Advancement of Science meeting. â€Å"Size isn't verything,† she admitted, but she says at least two other lines of evidence support her claims about dolphin intelligence. First, various features of the dolphin neocortex the part of the brain involved in higher-order thinking and processing of emotional information are â€Å"particularly expanded† in dolphins. Second, behavioral studies conducted by Marino and other experts demonstrate that dolphins exhibit human- like skills.These include mirror self-recognition, cultural learning, comprehension of symbol-based communication systems, and an understanding of abstract concepts. The Navy's Marine Mammal Program began in 1960 with two goals. First, the Navvy wanted to study the underwater sonar capabilities of dolphins and beluga whales to learn how to design more efficient methods of detecting objects underwater, and to improve the speed of their boats and submarines by researching how dolphins are able to swim so fast and dive so deep.In addition to this research component, the Navvy also trained dolphins, beluga whales, sea lions and other marine mammals to perform various underwater tasks, including delivering equipment to divers nderwater, locating and retrieving lost objects, guarding boats and submarines, and doing underwater surveillance using a camera held in their mouths. Dolphins were used for some of these tasks in the Vietnam War and in the Persian Gulf. The Marine Mammal Program was originally classified, and was at its peak during the Cold War.The Soviet Union's military was conducting similar research and training programs in the race to dominate the underwater front. At one point during the 1980's, the U. S. program had over 100 dolphins, as well as numerous sea lions and beluga whales, and an operating budget ot $8 million dollars. By the ‘s, howeve r, the Cold W was over, and the Navvy's Marine Mammal project was downsized. In 1992, the program became declassified. Many of the dolphins were retired, and controversy arose over whether or not it would be feasible to return unnecessary dolphins to the wild. pecific Tasks Navvy marine mammals are trained to perform many underwater duties, including Bottlenose dolphins detect and mark of underwater mines. The animal locates a mine and then deposits a weighted buoy line near the mine in order to mark it. California sea lions attach grabber devices to underwater objects for etrieval. This system is used extensively in training exercises with divers for Explosive Ordnance Disposal units. Practice mines are placed on the sea floor; those not found by the divers during the exercise are retrieved by the sea lions. Bottlenose dolphins are used to detect and defend against enemy swimmers.This procedure was used in both the Vietnam War and the Persian Gulf to protect Navvy anchored vessels from enemy swimmers seeking to plant explosives. The dolphins would swim slowly, patrolling the area with their sonar, and alert armed trainer guards if they located a swimmer. They are also trained to â€Å"tag† the enemy swimmer with a marker so that Navvy personnel can apprehend him. During the Vietnam War, rumors circulated about a â€Å"swimmer nullification program† in which dolphins were also being trained to shoot at enemy swimmers with a device similar to the tagging device.The Navvy denies that any such program existed or that any dolphin has ever been trained to attacka human. 1960's naw begins use of marine mammals 1965 sea lab II In 1965, the Marine Mammal Program began its first military project: Sea Lab II. Working in the waters off La Jolla, California, a bottlenose dolphin named Tuffy ompleted the first successful open ocean military exercise. He repeatedly dove 200 feet to the Sea Lab II installation, carrying mail and tools to naw personnel. He was a lso trained to guide lost divers to safety. 965-75 dolphins used in Vietnam The Navvy sent five dolphins to Cam Ranh Bay to perform underwater surveillance and guard military boats from enemy swimmers. Although during this era rumors circulated about a â€Å"swimmer nullification program† through which dolphins were trained to attack and kill enemy swimmer, the Navvy denies such a program ever existed. 1975 ntroduction of sea lions and beluga whales With the success of the dolphin program, the Navvy began working with sea lions, training them to recover military hardware or weaponry fired and dropped in the ocean.The sea lions could dive and recover objects at depths of up to 650 feet. The Navvy also began exploring the use of beluga whales, which, like dolphins, use sonar to navigate. Beluga whales could operate at much colder temperatures and deeper depths than either dolphins or sea lions. naw builds up collection of dolphins The Marine Mammal Program reached its heyday in the 1980's, with an expanded udget and increased number of dolphins.In 1986, Congress partially repealed the 1972 Marine Mammal Protection Act by letting the Navvy collect wild dolphins from for â€Å"national defense purposes. † The Navvy planned to use the dolphins to expand its mine disposal units and to stock a breeding program. 1986-88 dolphins in the Persian gulf The naw sent six dolphins to the Persian Gulf, where they patrolled the harbor in Bahrain to protect US flagships from enemy swimmers and mines, and escorted Kuwaiti oil tankers through potentially dangerous waters. One of the dolphins, â€Å"Skippy,† died ofa bacterial infection. ssile guarding project in Bangor abandoned In the late 1980's the Navvy began a project through which dolphins would act as guards at the Bangor Washington Trident Missile Base. Animal activists opposed the project, and filed suit against the Navvy under the National Environmental Protection Act claiming that the Navvy must do an environmental evaluation to determine whether deployment in the cold northern waters off Bangor would harm dolphins originally captured in the Gulf of Mexico. A Judge ruled that such a study must be completed before the project could continue.The Navvy abandoned the project. By 1994, the Navvy policy on moving dolphins to environments with radically different water temperatures changed; a spokesperson said that in general, the Navvy would only move dolphins between environments with a 20 degree difference in temperature, except in emergency situations. 1990S downsizing, declassification, retirement With the end of the Cold War, the Navvy's budget for the marine mammal program was drastically reduced, and all but one of its training centers were closed down.Of the 103 dolphins remaining in the program, the Navvy decided it needed only 70 to maintain its downsized operations. Much of the project was declassified, although certain details remain protected. This raised the question of what to do with the remaining dolphins. In the 1992 Defense Appropriations Act, Congress alloted a half million dollars to the Navvy to â€Å"to develop training procedures which will allow mammals which are no longer required for this project to be released into their natural habitat. The Navvy held two conferences of researchers and experts and determined that a reintroduction program would not be cost effective. In an attempt to downsize its dolphin troops, the Navvy offered to give its surplus trained dolphins o marine parks However, interest in the tree dolphins was low because many marine parks by this time had developed successful in-house breeding programs. The Navvy only got only four requests, but pledged to care for the unclaimed dolphins until their deaths.Later in 1994, the Navvy agreed to send three dolphins to Sugarloaf sanctuary, near Key West in Florida, a rehabilitation facility run by Ric O'Barry. O'Barry planned to reeducate the dolphins so they could be safe ly released into the wild, once the necessary federal permits were granted. 1996 illegal release of Luther and Buck Two of the dolphins being held at the Sugarloaf Sanctuary, Luther and Buck, were being prepared for life in the wild while awaiting federal permits for their release. In May, before the permits had been issued, O'Barry released the dolphins into the Gulf of Mexico.He believed that the dolphins were ready for release and that the bureaucratric requirements for a permit were designed to prevent the release of the Navvy dolphins. He thought that to wait any longer before letting them go would jeopardize their chances of successful adaptation to the wild. read O'Barry's defense f his actions, and criticism of the release from Naomi Rose The dolphins were recaptured less than two weeks later and returned to the Navvy. All three of these dolphins are now back with the Navvy. One of them is still in Florida; the other two are back in San Diego in the Navvy facility there. 997 Ukrainian dolphins trained by the Soviet Navvy for military operations are now being used for therapy with autistic and emotionally disturbed children. Mahalia Jackson Mrs. Harvey English 093 (1 :OO) October 29, 2013 Dolphins Dolphins are very interesting creatures. There are many things about a dolphin you may not know about. They do many ditterent things witn humans, and they do many different things in their everyday lives. There are many peculiar amazing creatures in the ocean, but none of them compares to the dolphins.In the beginning of time about 50 million years ago research shows that dolphins were once a land animal. They looked like a wolf, as this animal they hunted in the shallow waters, and eventually they learned how to adapt between land and water. Research says, â€Å"That their forelegs became flippers, the hind legs disappeared and the fluke evolved, and their fur disappeared and the nostrils moved to the top of their head. This how they breathe today. Even thou gh they surface ever few minutes in the water, they can stay under water up to 15 minutes.Now in order to navigate they use echolocation to find their way around the ocean or the sea. In order to find food the uses clicks to send out to return off of an object in the water researchers say, â€Å"It's just like an echo. † This is how they find their food, dolphins. And other threatening animals or rocks. Just like humans have a family; well, dolphins have families that they live in. The families are usually or mostly lead by a female dolphin. Just like in a society of humans the females primarily are the head of the house hold or family.Every dolphin in the family help each other out, sometimes several families might come together to make a school of dolphins. Jackson 2 Dolphins are very intelligent, they are the second-smartest animal in the world. Research shows that dolphins shows skills and awareness that for many years they thought only humans had. They gave them MIR scan s, and they found out that a dolphin's brain is four to five times larger than their own bodies when it is compared to another animals of a similar size. Dolphins has been in the U. S. Navvy for more than forty years.The Navvy's Marine Mammal Program began in 1960 and they had two reasons for this program. It was that the Navvy wanted to study the underwater sonar capabilities of dolphins, and to learn how to design more sufficient methods for detecting objects underwater, and to also improve the speed of their boats and submarines by researching how dolphins are able to swim so fast and dive so deep into the water. Dolphins Just didn't Join the Navvy or became a part of it they had to be trained to do the Jobs they were going to be assigned to do. In order to help the Navvy in upcoming wars to come.They was trained to deliver equipment to divers underwater, locating and retrieving lost objects that the Navvy thought was important, guarding boats and submarines, and doing underwater surveillance using a camera to hold in their mouths. Researchers says, â€Å"The dolphins were trained to attack and kill the enemy in the Vietnam War. † Lastly, Dolphins are many things on this Earth. They are intelligent, they are used in the U. S. Navvy. In order to help them discover enemies and to protect the ships. They are descendants of wolves and that they ave hair it's Just on the top of their head.Female dolphins are the head of the family, and several families might come and Join them. All together Dolphins are amazing creatures, they can be your friend and protect you to the end.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Limitations of financial ratios as a tool to evaluate financial performance Essay

Although financial ratios play a critical role in allowing investors and analysts to give appropriate predictions and a measure of how the company will perform in the future years in terms of stock prices and profitability but a measure problem with these ratios is that they are based on historical data and therefore an attempt to look into the future with the use of these ratios is risky and exposes investors to different kinds of risks such as inflation, cross-border risk and other business related risks. Another limitation of these ratios is related to there limited use on there own. Certain ratios are insignificant unless they compared with the older data or industry averages. This is a main reason why most analysts want to compare a company’s financial ratio with the industry figures. This also means that an understanding of the business and industry must be there with the investor before a decision is made with regards to purchasing the stock of a company. We also see that firms and their finance departments do try their best to inflate results and window dress the balance sheet and profit and loss figures. This can lead to over estimated revenues and understated costs which might be discovered later. Therefore it is important to look at different ratios and notes to the statements before conclusions are drawn. There is also a case for companies that have defaulted or there have been instances where scams have been caught and reported by the securities companies and other government departments. Some of the financial ratios also might be impacted by the sudden change in a particular factor or some economic factor that might have a short-term affect on the performance of the company’s bottom line and earnings per share. To counter this short-term possibility analyst must look at both technical and fundamental analysis before deciding the long-term view on the company. Another issue with financial ratios is that it does not take into account off-balance sheet items that might play a significant role in the profitability and revenue generation of a company this is a case especially for investment banks. We also see that financial ratios only use accounting data and not economic data. This is also a downside to financial ratios as only limited data is being used to come to important conclusions. (Financial modeling guide, n. d. ) Conclusion MITIE is a strong group with businesses in strategically strong markets where long-term view is extremely positive. The company has strong financials with a prudent policy of avoiding debt in uncertain times. The company has done well considering the difficult time that has been presented by the economic recession and worldwide financial crunch. The company’s profitability looks stronger as we move into 2010 and beyond. The company also has huge potential in business areas such as infrastructure management and property works especially within the public sector. We say so because a lot of options will be available and a number of opportunities present themselves specifically in the government sector. (Reilly & Brown, 2003) The financial analysis reveals important stuff about the company; firstly the company has very few assets backed by long-term borrowing which shows that the company has an opportunity to raise finances by leveraging its balance sheet. This could be very effective if some strategic capital is bought or expansion is sought by the company. We also see great potential as the liquidity and cash position of the company s very impressive this is the case because it is very difficult to manipulate important data in the cash flow statement and the cash flow figures therefore a good performance in that sector shows great potential and the healthy performance of the company. Essentially what is of utmost importance for the company is the fact that it has successfully faced the lowest points of the economic cycle and more importantly it ensured that it developed adequate policies to handle the recessionary times so that in future when liquidity crunch will strike again the company will have adequate measures in place. Appendix Bibliography: Baker. H, Powell. G, 2005. Understanding financial management: a practical guide. Blackwell Publishing Financial Modeling Guide, n. d. Limitations of Financial Ratios in Financial Modeling. Viewed February 6, 2010. < http://www. financialmodelingguide. com/financial-ratios/financial-ratio-limitations/> MITIE, 2010. Investors at MITIE, viewed February 7, 2010 < http://www. mitie. com/investors> MITIE, 2010. About us, viewed February 7, 2010 < http://www. mitie. com/about-us> MITIE, 2010. Annual Report 2009, viewed February 7, 2010 < http://www. mitie. com/investors_reports-and-presentations_2009_MITIE-Group-PLC-Annual-Report-2009> Reilly, K Frank & Brown, 2003. Investment Analysis and Portfolio Management, Cengage South-Western Publisher.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

RB1 Very Short Essay

RB1 Very Short Essay RB1 Very Short Essay Retail Banks as Financial Intermediaries Professor John B Holland The University of Glasgow January 15th 2015 RETAIL BANKING – Juggling risks - for profit How do it? How learn how to do it? How develop Retail Bank? How get Competitive Advantage? RETAIL BANKING – Juggling risks - as teams & organisation How do it? How learn how to do it? How develop Retail Bank? How get Competitive Advantage? Real world Models of Retail Banks Overview – ‘juggler’ Retail banking – juggling financial risks - and returns /profits Individuals & teams in Bank firms Retail banking – juggling financial risks - and returns /profits Individuals & teams in Bank firms Banks as ‘middle men’ Bank as ‘Juggler’ Individuals Households Households Cash Deposits safety & Payments Services 1-7 Individuals Banks transform deposits into loans Equity Loans and Cash WHAT IS OVERALL VIEW OF INTERMEDIATION MODEL? =Complex ‘balancing’ or ‘juggling’ of risks – for profit ASSETS LIABILITIES ON BOTH SIDES Contracting & control of Information asymmetry =IS Moral hazard =MH, Adverse selection =AS Active screen of, influence of risky depositor/borrower behaviour. Diversification of risks. Use of capital risk ‘buffers’. Cross balance sheet risk effects. Thus transform Risk, Maturity, Liquidity via these internal mechanisms RETAIL BANKING – MAIN SLIDES ï  · Information asymmetry =IS ï  · Moral hazard =MH ï  · Adverse selection =AS ‘Real world’ model of Retail Banking Details of how they do it Retail banking – key points – about ‘real world’ model ï  · Bank as ‘juggler’ of risks for profit ï  · ï  · Small transactions –on balance sheet – small customers Banks exploit - combination of payments & intermediation ï  · Look at each risk area by itself – assume no dynamics between them – no juggling ï  · Contracting to reduce risk - both assets & liabilities ï  · Diversify risk- both assets & liabilities ï  · Cash ‘absorb’ liability risk ï  · Equity ‘absorb’ bad debt risk ï  · ï  · Bank manage risks – seek profit and added value Via how manage lending, how provide payment /deposits ï  · ï  · Overall Juggling = Bank transform capital = Financial intermediary ï  · Retail bank = risk & return management ‘machine’ = ‘real world’ model by size, risk, maturity etc Characterisitcs of RB RETAIL BANKING - CHARACTERISTICS ï  · Financial service provision to individuals and small firms ï  · Large volumes of low value transactions ï  · Large network of branches ï  · Major technology investment ï  · Close interaction with customers ï  · Retail often combined with wholesale, investment, & corporate banking RETAIL BANKING – BALANCE SHEET LIABILITIES ASSETS ï  · Many small deposits. ï  · Many deposit types current, 60 day etc. * Many small loans *many different terms For loans-rates/maturity ï  · Some large deposits from banks, firms. * loans longer life than Deposits & larger size ï  · High leverage low equity, high debt * cash in excess of required & securities as liquidity ï  · Liabilities mainly to fund financial Assets * real assets large but less than financial assets. RETAIL BANK - INCOME AND EXPENSES ï  · Fees & charges do not cover non interest expenses ï  · Labour costs high ï  · Interest margin wider than wholesale ï  · Payments services & ï  · Technology are major expenses Combine Payments and Intermediation? WHY COMBINE PAYMENTS & INTERMEDIATION ? ï  · Bank - based on links between ï  · Medium of exchange & ï  · Store of value ï  · & Bank advantages = ï  · + ‘Payment via claims on bank ï  · dominates payment via trade credit/IOUs ï  · Because banks have advantages in enforcing contracts, ï  · & Their debit cards / cheques /payments are safe / convenient WHY COMBINE PAYMENTS & INTERMEDIATION ? ï  · Money? Decisions to sell & buy ï  · Are separated in time ï  · Since money allows us to sell goods for general purchasing power which can be exercised later. ï  · Money used as store of purchasing power (= PP ) ï  · Seller can hold the proceeds between sale and future purchase ï  · - in wallet, but often in safe bank account ï  · Or buyer

Monday, October 21, 2019

Schizo paper

Schizo paper Schizo paper Schizophrenia At a young age while attending law school at Oxford, Elyn Saks experienced a complete schizophrenic episode. It turned into an agonizing journey in which Mrs. Saks struggled for many years, but she came through thanks to consistent medication, talk-therapy, and the support of her friends, co-workers, and family. After reading The Center Cannot Hold: My Journey through Madness, I was really able to feel just how real and intense mental illnesses can be. What a courageous woman Mrs. Saks is to have risked everything she worked for by exposing her demons to the world only to help us gain a better understanding of the horrific illness we know as Schizophrenia. I went back through the text and compared symptoms of Schizophrenia with other mental illnesses. I found myself applying what I have been studying to a real situation which, in my opinion, is the best way to learn. What I liked most about this reading assignment is that it is a memoir written by an accomplished professional who suffers from Schizophrenia. It’s not just another case study created by a doctor or someone who reiterates what they read in a textbook. Mrs. Saks speaks on a personable level. As I read through the three exerts assigned, I couldn’t help but think to myself, â€Å"Wow, the struggles are real and this is only a glimpse of what she has endured throughout her life.† Through it all, she was able to overcome both positive and negative effects of Schizophrenia and worked to become a lawyer and professor. People who suffer from Schizophrenia have a MAJOR mental illness in which they will never fully recover from. Ever since I watched the movie Me, Myself,