An Analysis Of Mill s Utilitarianism And The...

Question 1: An Analysis of Mill’s Utilitarianism and the Impossibility of the Purely Selfless† Act in Kant’s Categorical Imperative John Stuart Mill’s utilitarian philosophy defines the importance of maintaining the greater good of society through collective and individual actions. This type of consensus defines the social contract between the larger social order and the flexibility of these institutions to allow individual actors to amalgamate their opinions and viewpoints as part of healthy interaction in society. Mill defines the greater good of society as the primary goal of the happiness principle for all citizens: â€Å"The multiplication of happiness is, according to the utilitarian ethics, the object of virtue: the occasions on which any person has it in his power to do this on an extended scale† (Mill 23). This approach defines the importance of individuality in society, but this collaboration must provide positive reinforcement of the greater happiness of the people in preserving the unity and lawfulness of society. Bentham (2010) also defines the importance of individuals that â€Å"have been productive of such a greater degree of good† within a utilitarian society (176). These utilitarian philosophies define the importance of the greater good of societal actions, which illustrate the collective will of society. Kant’s deontology in the Categorical Imperative defines the role of â€Å"duty† as being the highest form of service an individual can provide for the community.

New Coke Failed Project Or Marketing Ploy - 2243 Words

New Coke: Failed Project or Marketing Ploy? In April 1985, Coca-Cola announced that it would be completely replacing its old recipe of Coke with â€Å"New† Coke. After several weeks customers started to protect this decision demanding that they go back to the original recipe. After three months, the Coca-Cola Company decided to reverse its original decision and kept the old Coke in production along with New Coke. Despite being reintroduced as Coke II, the new soda never caught on and was eventually discontinued entirely in 2002. Being called the most epic new product fail in marketing, the question remains: how could Coca-Cola Company make such a bad decision? Discussion for replacing the recipe started back in the mid-1970s. At that time, researchers were discovering that a majority of consumers preferred the taste of Pepsi versus Coke in blind taste tests. This was communicated through different advertisements which resulted in Pepsi taking some of Coca-Cola s market share. By 1977, Pepsi had obtained a leading market share in grocery sales. Concerned by the loss in market share, the management of Coca-Cola started looking into the possibility of reformulating Coca-Cola. In 1984, researchers had developed a new formula for Coke. Using blind taste test, it was shown that customers preferred the new formula not only beat the old Coke formula by 10 percentage points, but was preferred over Pepsi by 6-8 percentage points. The new formula was aimed at largest market ofShow MoreRelatedNew Coke Failure3901 Words   |  16 PagesFailure of New Coke Wright State University MKT 3500 - 01 Marketing Research By Nicole Fore Taylor Gilliam Ashley Hatton John Petry Abstract During the 1980’s Coca-Cola was faced with a potentially company killing problem. They were losing market share quickly to their competitors. 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Chance Meeting By Martin Lewis Essay Example For Students

Chance Meeting By Martin Lewis Essay Meeting is a dry point etching print by Martin Lewis and was created in the early 1930s. The subjects are two figures, male and female, who have happened upon each other in the setting of a public sidewalk at the entrance of a storefront. It may be a dichotomy in terms to call the piece, Idealized Urban Realism, though Lewis work does harmonize well with the Urban Realist movement surfacing in this period with artists such as Edward Hopper. It also has a very idealized and stylistic quality not unlike the work of artists like Roy Liechtenstein in a much later time period. At a glance, Chance Meeting is a simple work intended to tell a story with minimal detail and it is difficult to distinguish any definite pattern in the composition. With careful inspection however, the viewer can discover an order in the placement of objects, the existence of symmetry, and perhaps a much deeper meaning to the piece through the interpretation of symbolism. The palate used in the piece is simply black and white, with the exception of the illusion of shades of gray created with the shading technique, cross-hatching. This intensifies the use of light and shadow in what definitely could be called chiaroscuro. The presence of a single, intensely bright directional light creates areas of extreme contrast that could be called tenebrism. An extreme variety of lighting techniques can be found, as some objects are lit from the side, and others are almost completely backlit, creating more of a silhouette than a distinguishable three-dimensional shape. Shadows in the recesses of the male figures face starkly oppose highlights upon his brow and jaw line. Lewis seems to be experimenting with what might be realistic lighting conditions at night on a typical city street, and exaggerating the results in the interest of style. An area of focus is created in the foreground by the intensity of light falling off abruptly as distance increases. Balance in lighting is achieved with the occasional splash of light in a reflective surface, and the existence of smaller, less accentuated lights in the background of the print. The piece derives a lot of its realism from the textures on the surfaces of objects. The pavement has a pattern in it that it possibly the result of its cement tiles being cast in wooden molds, leaving behind the impression of the grain. Some of the tiles are cracked and stained, giving the effect of a partially worn and aged public sidewalk. The glass in one of the structures is evidently glossy as the reflections of street lamps and automobile headlights can be seen in its surface. Cloth in the canopies on the buildings and the clothing of the subjects is very naturally wrinkled in relaxed areas and creased where it is pulled taught. These more organic shapes and textures help to balance the strict geometry and texture of the almost completely architectural background. A variety of very accurately portrayed objects fill the space with interesting, yet not distracting detail. The signage in and around the shops is not only visible, but also legible. It is actually possible to read some of the signs. The book cart in front of the shop bears a hand drawn sign that appears to be a square of cardboard torn out of a box and is precariously seated at an off angle to its makeshift base. All of this meticulous attention to detail aids in creating a sense of realism in the print. In the prints era, these objects also probably served to create a sense of familiarity for the viewer, who was probably used to seeing similar signage and objects in the physical world. .ud8406343bef7926ef50c28325a61db7b , .ud8406343bef7926ef50c28325a61db7b .postImageUrl , .ud8406343bef7926ef50c28325a61db7b .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .ud8406343bef7926ef50c28325a61db7b , .ud8406343bef7926ef50c28325a61db7b:hover , .ud8406343bef7926ef50c28325a61db7b:visited , .ud8406343bef7926ef50c28325a61db7b:active { border:0!important; } .ud8406343bef7926ef50c28325a61db7b .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .ud8406343bef7926ef50c28325a61db7b { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .ud8406343bef7926ef50c28325a61db7b:active , .ud8406343bef7926ef50c28325a61db7b:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .ud8406343bef7926ef50c28325a61db7b .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .ud8406343bef7926ef50c28325a61db7b .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .ud8406343bef7926ef50c28325a61db7b .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .ud8406343bef7926ef50c28325a61db7b .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .ud8406343bef7926ef50c28325a61db7b:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .ud8406343bef7926ef50c28325a61db7b .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .ud8406343bef7926ef50c28325a61db7b .ud8406343bef7926ef50c28325a61db7b-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .ud8406343bef7926ef50c28325a61db7b:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Henri Matisse - La joie de vivre EssayIn retrospect, the antiquity of these artifacts adds a degree of interest to the scene and perhaps a bit of nostalgia for some. A sense of depth and space is created by the use of one point linear perspective. The orthogonals lead off of the picture plane to the left with the vanishing point out of sight by a considerable distance. Multiple lines that define the architecture widen to the right creating a fanlike pattern that draws the viewers attention to the subjects and the detail in the foreground of the print. A definition of order and balance surfaces when we begin to examine the shapes created by the long shadows cast by the light radiating from the window of the storefront. These shadows find their angles in their own sort of vanishing point located at the light source somewhere to the inside the building and out of sight. The placement of this light source almost mirrors the vanishing point on the opposing side. The overlapping of lines stemming from these two points creates a sort of diamond shape typically associated with two-point perspective. At this point we can see that several other objects in the scene also conform to this diamond shape. Draped lengths of cloth suspended from the canopies of the shops seem to lean into the upper inward sloping angle, While the subjects themselves fit into the geometry of the lower angles. The symmetry of these angles almost frames a point between the two main subjects, where in addition to a sign advertising newspapers, perhaps a sort of understood emotional magnetism is rooted. The subjects almost seem to be physically affected by the magnetism between them, and their bodies appear to be drawn toward each other. Lewis accomplishes this in a subtle way, and neither of the subjects appears to be unnaturally contorted. The male subject looks somewhat relaxed and is shifting his weight a bit into a stylized variation on the classical contrapposto pose. The female subject forces her hip out to one side and tilts her head a bit, posing in a way that might have been considered attractive for a young woman in the early 1930s in America. Their clothing is of some interest because in the absence of adequate lighting, we might not have a more reliable indication of age. Both figures are clothed in what was probably considered very casual clothing for the era. The female figures dress is somewhat shorter and more fitted than it would be if she were older and more conservative. The Male figures collar is unbuttoned and his sleeves and pant legs are rolled up. His hair appears to be somewhat disheveled. From these details we can assume that they were probably in their late teens or early 20s, as it would be frowned upon for people of older age to dress this way in this somewhat socially conservative era. In the background of the print, we see two additional figures, also a man and a woman. The two are standing very close to one and other, and appear to be engaged in an intimate conversation. From a literal perspective, one might draw the conclusion that this second couple represents the popularity of the concept of meeting ones mate and, falling in love. It might have been a musing of many Americans in this era that the streets of urban America were filled with young attractive teenagers, courting, dating, and preparing for marriage. From a more symbolic perspective, it is feasible that this second pair of figures actually represents the same couple we see in the foreground, now further down the road, or further along in time. The two are now engaged in the rituals of becoming more intimate. The road itself can be seen as a symbol of the path of fate for these two characters, as it vanishes off of the picture plane into the uncertainty of the future. Contradictory to most Urban Realist works, Chance meeting seems to present a rather idealized and innocent view of the era, yet aesthetically, it is a fairly realistic portrait of urban city life in Americas 1930s.

Snow Cone External Analysis free essay sample

External and Internal Environmental Analysis: Snow Cone Haven Nolan Williams Jr. STR/581 January 20, 2011 Bill Wider External and Internal Environmental Analysis: Snow Cone Haven Snow Cone Haven is here to keep you cool and relaxed throughout the day. Snow Cone Haven like all businesses must always be prepared for situations that impact operations. External and internal environmental factors significantly affect business operations and need to be addressed in some form or fashion. This paper will identify and analyze eternal environmental factors, internal strengths and weaknesses, and conclude with an assessment of Snow Cone Haven’s organizational resources and competitive position. Snow Cone Haven is a new organization in the shaved ice and smoothie industry. The operating environment can be broken out into three categories: remote environment, industry environment, and external operating environments. The remote environment does not affect the operating situation of any organization but economic, social, political, technological, and ecological factors that originate beyond the operating situation presents firms with opportunities, threats, and constraints. We will write a custom essay sample on Snow Cone External Analysis or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Economic trends in the proposed market areas are relatively stable. The level of disposable income has remained fairly stable and appear to have been unaffected by economic conditions based on spending over the holiday season. Snow Cone Haven should perform quite well from a social environmental factor because of the product being sold. Snow cones will appeal to all market segments, and will be a more healthy option then ice cream. The political environment affects the economic environment of businesses. It has been shown that elected officials may provide incentives or tax breaks to companies or impose regulations that restrict business transactions or locations. The International Research Centre (IDRC) states that businesses â€Å"need to understand the relationship between governmental strategy or development plans. Snow Cone Haven is 100% in agreement with this thought and plans to review plans on hand with the local government’s planning and development commission to ensure targeted franchise locations are not slated for redevelopment. Technological factors in the remote environment are the scientific advances, which influence the competitive position of the organization. Pearce and Robinson ( 2011) stated â€Å"to avoid obsolescence and promote innovation, a firm must be aware of technological changes that might influence its industry. Taking advantage or not taking advantage of technology has the potential to take Snow Cone Haven to the top of the industry or relegate Snow Cone Haven to the back of the industry. Investing in new technology can produce immediate rewards in the form of increased demand and reduced costs. The industry environment encompasses the conditions that can influence businesses that provide the same or similar services. Exhibit 4. 8 in the Strategic Management (92) book provides and excellent overview of the forces that affect the industry environment. Entry into the smoothie/ice cream industry requires a review of the determinants of entry and how they will affect Snow Cone Haven’s entry into this industry. Some entry barriers are product differences, capital requirements, and access to distribution. The impact of cost and supplier concentration can also have a significant affect on the industry-operating environment. Competition is fierce in the smoothie/ice cream industry according to a review of primary competitors TCBY and Smoothie King. QSR magazine released an article indicating that TCBY has reinvented itself to take advantage of market demands. QSR indicated that TCBY will have â€Å"new store designs with more of a new lounge feel† (QSR, 2011). This is a direct threat to Snow Cone Haven, as we will have to be on the same level to attract business away from TCBY. Smoothie King is also making major changes according to recent press releases. Smoothie King is taking advantage of the new health outlook by, â€Å"searching and delivering a product with balance in nutrition and healthy lifestyles. This decision is a substantial threat as this directly impacts our products. This will require more advertising dollars but overall Snow Cone Haven will produce a product far superior and have the capability to compete in the external industry environment. Snow Cone Haven will face many challenges as we approach opening day. The company is on the right track and ready to conduct an internal analysis to determine Snow Cone Haven’s strengths and weaknesses. The internal analysis will also include an assessment of organizational resources and how we stack up against competitors. The first step is understanding what our strengths are in comparison to competitors. Snow Cone Haven has no proven strengths but strong in relation to competitors. Snow Cone Haven has the advantage of offering many flavors and sizes, motivated managers and employees, relaxed atmosphere, and a superior product. Snow Cone Haven has the advantage of not having to pay a franchise fee. I conducted a review and found that Bruster’s Ice Cream has a $35,000 franchise fee. Bruster’s website stated, â€Å"our base cost of entry is approximately $350,000† (Bruster’s). This leads me to believe that Snow Cone Haven has picked the right solution for opening a new franchise. Weaknesses also exist with Snow Cone Haven. Snow Cone Haven is faced with uncertainty, as we have no history to determine success and validate franchise locations. We have to determine if we are attracting the correct population mix and that our product is well liked. The economy is another concern as the United States department of Commerce; Bureau of Economic Analysis recently reported that growth in the food services arena was only 0. 98% (Commerce) over the past two quarters. I believe this can be primarily attributed to the holiday season so it will require some monitoring. Organizational resources are an important aspect of business and require continual assessment. Snow Cone Haven has the intangible assets and organizational capabilities to be successful based on a review of staff members skill sets. Tangible assets are a concern as they are rather thin and Snow Cone Haven has not fully identified all of our needs. Snow Cone Haven like most organizations has to continuously access its competitive position and possibilities. The development of a competitive advantage is predicated on an effective strategic management process with an understanding of organizational resources and how they contribute to the formation of organizational strength. According to Duncan, Ginter, and Swayne, â€Å"organizations sustain a competitive advantage only so long as he services they deliver and the manner in which they deliver them have attributes that correspond to the key buying criteria of a substantial number of customers† (2008). As a new organization, Snow Cone Haven does not have a defined competitive advantage. I believe some of the potential advantages are the franchise locations and the quality management and support staff. The possibility for Snow Cone Haven to be at the forefront of its industry is endless. Snow Cone Haven’s tasty product and bubbly personalities will take us to the top of the industry. Snow Cone Haven will be the leader of the industry. Competitors cannot implement as effectively and do not have the unique skills and resources available to Snow Cone Haven. Erica Olsen stated, â€Å"your competitive advantage needs to be sustainable and endure the test of time to be great† (2011). Snow Cone Haven has the leadership to be effective and I believe this review of our external operating environment, internal strengths and weaknesses, and competitive position shows that we are ready to take all challengers head-on. References Duncan, W. J. , Ginter, D. , Swayne, L. E. (2008). Competitive advantage and internal organizational assessment. Academy of Management Executive. Volume 12, Number 3 Oches, S. (2011). It’s All About Relevancy in New TCBY Prototype. QSR Magazine. Retrieved January 17, 2011 from www. qsrmagazine. com/news Olsen, E. (2010). Sustaining your advantage over the competition. Retrieved from http://homebusiness. about. com/od/growing/a/comp_advantage. htm Pearce, J. A. , II, Robinson, R. B. (2011). Strategic management: Formulation, implementation, and control (12th ed. ). Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill/Irwin. Tanner, L. (2010). Bruster’s franchise information. Retrieved January 18, 2011 from www. brusters. com The International Research Centre. (2008). Key forces in the external environment. Retrieved January 16, 2011, from www. idrc. ca/en/ev-28364-201-1-DO_TOPIC. html United States Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis. (2011). National Economic Accounts. Retrieved January 18, 2011 from www. bea. gov/national/nipaweb/nipa_underlying/SelectTable. asp#S0 Williams, B. (2010). Smoothie King Expansion Signals Trend Toward Healthy Living. Retrieved January 17, 2011, from www. smoothieking. com/press-releases/2010-07-24-new-product-line. php

The hydrogen peroxide Essays

The hydrogen peroxide Essays The hydrogen peroxide Paper The hydrogen peroxide Paper The substances that I am going to use in this investigation are Manganese Dioxide and Hydrogen Peroxide. The Manganese Dioxide is a chemical catalyst and will be used to speed up the breaking down of Hydrogen Peroxide. I am using a chemical catalyst because it would give a more accurate result compared to organic or biological catalysts. This because organic and biological catalysts are enzymes, which require a certain temperature and will need to be kept constant as they work best between that temperatures. For example, 37 degrees centigrade to 40 degrees centigrade are temperatures when enzymes work best. This is because enzymes are found in the human body and are used for digestion. Also the human body has a body temperature of 37 degrees centigrade, which is why the enzymes work best at that temperature. Enzymes such amylase is found in the mouth breaks down starch in to maltose. In the stomach pepsin is used to break down protein in to polypeptides. In the small intestines using the enzyme peptidase produces amino acids when polypeptides are broken down. Also this is where the maltose is broken down into glucose using the enzyme called maltase. Hydrogen Peroxide with a chemical equation of H2O2 looks very similar to the equation for water H2O however having an extra Oxygen atom compared to water but this changes the properties of Hydrogen Peroxide. Hydrogen peroxide is a very reactive compound that can be used for a variety of reactions including bleaching and disinfecting minor wounds. Hydrogen peroxide H2O2 is made up of two hydrogen atoms and two oxygen atoms. Hydrogen Peroxide H2O2 looks like water H2O, but that extra oxygen molecule makes this natural water additive one of the most powerful oxidizers. Hydrogen Peroxide H2O2 has many uses and is used to bleach textiles and paper products. Other industrial uses consist of Oil refining, Food processing, Landfills, etc. The Hydrogen Peroxide is constantly being broken down but at a slow rate. With the help of the catalyst, Manganese Dioxide this will speed up the decomposition of the Hydrogen Peroxide. Hydrogen peroxide typically decomposes to form water and oxygen at the rate of 10% per year. Here is the word equation for the reaction that I have just described: HYDROGEN PEROXIDE WATER + OXYGEN MANGANESE DIOXIDE Another way of describing this equation is in a balanced chemical equation: 2H2O 2H2O + O2 MnO2 Variables There are many things involved in this investigation, which could affect the speed the speed of this investigation. These called the variables. These variables consist of the surface area, the concentration, and the use of a catalyst, the amount of the catalyst and also the temperature. Heat, light, or a catalyst can accelerate the reaction. Surface area If the Manganese Dioxide has a large surface area increases the speed of the reaction because there will be more space covered by the Manganese Dioxide resulting in more of the Manganese Dioxide reacting with the Hydrogen peroxide hence increasing the speed of the reaction. And a smaller surface area will have a slower reaction rate compared to a larger surface area. Concentration of the Hydrogen Peroxide A high concentration of Hydrogen Peroxide would speed up the rate of decomposition. This because the concentration has an affect on how strong the Hydrogen Peroxide is. The higher the concentration the stronger the Hydrogen Peroxide is likely to be. So if the Hydrogen Peroxide has a stronger concentration that will mean that it is very reactive. Therefore being reactive means it will react faster and speed up the reaction.   The use of a catalyst There are two types of catalysts. They are biological catalysts and chemical catalysts. An example of a chemical catalyst is manganese Dioxide. A few examples of biological catalysts are carrots, potatoes and Liver. Catalysts are used to speed up reactions. Biological catalysts contain enzymes that break down certain substances in to other, easier to break down substances. The enzyme amylase, found in the saliva, breaks down starch into maltose. A disadvantage of using biological catalysts is that they rely on certain temperatures to ensure that they work best. Enzymes in your body work best at 37 degrees centigrade, which is your actual body temperature. When Manganese Dioxide is added to Hydrogen Peroxide, the Hydrogen Peroxide is begins to break down in to two substances. Hydrogen Peroxide breaks down in to Oxygen and water. To collect data I cannot measure the amount of water produced. This is because it will be very difficult to separate the water produced as it has been dissolved with the hydrogen peroxide. Instead I am going to measure the volume of Oxygen in centimetres cube, as the Oxygen bubbles will not easily dissolve in water. I am going to measure the oxygen by collecting the gas in a measuring cylinder, which is full of water. The theory is that when the gas goes in to the cylinder by a delivery tube, the oxygen gas pushes out the water. This process is called the downward displacement of water. I have chosen to investigate how the concentration of Hydrogen Peroxide affects its decomposition. Prediction I think that if I increased the concentration of the Hydrogen Peroxide the speed of the reaction will increase. I also think that as I increase the concentration of the Hydrogen Peroxide, more Oxygen will be produced. This will happen because the higher the concentration the more easy it is for the Manganese Dioxide to react with the Hydrogen Peroxide. This because the concentration has an affect on how strong the Hydrogen Peroxide is.

How to Survive Your Admissions Interview

How to Survive Your Admissions Interview Getting into a private school isnt as simple as just deciding to go. You must apply, which means youre going to need to submit an application, take a test  and prepare for the admission interview.   Why? Because schools want to get to know you in person to see how you will fit into their community. They have your transcripts, recommendations, and test scores to give  them a profile of your abilities. But, they also want to see the person behind all those stats and achievements. Check out these 12 tips on how to survive your admission interview: 1. Plan Ahead The interview is important, so make sure you schedule one well in advance of the interview deadlines. This also gives you time to prepare for the interview and review some potential interview questions that might be asked of you, and give you a chance to come up with some potential questions to ask your interviewer. 2. Take a Deep Breath and Relax An admission interview  can be  stressful, but theres nothing to worry about. Dont be scared and dont worry about how you look or what they will ask you; we have tips to help you with all of that. Remember: almost everybody is nervous at an interview. The admissions staff know this and will do their best to make you feel comfortable, at ease and as relaxed as possible. The trick is to not let your nerves get the better of you. Use your nerves to give you that natural edge and alertness you need to present yourself in the best light possible. 3. Be Yourself Be on your best behavior, socially speaking, but be yourself. While we all want to put our best foot forward when we interview, its important to remember that schools want to get to know you, not some perfectly poised robotic version of you that you think the interviewer wants to see.  Think positively. As a rule, the school will be trying to sell itself to you as much as you are trying to sell yourself to it. 4. Leave the Technology Behind Always turn off your cell phone, iPad and other devices before you go into the interview and put them away. It is rude to text or read messages or playing games during an interview. Even your smartwatch can be a distraction, so take a temporary hiatus from technology during your interview, which usually lasts only about 30 minutes. To avoid the temptation, leave your devices behind with your parents in the waiting room (and make sure the sound is off!).   5. Make a Good First Impression From the first moment you step foot on campus, remember that you want to make a good first impression. Greet people you meet openly, looking them in the eye, shaking hands, and saying hello. Dont whisper, dont stare at the ground and dont slouch. Good posture makes a strong impression. That goes for the interview itself, too. Sit up tall in your chair and dont jitter or fidget. Dont bite your nails or pull at your hair, and never chew gum. Be polite and respectful. Please and thank you are always appreciated and go a long way to indicating respect for authority and your elders and even your peers, should you meet other students. 6. Dress for Success Its common for students to ask, What should I wear to my private school interview? Lets remember that youre applying to private school, and most schools have strict dress codes and high standards for their students. You cant roll up to the interview looking like you just fell  out of bed and couldnt care less about the experience. Wear comfortable clothes appropriate for the occasion. Look up the schools dress code and do your best to align. You dont have to go out and buy the uniform itself if they have one, but make sure youre dressing appropriately. For girls, opt for a plain blouse and skirt or slacks, or a nice dress, and shoes that arent sneakers or flip flops. Use minimal makeup and accessories. Keep your hairstyle simple. Remember that youre applying to school, not to walk the runway. For boys, opt for a plain shirt, slacks and shoes (no sneakers) work for most situations. There is nothing wrong with expressing your individuality. Just make sure that the way you express it is appropriate. 7. Be Honest Dont lie or panic. If you dont know the answer to the interviewers question, say so. Look her in the eye and admit that you do not know the answer. Similarly, if she asks you a question you dont want to answer, dont avoid it. For example, if she asks why you failed algebra, explain why that happened and what you are doing about it. Showing that youre willing to own a mistake or problem and are actively working to fix it can go a long way. If attending their school is part of your strategy for improvement, say so. Honesty is an admirable personal quality which schools prize in an applicant.  Give truthful answers. If you are not a top student, admit it and tell the interviewer how you plan to achieve better results. Remember, they will see your transcript! Interviewers like to see an honest appraisal of ones strengths and weaknesses. If you can point to some challenge you had in your school work, for example, not understanding quadratic equations, and how you overcame that, you will impress the interviewer with your positive attitude and approach to life. This goes back to being honest. If you are honest and truthful, you will learn more and learn more easily. 8. Ask Questions Ask questions about the school, its programs, and facilities. Find out how it can help you achieve your goals. Determine as best you can how the schools philosophy meshes with yours.  Dont feel like you should ask questions just to ask, but instead, be sure to cover the topics you and your parents want to know more about. For example, you may be an avid  linguist who wants to study Mandarin. Ask in-depth questions about the Chinese Studies program, its faculty and so on. Its also important to do your research before the interview though. Dont show up asking if they have a soccer team; thats the kind of information you can easily find online. Also, dont ask a question that was already answered earlier in the interview. That shows youre not paying attention. You can, however, ask for more details about something you talked about earlier. 9. Pay  Attention Listen carefully to the questions being asked and what is being said. Is what you are hearing what you want to hear or is the school just not suitable for you? You will get a feel for that early in the interview. The last thing you want to do is zone out during the interview and not know what the interviewer said.   10. Be Thoughtful Think before you answer. Avoid mannerisms such as like and you know. Careless speech patterns can indicate a lack of discipline and general sloppiness. Standard business English is always acceptable. That does not mean that you have to repress your personality. If you are a free spirit, let that side of you show. Communicate clearly and convincingly. Make your points without being rude or overbearing. 11. Reflect When the interview is over, record your observations and compare these with your parents. Both of you will want to discuss these observations with your consultant later. Those recollections are important because they help determine which school is the best fit for you. 12. Follow Up Its important to follow up with your interviewer once its over. If theres time, send a handwritten thank you note to your interviewer. It will speak volumes for your ability to follow through and your personal sincerity. It doesnt need to be long, just a quick note thanking your interviewer for the meeting and perhaps reminding him of why you want to attend the school. If youre short on time, an email is a suitable alternative if youre on a fast track for decisions with limited time between the interview and decisions.

Security as a management or technological issue Essay

Security as a management or technological issue - Essay Example This study looks into information system security that is becoming a dominant and challenging factor for organizations, as it leverages many risks that are constantly changing. Every now and then, there are new security breaches resulting in massive losses in terms of customer confidence, as well as revenue. As information technology is now considered as the fundamental function, every organization acquires information systems for business automation. Moreover, electronic commerce has also introduced many businesses that are only virtually present. For instance, Amazon that is an online store for selling books generates revenue from the Internet. Customers pay via credit cards for the purchased books that are delivered to them. In this scenario, any sort of security breach may inject an SQL injection or cross site scripting attack on the website can affect the business as well as customer confidence. Therefore, securing the systems as well as data communication on the web is essentia l to protect. This also implies to personal or customer data that is maintained and managed by the organization. For instance, E- commerce based organizations stores information of their customer related to credit card numbers, telephone numbers, address, bank details etc. It is the responsibility of the organization to protect and secure data privacy. However, there is not a single law that states how to handle customer information. For this reason, organizations sell or trade customer information with business partners and even to third parties. Likewise, sometimes the sole purpose of this personal data exchange is funds. Although, every online organization has a privacy policy which states how they will handle and secure customer data but at the same time there is no verification criteria. In the following sections, we will discuss the technical as well as the managerial aspect of these three domains i.e. Information system security, privacy and data protection. Likewise, we will also discuss our main thesis i.e. is it a technical issue or a managerial issue for effectively handling and managing these issues in an organization. The first section will emphasize on all the technical aspects followed by all the managerial aspects and lastly comparing these two aspects for conclusion. 2 Information System Types and Coordination Organizing information systems is defined as the series of activities that are associated with information handling. Organizations expand their business gradually. For instance, strategic plan for any financial institution is to open a branch on every quarter of the year depending on stable revenue and defined achieved objectives. Similarly, the expansion of the organization create more risks and increase the workload for handling information because the maintenance, storage and exchange of information has now become more than ever before. Information handling takes place on three levels i.e. formal level, informal level and technical le vel (Dhillon 2007). The formal information system is associated with communication from third parties, suppliers, contractors, clients, regulatory authorities and financial sectors. As the word formal says for itself, it is a process in which rules are followed for making standardization of business practices and following standards is important for any organization. However, it terms of non-compliance, it may become a

Risk management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Risk management - Essay Example The risk in investing in real assets is different from investing in financial securities because the rates of revenue generation associated with the two are different. Generally, real assets investment requires a lot of factors that determine profit. Some of these factors, which include staffing could be expensive and if not done well affect the revenue fortunes of the company. The risk with real assets is therefore higher. Question 2 In terms of acquiring the Latvian logistics business, the company faces business risk, which is posed against the market performance of the acquiring company. With reference to this particular risk, it is advised that â€Å"good fundamental analysis and careful selection of equities are the best ways to minimize this risk† (Noble Trading, 2009). Valuation is another risk that is associated with the Latvian acquisition. The company must be in a position to undertake comprehensive valuation that factors in the unseen cost of risks so that the final quote of the project will be one that assures value for money. With reference to the Kazakhstan subsidiary investment, some of the risks associated are inflation and interest rate risks, and market risk. This is because this investment is going into an existing business that is founded by the company in question. The single reason why it is important to have an integrated risk mitigation strategy is that the company is undertaking two different forms of investments which need an integrated strategy that caters for all the different investments. Question 3 Knowing that the risk-return trade off principle generally deals with the corresponding rises in return when there is an increase in risk, it would be right to argue that the management of working capital is the ultimate risk-return trade off for financial managers because the working capital is the single most reliable source of funding that financial managers can boast of. All other funds such as credits only come in as liabilit ies that need to be defended. Therefore, the harder financial managers try to take risk with their capitals and try to overcome the risks, the more they will count their returns. It is advised that the working capital of the company should be managed in such as way that it would have a correspondence with market dictates. This means that the company should pump in much fund into real asset investment if that sector shows signs of market boom. The switch should go to financial securities if that sector also shows signs of good performance. In simple terms, the working capital of the company should chance gloomy market. Question 4 The CAPM model distinguishes between specific risk and systematic risks because of the parameters under which each of these risks occur. Generally, specific risks are more attributed to managerial and other human control risks such as mismanagement which causes variation in the aggregate of productivity whiles systematic risks are associated with â€Å"vari ation in an asset's value caused by unpredictable economic movements† (cooper, 2012). To the investors, there is an implication which is, there are moments that their own actions can create risks and so as much as possible, they should always look for ways of minimising such specific risks.

English paper Essay Example for Free

English paper Essay Will Durant, a U. S author and historian, writes, â€Å"Education is a progressive discovery of our own ignorance. † This means that all the knowledge people once had is misleading to what the truth really is. Similarly, in Plato’s â€Å"Allegory of the Cave† and Frederick Douglass’s â€Å"Learning to Read and Write† a painful process of gaining knowledge through all the ignorance is described. Plato describes a prisoner going on a journey to gain knowledge that is behind him, after he was stuck staring at a wall of shadows his whole life. He goes back to tell the other prisoners of his discoveries and they want to kill him. Douglass is a slave who learns to read and write, going through stages to achieve each step. As he begins gaining knowledge he finds the truth about slavery which startles him. Socrates’ idea that gaining knowledge is a difficult journey to undertake because by doing so it changes the way people see the world, as proven by Douglass’ experiences. In Plato’s â€Å"Allegory of the Cave†, Socrates illustrates a metaphorical story about attaining knowledge. He describes a cave with men who are chained, prisoners of the cave. They face a wall; that is all they can see because they cannot move their heads. They cannot even look behind them to see a walkway and a fire. As a person passes on the walkway, a shadow is projected onto the wall in front of the prisoners; this is all they know. Only the shadows are what is real to them because it’s all they have ever known. Socrates says, â€Å"How could they see anything but the shadows if they were never allowed to move their heads? † (Plato 479). The main point is that people cannot understand anything except what is being projected right in front of them. Socrates’ point is that society has a limited understanding of knowledge, and is ignorant about what is beyond the surroundings. To acquire knowledge of the truth beyond the cave, one prisoner is freed. As his eyes adjust to the light, he starts to see the real objects from the images that are projected onto the wall. He understands how the shadows were a false truth and just an illusion and he feels bad for the other prisoners still stuck in the cave. He understands that they are not seeing the truth. Socrates states, â€Å"What he saw before was an illusion†. So the  prisoner returns to tell the others about his knew knowledge, but they couldn’t understand what they were being told. The other prisoners will not accept the knowledge the escapee has learned and my even put him to death. But the chained prisoners don’t understand that the whole world outside the cave is more real than the false illusions, or the shadows being projected onto the walls. Society doesn’t want to accept knew knowledge; people often resist changing what they know. Socrates’ prisoner goes through stages or the process of knowledge, which is also shown in Douglass. In the allegory, when the prisoner first leaves the cave he stares at the sun and cannot see; it takes time to get accustomed to the brightness. Socrates describes, â€Å"And first he will see the shadows best, next the reflections of men and other objects in the water, and then the objects themselves† (Plato 480). In time the prisoner will begin to understand the â€Å"realities† (Plato 480) that he is facing by going through the stages. This is shown in Douglass as well. Douglass is first taught to read by Mistress Hugh, but then she refuses to teach him. So Douglass turns to kids that he makes friends with to finish teaching him to read. Douglass Sates, â€Å"The light broke in upon me by degrees† (Douglass 73); in other words, education is being achieved in stages. This is like the prisoner going through a process of gaining knowledge. Once Douglass is introduced to reading, he teaches himself to write by tricking the white boys into helping him learn. The process endured outside the cave by the prisoner- or the process endured by Douglass- will be â€Å"tedious† (Douglass 74), and take time, but steps must be taken to gain any knowledge. The process of gaining knowledge can be painful; Socrates idea of pain by being enlightened is played out in Douglass. When the prisoner is in a cave he is comfortable with the shadows on the wall and his surroundings, but if the prisoner is freed he will feel pain: â€Å"And if he is compelled to look straight at the light, will he not have a pain in his eyes which will make him turn away to take refuge in the objects of visions which he can see† (Plato 480). The new knowledge that he will gain is so different than what he is used to. This can be seen likewise in Douglass as well. When Douglass learns to read he learns the truth of slavery which â€Å"tormented† (Douglass 71) him. He writes, â€Å"It opened my eyes to the horrible pit, but no ladder upon which to get out† This is similar to the prisoner leaving the cave. He understands slavery and his rights are taken away, they ways that they are taken from their homes and made into nothing is so cruelly wrong. This causes him great pain; the only thing he has to look forward to is the hope of being freed. Because becoming enlightened is a painful process, many will resist or challenge what they believe, as illustrated by Socrates and Douglass. After the prisoner goes on his journey of being enlightened, he goes back to the cave to tell his friends what he has learned, but they reject him. Socrates says, â€Å"If any one tried to lose another and lead him up to the light, let them only catch he offender, and they would put him to death† (Plato 482). The other prisoners think he is being â€Å"ridiculous† (Plato 481) and want to put him to death for his story about life outside the cave. They don’t understand that they are the ones trapped in ignorance and the freed prisoner is telling them the truth. This also plays out in Douglass. Mistress Hugh began by being a caring lady and teaching Douglass how to read, but slavery soon made a big impact on her. â€Å"I have had her rush at me with a face made all up of fury, and snatch from me a newspaper, in a manner that fully revealed her apprehension† ( Douglass 70). The violence she projected toward Douglass when snatching the paper from him shows the resistance she now has toward him being educated. Many will resist being enlightened because society doesn’t like to change what they already know. While society tends to resist enlightenment, those who are enlightened cannot return to their former ignorance, and pities others who are stuck there; which is shown in Plato and Douglass. When the prisoner went on his journey after being freed from the cave he learned all about the false notions he was living in the cave. Socrates says, â€Å"And when he remembered his old habitation, and the wisdom of the den and his fellow-prisoners, do you not suppose that he would felicitate himself on the change, and pity them? † (Plato 481). The prisoner feels bad for the others because they are trapped in ignorance and cannot see the truth like he has. This is also shown in Douglass.

Descent to the Underworld in the Aeneid by Virgil and the Odyssey by Ho

Descent to the Underworld in the Aeneid and the Odyssey I chose to compare the Odyssey written by the Greek poet Homer and the Aeneid by the Roman poet Virgil. I will focus my interest on Book 11 of the Odyssey and Book 6 of the Aeneid, since that is when both of the main characters make an educational visit to the underworld. The description of the underworld created by Homer's wild imagination, inspired Virgil eight centuries later. Virgil's masterpiece was planned as an imitation of Homer's poems, so one automatically starts comparing the creations of the two authors. They were separated by eight centuries and by the cultural differences of their people. These differences are reflected on the structure of their compositions. At first the reasons for Aeneas's and Odysseus's voyage to the world below seem similar. Both of them want to receive information from the people who have already died. This knowledge is necessary in order for them to continue a successful life in the real world, amongst the real people. Aeneas wants to ask his wise father Anchises for advise about the foundation of a new state - Rome. His father tells him about the future of his family. This prophecy includes the history of Rome all the way until the days of Virgil himself. What glories follow Dardan generations ====================================== In after years, and from Italian blood What famous children in your line will come, Souls of the future, living in our name, I shall tell clearly now, and in the telling Teach you your destiny.[1] The need for Odysseus to travel to the underworld doesn't seem to be motivated at all... ...not only the characters but also the poets who wrote the two outstanding compositions, on which all of the world's literature is based. Homer who glorifies the great value of a person and Virgil who glorifies the grandeur of the State - Rome. [IMAGE] Works Cited Fagles, Robert. The Odyssey. New York: Penguin Books USA Inc. 1996 Fitzgerald, Robert. The Aeneid. Penguin Books. --------------------------------------------------------------------- [1] Virgil Aeneid B.6 line 1015 [2] Homer Odyssey B.11 line 111 [3] Homer Odyssey B.11 line 129 [4] Homer Odyssey B.11 line 153 [5] Homer Odyssey B.11 line 614 [6] Homer Odyssey B.11 line 540 [7] Virgil Aeneid B.6 line 883 [8] Virgil Aeneid B.6 line 824 [9] Virgil Aeneid B.6 line 835 [10] Virgil Aeneid B.6 line 1230

Essentials of College Writing Essay

Peer editing is an evaluative method of judging or critiquing written text with the valuable engagement of peers. The purpose of writing within the context of peer editing is to write a text that will be able to incite responses, not only from people in authority who oversee the writing process (ex. teachers, professors, technical writing instructors, etc. ), but also from an individuals’ peers. The process of peer editing follows the writing process, the reading process, the critiquing session, and the rewriting process. Peer editing allows the expression of comments or suggestions regarding a written text which an individual may use to modify errors within the text, identify ambiguous elements that defeats the purpose of a cohesive theme, and draw out additional information that are instrumental in improving the written text. (Adger, Wolfram, & Christian, 2007) The overall result of peer editing is the improvement of literacy or skills in writing. (Topping & Ehly, 1998) Perhaps, it is also important to reiterate that peer editing allows individuals to identify errors or mistakes in the writing process that may be unknown to them. The diversity of peer characters and points of views allows one to look at the theme and quality of written works from different angles, allowing a writer to complete a written work clearly and concisely. What are some of the techniques a team can use to integrate various writers work into one cohesive document? Integrating various written works into a cohesive document should follow a series of steps. The first step is to read all the written works carefully in order to identify the main points and focus of each text. The team should then group or categorize written works according to their similarities in meaning, theme, or points of view. Once this is accomplished, the team should agree on the organization or framework of the single document they will be working on depending on the ideas or information drawn from the grouped or categorized written works. This process is similar to constructing an outline that will become the basis of the targeted cohesive document. Moreover, constructing an outline will require a team to identify what the focus of the article would be, what work will best fit in the introduction, the body, or the conclusion, etc. The next step would be to fill in parts of the outline, such that main and valuable points from each written work of team members will be drawn out to be integrated into the outline of the targeted cohesive document. At this point, the team is prepared to layout the finished document. What is the purpose and historical academic use of the APA style and why is it important to use APA style? The American Psychological Association or APA is a common citation style utilized by professionals in their written works. Its use is most common in the social sciences. The content of the APA citation style is usually the author and the year of publication, as well as the title of work and the imprint. Other elements of written works designed under the framework of the APA style include the reference list, intext citations, headers, page numbering, and page margins. (Hajnal, 1997) The origin of the APA citation format is traced back to a discussion between professionals who write journals with anthropology and psychology as subjects. It was a way to set a standard of writing for journals in order to promote structure and organization in the formality of writing professional articles. After this discussion, the APA published a written work containing writing standards and guidelines. (Hunter, 2007) The importance of utilizing the APA style is to organize a written body of work by structuring the writing styles and citation references into something formal or standard. Standardized writing will benefit readers in such a way that reading other journals is recognizable and comprehensible. (Seas & Driscoll, 2007) Aside from this purpose, the significance of utilizing APA as a writing guide ensures clarity, consistency and unity all throughout the body of the written work or article. (â€Å"APA Style†) For authors or writers, following the APA format or writing style is a means of abiding by rules set forth a particular publication – in this case, publications that publish written works of professionals in fields wherein the APA writing style is commonly used (such as psychology, sociology, education, nursing, etc. ). (â€Å"Frequently Asked Questions†) Discuss what is meant by Parallel Structures in the writing process. Abiding by the rules of parallel structure during the writing process, an author or writer should present equally important thoughts and ideas appropriately. This means that if a sentence calls for the presentation of several thoughts or ideas that are within the same level of importance, structure, or content, these should be written as such. No thought or idea should go against the flow of thoughts, especially in form. For instance, a sentence calls for the enumeration of activities that a person does in the morning. If the form of the verbs being enumerated are in the present tense, they should be written as such: â€Å"†¦ waking up, eating breakfast, brushing one’s teeth, and bathing. † and not â€Å"†¦waking up, eat breakfast, brush one’s teeth, and bathing. † This rule goes the same with the use of clauses and words that follow a colon. (Purdue OWL & Driscoll, 2006) Discuss the meaning of verb tense in the writing process. Like the parallel structure which signals consistency and uniformity within the body of a written work, verb tenses also results to the same outcomes in writing. Aside from the general rules of verb tenses such as past tense for actions done in the past, present tense for actions that are currently taking place, and future tense for action that are about to take place, verb tenses in the writing process also necessitates consistency and uniformity of thoughts. For instance, a written work is in the form of a narrative then it should not only be written in the past tense, but should be written in the past tense all throughout the remainder of the text. Website: http://apastyle. apa. org/ â€Å"Frequently Asked Questions. † (2008) Retrieved October 22, 2008, from The American Psychological Association. Website: http://www. apastyle. org/faqs. html#1 Hajnal, P. I. (1997). International Information: Documents, Publications, and Electronic Information of International Governmental Organizations. SC: Libraries Unlimited. Hunter, S. (2007). APA Writing Style. Retrieved October 22, 2008, from Associated Content, Inc. Website: http://www. associatedcontent. com/article/181223/apa_writing_style. html? cat=3 Purdue OWL & Driscoll, D. L. (2006). Parallel Structure. Retrieved October 22, 2008, from The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue. Website: http://owl. english. purdue. edu/owl/resource/623/01/ â€Å"Tenses in Writing. † (N. D. ) Retrieved October 22, 2008, from University of Washington. Website: http://depts. washington. edu/engl/askbetty/tenses. php Topping, K. J. & Ehly, S. W. (1998). Peer-Assisted Learning. NJ: Laurence Erlbaum Associates. Seas, K. & Driscoll, D. L. (2007). APA Overview and Workshop. Retrieved October 22, 2008, from The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue. Website: http://owl. english. purdue. edu/owl/resource/664/01/

Should Pietermaritzburg Have A Methane Plant Environmental Sciences Essay

The direction and disposal of waste has become an progressively outstanding job in Pietermaritzburg over the last few old ages. There has been an addition in the sum of waste that is disposed of and the direction of Pietermaritzburg ‘s New England Road Landfill Site has been a subject of treatment and argument for the local occupants and those who make usage of the site ‘s installations. My research undertaking revolves around how and if it would be possible to better this site concentrating chiefly on the execution of a Methane works as this is the following measure that landfill sites around the universe have taken in order to do the landfill more efficient and good. This gas to electricity program falls under the Clean Development Mechanism ( CDM ) Undertaking. 1. METHOD OF GAS-TO-ELECTRICITY PRODUCTION Procedure of change overing gas to electricity Landfill gas, LFG, ( dwelling of 50 % Methane ) is produced when the waste in the landfill decomposes and interrupt down under anaerobiotic conditions. The gas is so collected in belowground pipes which are built into the landfill as portion of the Methane works undertaking The gas is so stored This stored gas is illuminated and used to make electricity by powering turbines that turn when as a consequence of steam, from the H2O heated by the gas The excess and unneeded gas is flared in order to extinguish it The electricity can so be sold in order to power residential countries, industrial procedures and even transport systems Figure 1: Landfill gas to electricity procedure. http//www.atsdr.cdc.gov/hac/landfill/html/ch5.html This development of a methane works is portion of the Gas-to-Electricity undertaking that has been initiated around the universe. It involves capturing the LFG ( Landfill Gas ) that is produced when the waste in the landfill site decomposes and interruptions down. LFG is composed of 50 % Methane which is so extracted and used as a fuel in order to make electricity. The extra gas is flared in order to extinguish it. In order to see the above undertaking, one needs to maintain in head that there are restraints placed upon merely how many accommodations can be made. These restraints require the landfill to subject to the Torahs and ordinances set by the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism in South Africa. In order to measure this possibility, one needs to compare the New England Road Landfill Site to the others is South Africa that have successfully implemented this undertaking. The chief comparings will take topographic point between the New England Landfill Site and the 3 late implemented Methane workss in Durban, viz. on the Bisasar Road, La Mercy and Mariannhill Sites. 2. LANDFILL CRITERIA In order for a undertaking of this nature to be approved, it needs to be considered by the South African Designated National Authority ( DNA ) harmonizing to ‘Regulations under Section 25 ( 3 ) of the National Environmental Management Act: Constitution of a Designated National Authority for the Clean Development Mechanism ‘ ( GN.R 1478 of 24 December 2004 ) . 2.1 Laws and Regulations A landfill besides has to run into certain standards in order for it to be permitted to run. There are Torahs and ordinances set in topographic point which a landfill site must conform to- and have a license turn outing this- in order to be allowed to run and are as follows: A Landfill Site has a capacity of less than 100A 000 metric tons does NOT necessitate a system whereby the Landfill gas ( LFG ) is captured and managed Monitoring of the concentration of the LFG gas in the dirt. It can non transcend 1 % Adequate and efficient airing systems if the Methane concentration exceeds 5 % The wellness and health of worlds, workss and animate beings can non be compromised 2.2 Waste Management Second, there are the waste direction standards which deal with the purpose and purposes of a landfill: Reduce waste Reuse waste and Recycle waste 2.3 Environmental and Socio-economic Factors Last, there are standards with respects to the existent edifice, geological site and care of the landfill. These are: Environmental factors Economic Impacts Socio-economic factors Looking at the Environmental, Economic and Socio-economic factors, one is able to judge whether or non the New England Road Landfill site can implement and pull off a methane works on it ‘s site. 3. Environmental FACTORS 3.1 Size The size of the landfill plays a large function in the limitations it places on the sum of ‘upgrades ‘ that it can suit. The New England Road Landfill Site is little in graduated table when compared to landfills such as Mariannhill in Durban or Goudkoppies in Johannesburg. New England Road has an consumption of a few hundred dozenss less than the above two listed sites, doing it comparatively little in size. Not merely does the Landfill need to suit the Methane works itself, but it besides needs to hold the capacity to hold the following installed on it in order for the operation to run: Extraction Wellss Gas aggregation grapevines Gas extraction works Flare units LFG Generators Electricity connexion, transformers and overseas telegrams 3.2 Situation New England Road Landfill Site is situated near the N3 Highway doing it easy accessible to those going from anyplace within the metropolis. It is besides, nevertheless, in the suburb of Hayfields and is hence in really close propinquity to a residential country. This limits the extensions that can be added to the site as people live in that country and demand to therefore, as it is stated in the Torahs sing landfills, be considered. When this site is compared with that of the Mariannhill site, 20km from the Durban CBD, and the La Mercy site, 35km North of Durban, one can see that they are in countries which are far from that of residential places and hence are non capable to the restrictions of the size and wellness hazard as that of New England Road ‘s state of affairs. New England Road Pietermaritzburg Golf Club New England Road Landfill Site N3 Highway Figure 2: Size and Positioning of the New England Landfill Site Google Maps: New England Rd Pietermaritzburg: hypertext transfer protocol: //maps.google.co.za/maps? hl=en & A ; tab=wl 3.3 Environmental Impacts on Plant and Animal Life Because of the country that the New England Site is in, there is non that great a menace to the lives of animate beings and workss. It is non similar, in other instances, a wood is cleared in order to let for a landfill site to be developed. The one menace nevertheless, is that the landfill site could, if it encroaches excessively close to the residential country, have an impact of the workss maintained by occupants in their gardens and domestic animate beings. These jobs may originate from hapless air quality, dust and/or acid rain due to the landfill site being within the country. 3.4 Global Warming The induction of a Methane works at a landfill site has great benefits for planetary heating as, by utilizing this as a method of bring forthing electricity, it is considered a ‘green ‘ fuel as it is non impacting the environment in a negative manner. By utilizing a Methane works, one would in fact be profiting the environment as the LFG, if non eliminated, contributes greatly to planetary heating. The Methane is used to bring forth electricity, hence diminishing the demand for huge sums of fossil fuels ( which, when combusted produce emanations that contribute towards planetary heating ) and the unneeded gas is flared so as to non negatively impact the environment and atmosphere. The 3 Durban workss entirely are leting a lessening in South Africa ‘s CO2 emanations by 12A 000 metric tons and cut downing the sum of coal used by 80A 000 metric tons a twelvemonth. 4. ECONOMIC Impact 4.1 Cost of Undertaking There is a high cost involved in edifice and keeping a Methane works. The Durban Methane undertaking, which involved developing these workss at 3 different landfill sites, cost R100 million, which was borrowed from different Bankss and patrons. Part of this cost is non merely for the Methane works itself, but the supernumeraries which are needed in order for this undertaking to run as listed under 3.1 Size. This is a big and clip consuming operation. The New England Road Landfill Management have planned to implement pipes in the site for many old ages now, but no action seems to hold been taken sing this. This is due to the Municipal Finance Management Act rendering the undertaking unviable due to the stamp demands ( Witness Reporter, The Witness Newspaper, Page 11, June 7 2010 ) . 4.2 Net income The net income that would be made from the execution of this undertaking is huge. There would be a big sum of electricity produced from one landfill site, for illustration the three Durban Methane workss produce a combined sum of 10A 000 kWs per twelvemonth. It has been estimated that this will bring forth an income of R4.5million a month due to the gross revenues of the electricity and C credits. It is believed that some of the landfills in South Africa have the possible to bring forth 12 000 megawatts per twelvemonth, cut downing CO2 emanations and assisting to better South Africa ‘s place as one of the biggest Carbon dioxide emitters in the universe, despite being a 3rd universe state. 5. SOCIO-ECONOMIC Factor 5.1 Health Populating in an country near a landfill has had effects such as: Fatigue Concerns Sleepiness Allergies such has hayfever Respiratory jobs such as asthma There have besides been links to low birth weight, birth defects and certain types of malignant neoplastic diseases such as vesica malignant neoplastic disease and leukaemia. These nevertheless have non been proven as yet and are simply tendencies that have been noticed more and more by physicians with patients who live in close propinquity to a landfill site. If a Methane works is implemented, it would intend an addition in the figure of people who make usage of the landfill site on a day-to-day footing. This would hold a direct consequence to the supra listed wellness effects as the dust and emanations produced from vehicles would increase and do the above effects more terrible. 5.2 Aestheticss The value of residential belongings within the locality of a landfill site lessenings. It makes the part less appealing as residential places could be looking upon an unsightly landfill site. There is besides a bad odor due to the decomposing waste which adds another unwanted factor to a residential country. 5.3 Employment and Job Creation The execution of a Methane works would intend an addition in the figure of occupations provided by the landfill site. There would be a demand for more people to pull off and run the site as it would hold many more people doing usage of the site and will therefore necessitate more aid in order to run the works itself. The lone ruin nevertheless, is that most of the prospective employees will hold to hold achieved a certain degree of instruction as they will necessitate to be taught how to run the works, as it is a specialised undertaking. 6. WASTE MANAGEMENT In order to let for the maximal potency of methane production at a landfill site, recycling is indispensable. The bulk of waste merchandises that are reclaimable are non biodegradable and hence do non lend to the production of methane ( and hence do non lend to the sum of LFG produced in the landfill ) . This means that these waste merchandises are simply taking up infinite that should basically be used for waste that will interrupt down in order to bring forth the maximal possible sum of LFG which will guarantee maximal production of electricity ( therefore increasing the net income earned by these gross revenues ) . The chief reclaimable merchandises: Glass Paper Plastics Metallic element Figure 3: Family Waste hypertext transfer protocol: //www.rise.org.au/info/Res/waste/index.html The nutrient and kitchen and green waste produced makes up the bulk of waste in a family. This waste can be recycled by being composted, alternatively of being dumped at a landfill site. The organic affair can besides be composted along with this. The glass, paper, metal and plastic signifier the waste that needs to be recycled. This so leaves really small waste from the family which will come in the landfill site. This will increase the life span of the landfill site and do the production of LFG more effectual as all the unneeded merchandises are no longer in the landfill and so decomposition will go on expeditiously. Figure 4: Graph to demo the sum of waste produced by different states. Self Generated Figure 5: Graph to demo the figure of landfills in different states. Self Generated As can be seen from the above graphs, South Africa does non bring forth excessively much waste when compared to the other states as it is graded 4th. We can see though that China, the highest waste manufacturer, has the lowest figure of landfills. This is because China manages waste really good. They have a rigorous recycling plan in topographic point and do certain that their landfills are utilized expeditiously and efficaciously. They besides do non hold plenty landfill sites to get by with the sum of waste they produce and so one time can see that non all the waste is traveling to their limited landfill sites. Alternatively, they have Methane workss that use the waste in order to bring forth elecrticity hence bettering their waste direction and bring forthing something of usage out of waste. 7. Evaluation One can see that the New England Road Landfill Site can non implement a Methane works. There are excessively many bounds created by the Torahs and ordinances and if one was to implement this undertaking, the license needed in order for the landfill to run would be confiscated as there are excessively many hazards involved. The landfill does non suit the standards involved concerning: 1. Size 2. Situation 3. Cost 4. Health 5. Aestheticss It is hence non feasible to see a Methane works at this landfill site as, besides it non conforming to the Torahs and ordinances if one were in topographic point, it is an unlikely venture because of factors such as the cost involved. 8. Proposal Alternatively of presenting a Methane works to the New England Landfill Site, one can see that the Pietermaritzburg occupants ( and those that utilize the New England Road Landfill Site ) need to set a stricter recycling government into topographic point. There were efforts to get down this undertaking in suburbs such as Athlone, Montrose and Wembley but this inaugural seems to hold lost drift. A recycling program would therefore guarantee an increased life span of the New England Landfill Site ( as it is already limited ) and would intend that money is saved through recycling. In the hereafter, a construct of holding merely the Methane grapevine installed into the New England Site could be considered. This would affect the LFG being collected and stored and so leting it to be transported to a Methane works at a different location so that the gas can so be used to bring forth electricity. Word Count: 2773

010 Library Research Day Professor Ramos Blog

010 Library Research Day Research Library Research Notes Today we are meeting in the Crafton Library computer room. Librarian Krista Ivy will be teaching us how to research. In the Crafton Hills website go to the library link. Crafton Hills Library Databases You can search for books, ebooks, reference books, and articles. Use the  EBSCO Academic Search Complete  database under interdisciplinary section For the report, you are supposed to find five sources to help you understand your topic. Three of those must be academic. Check the Report prompt  for the full guidelines. Find your keywords to search effectively in the databases. Example topic: the rising costs of textbooks Keywords: textbooks, cost, price, course reserves Search the keywords you came up with for your topic. Limit the results to full texts and scholarly. Can also limit the results to current publication date, depending on your topic. Boolean Terms Use the Boolean search terms to help narrow your search results AND, OR, or NOT Read the abstract, summary, and/or introduction of the article you are considering to see if it is useful and relevant to what you are researching. Find one article and email it to yourself. Research One academic article. You need three for the assignment. One Credo Reference encyclopedia article. Homework Email yourself at least one article to read. Your homework is to find your sources and read them for next class. Report Proposal A proposal is a text that proposes a research assignment. It is a plan or suggestion for your report assignment. It is meant to help you start thinking and planning for your essay. Answer the questions below to let me know what it is you are going to be researching. This is a great place to ask a question if you have one. Make sure you are annotating your articles as you read so that you can easily find quotes and sections to include in your analysis paper. Questions to answers in your proposal: What is your topic? Why are you writing about this? Why does it interest you? What do you know about the topic already? What research have you found so far? What is your research question? Name(required) Email(required) Comment(required) Submit

How Taking Care of Yourself Will Make You Better at Your Job

How Taking Care of Yourself Will Make You Better at Your Job You know that coworker who runs marathons in her spare time and talks about the amazing hot yoga class she attended at 6 a.m.? Admit it, you kinda hate her as you shuffle in, grumpy and 15  minutes late because your alarm didn’t go off and you didn’t even have time for your customary egg and cheese burrito breakfast. How is it possible for one person to have it all together, that healthy life stuff balanced with the everyday demands of work? Believe it or not, it’s possible without changing totally into the guy who manages to answer 45 emails on his morning train while drinking home-brewed kombucha, or the woman who uses the treadmill desk all day without breaking a sweat. (Though if you’re already doing those things, keep on keepin’ on!) It’s about making manageable, easy-to-implement changes to your daily routines. These small changes can add up to big results in your life overall, but taking care of yourself  can really pay dividends i n your professional life as well.Concentrate on Food and FitnessChanging up your diet is one of the most basic things you can do to feel better and put some structure around your self-reboot efforts. Unfortunately, for some of us it’s also one of the most challenging ones. Even the strongest resolve to eat that green salad for lunch can crumble under the reality of free pizza leftover from a meeting. (But†¦ but†¦ it’s free!!) Whatever your barriers to eating better at work, there are some strategies you can adopt to stay satisfied during the day and (hopefully) have it be less of a struggle.Or there’s the convenience factor: the lunch place right down the street will bring your salad to you, for the low low price of $8.95 (plus tip). That adds up, especially if your self-improvement plan also involves a budget. Making an effort to eat better at work is a conscious choice, but one that will be even better when your take-out sandwich savings translate in to a treat yo self reward at some point.1. Eat a protein-packed breakfast.High-protein breakfasts help you start the day on a satisfied and raring-to-go note. If you have a good breakfast, you’re more likely to perform well at work, and less likely to fall prey to that Hershey bar looking enticingly at you from the vending machine as you walk by.2. Snack wisely.Instead of hitting the vending machine for that 10 a.m. or 3 p.m. snackishness, try eating nuts or fruit instead, or a granola bar (not the ones that are dipped in chocolate, sorry).3. Pack a lunch.This way, you know exactly what you’re eating (no sneaky sugar or calories that you don’t expect). Eating Well has some great (and inexpensive- bonus!) recipes that can help you get into the bag lunch routine.And you don’t have to sacrifice the social aspects of eating with coworkers, or the simple joy of getting away from your desk to grab lunch. Packed lunches are portable! You can head to a common are a, or even head outside to get away from your desk. There’s no excuse for sad desk lunches if you don’t want to go down that dark path.Another way to keep yourself sharp and ready for anything is to work in a little exercise with your workday. Sitting at a desk all day is not only a danger to your health (potentially causing headaches, back pains, and other ailments), but it can also be a spirit-crusher. Don’t let inertia weigh you down.Treadmill desks and standing desks are cool, but if they’re not for you (or in your company’s budget), there are plenty of ways you can get moving, even on the most demanding days.You can shake off the desk blues (not to mention some stress while you’re at it) with small exercises you can do at or near your desk.  If you’re not feeling cardio today, or if your work clothes aren’t really made for boxing, there’s always a classic: office yoga. Or if you sit out in Open-Plan Cubicle Land l ike I do, a version of office yoga that won’t freak out your coworkers. And in fact, if you feel self-conscious about the idea of doing your mini-fitness routines in front of coworkers, any of these things can be done in an empty room/out of the way spot.And really, you don’t have to overthink the fitness-at-work thing. Getting up and walking around can help get the blood moving and clear your head. Taking the stairs instead of the elevator is an easy win too. Just take a few minutes every hour to get up and move around.Bottom line: if your body feels below par, your performance at work probably will be too. By making small tweaks to your food and activity level to make yourself feel better overall, you’ll have more energy to devote to your tasks at hand.Build Solid Habits and RoutinesIf you want to start getting the most out of your workday, it’s worth taking a look at all of your daily routines, and how they affect your professional life. We’re a ll creatures of habit, but are all those habits truly useful? Fast Company suggests asking yourself 5  questions to see if your habits are working for you:What’s the value in this routine?Am I more concerned with the routine itself than the results?Can I handle emergencies that upset the routine?Can I handle change?Does this routine stifle my creativity?These questions help you target the value of your daily habits, and identify ones that aren’t really working for you (outside of consistency). Once you have a better understanding of what’s serving you well and where you could improve or make things more efficient, you can start thinking about what comes next.For example: if you leave your house 10 minutes earlier, does that take a stressful edge off your morning once you get into the office? Do you block out enough time to do routine tasks, or do they get lost in the shuffle of your day? Do you spend time writing up the same five or six types of emails, when a copy-and-paste template would make things easier? Again, small wins are the goal; we’re happier and more productive when we don’t feel bogged down by minutiae.Change Your Outlook and Attitude AdjustmentAnd sometimes the solutions for being your best self are living inside your own head. Everything is the worst when we expect it to be the worst. People are more annoying, requests are more ridiculous, and there’s never enough time when we start from a negative-attitude position. You don’t have to become the most relentlessly cheerful person around, but when your happiness starts sliding a bit because work is stressful or things aren’t going the way you’d like, try to take a step back and shake off some of the negative perceptions. It can be as simple as taking the time to thank someone (genuinely) for a job well done, or a favor they’ve done for you. And when things are rough or busy, take a minute to reflect on what went right today.W hat to avoid when revamping your workplace mindset:Gossip/making negative comments about othersBackstabbing/not being up front with peopleSarcasm (that’s a tough one, I know)Swearing (gosh darnit)A positive attitude is one of the qualities that people (notably, bosses) notice when it’s time to promote and reward employees. It’s definitely in your best interest to be that productive, supportive team member.Never Stop LearningOne of the most important things you can do to be your best self is to keep learning, no matter where you are in your career. Everyone has skills they can pick up or improve upon. If there’s a new type of software or process relevant to your job, learn it. If your presentation skills could use a boost, take a public speaking class. This not only builds your resume, but also keeps you busy and engaged.This kind of self-directed self-improvement also shows you’re someone who’s always looking to improve the status quo. Thatà ¢â‚¬â„¢s a quality that’s appealing to the powers that be, and who knows- your next career opportunity could be sitting in that class, or that shiny new skill could be the one that nets you a promotion.What it all comes down to is this: if you want to be more productive at work and on your career path in general, it’s all on you. The changes you make to your daily life to make things more streamlined, or to make yourself feel better- those will translate into being a more proactive and productive employee, and help make more opportunities happen.

Research Paper on Employment Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Research Paper on Employment Law - Essay Example Firstly, my paper endeavours to explain the concept of dispute between employer and employee; and the reasons that cause them. Next, the intervention of Employment Law and the existence of the Employment Contract is explained, in the context of the rights and duties prescribed to the employers and employees. Further, moving on to Collective Dispute and Bargaining, a clear distinction is brought about between the concept and that of Individual Dispute and Bargaining, with reference to the Employment Law. The paper attempts to point out that the Employment Law has supported Individual Bargaining. A final conclusion supporting the fact that the Law succeeds in supporting the resolution of Individual Disputes and Bargaining to a greater degree, than that of Collective Bargaining. It is but natural that when numerous individuals come together with different sets of values and temperaments. More importantly, it occurs between employers and employees due to varied reasons, such as difference in viewpoints and opinions, expectations, terms and conditions; and the output generated. Here is an analyses of the varied causes that could lead to the employer-employee dispute and conflict. Poor Communication: One of the prime causes for the disputes that arise between employers and employees, is poor communication. When one or both the parties are not explicit or detailed and clear in their expression of a certain idea or expectation, it perhaps does not reach out to the other party. Thus, when a task or a certain order is not completed as desired due to miscommunication, it can cause disputes. For instance, when the company policy is not spelled out in detail and when the employee goes against the provisions, it can cause quite a ruckus within the company. This is also seen in the case of rather vague and ambiguous clauses in the Employment Contract, which is explained later in the paper. This can cause good amount of chaos. Resources: The resources provided in an organisation could not be up to the expectations, which could be another cause for a dispute. The scarcity or lack of resources and the prevalence of improper working conditions could trigger off a dispute. For instance, long working hours and going beyond the maximum of 48 hours per week, without optimum payment could be an the cause for an impending dispute. Differing Interests and Values: Another potent cause for the employer-employee dispute could be the differences in perception or comprehension; due to a variation in the vision of the final outcome or the interest vested by both parties in

The sports facility in Stratford-Upon-Avon Essay

The sports facility in Stratford-Upon-Avon - Essay Example Marketing programmes within the organization should reflect a commitment to meeting the needs of the members of the community in which the organization will serve. Therefore, analysis, both internal and external, should include members of the community, as stakeholders. It should also include the current position of the organization, available resources and identification of the organization’s core competencies or strengths.By assessing the organization’s strengths and weaknesses, the marketing team can develop a marketing programme that focuses on matching the organization’s strengths with needs of stakeholders. The sports facility is currently facing a recent loss of revenue, due to decreased sales of membership. To combat this phenomenon, the marketing strategy has made the decision to offer an all inclusive family membership, which can be used by any and all members of the family. The stakeholder analysis and market segmentation activities suggest that busine sses in Stratford-Upon-Avon should consider the entire family, in this family-oriented community. The goal of the marketing plan align is to align organizational strategy with the marketing strategy, in order to reach the target markets, with a cohesive message that speaks to target segments. Target segments need to understand how the sports centre can benefit them. Situation Analysis The sports facility that once offered individual memberships is not as profitable as it once was. Membership has decreased, likely due to financial concerns and the current state of the UK and global economy.

Wood processing technology Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Wood processing technology - Research Paper Example Aesthetically recycled wood could be more resilient and more manageable than actual wood. In terms of strength recycled wood can also be comparable and would be able to withstand the requirement of wood products. The objective of the proposed thesis is to educate the different sectors dependent on wood and the sector that heavily contribute to wood processes of the advantages of recycled wood. It is also the objective of this thesis to provide alternative processes that would make use of recycled wood rather than raw wood in wood processes. The proposed thesis will be able to provide information on the different qualities and specifications of the different recycling methods and the recycled wood products that they produce. Using secondary sources and the works of others in the same subject of research will enable the proposed thesis to provide reliable information that could be used by wood producers. Due to the limited time and resources experimentation with regards to the strength and aesthetic impact of recycled wood cannot be done. â€Å"There is an increasing need to develop technologies in which renewable materials are used as direct replacement for non-renewables. Our current rate of consumption of non-renewable are high and in most cases increasing, but the reserves from which they are obtained are finite and exhaustible. Our present patterns of consumption are not sustainable in the long term. Although this problem appears to be unique to the 21st century, these concerns are not new.† (Hill) The wood industry is on its last breath as the last 10 million trees remaining on the world’s forest are being harvested for its wood. If sustainable wood processing technique is not found or developed that would rely heavily on processed wood. The wood industry will die as a trade. Wood processing is the only industry that directly damages the environment. The raw material itself comes

Geographically Weighted Regression to Model Housing Prices

Geographically Weighted Regression to Model Housing Prices Introduction In chapter 2, HPM has been used to model the relationships between characteristics of property and neighbourhood. However, HPM treats the whole housing market as a single homogenous market and assumes a stationary process, i.e the parameter estimates are assumed to apply equally over space. This presumes the influences of various factors on house prices in one location are the same as those in another location so that space, place and location do no matter (Foster refer). However, as shown in Chapter 2, the residuals derived using HPM are correlated. Additionally, Chapter 3 shows that when MLM approach is employed to account for spatial heterogeneity, the effects of those various factors in fact vary across neighbourhoods at different scales and there are great price differentials between neighbourhoods. The global approach, such as HPM, masks those local deviations from this average relationship. Disadvantages of MLM Although MLM approach takes into account spatial heterogeneity by specifying the spatial units as levels in the model, there are some weakness of this approach. Firstly, there is no agreement on the definition of neighbourhoods (Kearns and Parkinson 2001: 2103), so the specification of the macro level units (i.e. neighbourhoods) is fairly arbitrary. In the past, census boundaries (†¦),administrative boundaries (†¦.), or school catchment areas (goodman) have all been used to delimitate the whole house market into smaller submarkets, or local neighbourhood areas. Some researchers combined a series of dataset, such as travel-to-work, immigration and house price information and constructed a so-called housing market areas (HMAs)(†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..) . HMAs neither match the census boundaries, or the administrative boundaries, but instead, they represents†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. . The existence of spatial dependency in geographical data means that the observations that are most spatially dependent in the locations that are close to each other should constitute a neighbourhood. A predefined hierarchy of spatial units based on administrate or census boundaries may not necessarily appropriate. Secondly, MLM[1] treats space and assumes that same spatial process applies within the neighbourhoods and discontinues at the boundaries of the neighbourhoods. (†¦). Additionally, the highest level of spatial units (for example, MSOAs in our analysis) are assumed to be spatially dependent. This assumption is unrealistic because the â€Å"effect† of a neighbourhood is more likely change gradually from one neighbourhood to its adjacent ones rather than completely stops, the so-called â€Å"spill-over† effects. Therefore, there might be presence of spatial dependency between MSOAs that MLM is unable to capture. In contract, GWR (Brunsdon et al, 1996†¦..) relaxes the assumptions of the effects of various variables being constant over space (Dark, 2004,Mitchell, 2005andShi etal., 2006) and treats space as continuous. It calibrates locally a spatially varying coefficient regression model for each location of the study area by weighting the attributes of it neighbouring locations based on distance-decay functions (†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.). The attributes of neighbours of a fitted location are all considered so the spatial dependency and heterogeneity can be taken into account in this approach (Paez 2005). This chapter therefore introduced this type of modelling technique to explore the spatial variations that may exist in the relationships between house price and its predictors. Purpose and Structure of the Chapter The aim of this chapter is to identify whether the relationships of house prices and a range of characteristics of houses and neighbourhood attributes) are relatively stable, or they vary substantially over space? If there are spatial variations, how does the relationships vary within and between neighbourhoods and how does this variation differ from the results derived from MLM approach? In addition, how good is the GWR approach in terms of its predictive capability, compared with MLM.? In the next section, a brief description of this technique is introduced. Section 3 follows with a review of previous applications of GWR is presented. The proposed study in relation to the empirical implementation of the technique then follows in section 4. The final section summarise the comparison between GWR and MLM the results and discusses the appropriateness of both techniques. 4.2 Brief Description on GWR Models What is GWR? GWR technique is fully descried by Fotheringham etal., 2002[2] and just a brief description of the approach is presented here. GWR is a spatial analysis technique that takes into account spatial autocorrelations among the observations in surrounding locations by allowing for spatial nonstationarity in the linear regression coefficients for each location. In GWR literature, the â€Å"location† can be a point or an aggregated area. describe local geographical variations in the relationships between a response variable and its explanatory variables by a set of local estimates for all the predictors for each geographical location (Fotheringham et al. 2002). A set of estimates and standard errors for each local coefficients are produced by focusing each location in the study region and weighted matrix of its nearby observation. The basic GWR equation can be written as: (4.1) Where denotes the coordinates of the th point in a two-dimensional study area; is the dependent variable at point , is the estimated intercept at point , ( represents the estimated coefficient for variable at point , is the independent variable of the th parameter at location , and is the error term for the local model at point . The estimation of ( is derived using weighted least squares (WLS) regressions (Moore and Myers, 2010; Fotheringham et al., 2002) by weighting the observations near location in accordance with their distance to that fit point. It is given by: where is a diagonal matrix denoting the geographical weighting of the observations around the fit point . Weighting The weighting is based on the distance between the regression location and its nearest neighbours, defined as bandwidth. The points in closer proximity to location is given more weight and therefore has more influence on the estimation of than the observations that are further away to location . A number of weighting schemes are available, but they tend to be Gaussian or â€Å"Gaussian-like† function, which is the types of dependency generally found in spatial processes (Forthemham). Two Commonly used distance-decay functions in GWR are Gaussian and Bi-square function (Fotheringham et al. 2002), which are expressed as below: Gaussian Bi-square Where is the th element of the diagonal of the matrix of the geographical weights , is the bandwidth, a threshold distance that any observations beyond this distance will not be used for calibrating the local model, and represents the distance between observation and focus point . When and coincide, the weighting equals to 1. Source: Gollini et al (2014) GW model: an R Package for Exploring Spatial Heterogeneity using Geographically Weighted Models Both functions are continuous up until the bandwidth, but the weights of Bi-square function decrease faster than that of Gaussian function and eventually become zero at the boundary of the bandwidth, while the weights of Gaussian function do not become zero. Both of the weighting functions will be tried in the planned research. Bandwidth Bandwidths can be specified either as fixed or adaptive (in terms of physical distance). The physical distance for adaptive bandwidth is changeable according to the spatial density so as to capture a fixed nearest neighbours for each local model: a shorter distance for areas where observations are dense and longer distance when data are sparse. The benefit of using adaptive bandwidth is that it can ensure sufficient local information be utilised for areas where observations are spatially scares and reduce the estimate variance for local coefficient and still reveal subtle local variations where observations are dense (Fotheringham et al. 2002). Therefore, adaptive bandwidth will be used in the planned research as the density of house price data vary geographically. The size of bandwidth affects gradient of the kernel and thus the rate of decay function. A small bandwidth have fewer observations included in the local model and rapid decay whereas a large bandwidth will have more observations in the local model and a smoother weighting scheme. The size of the bandwidth is important as if the bandwidth is too small, although the model would fits better for the local observations, but at the same time local noise may also be fitted thus the local estimates will have large variances. Conversely, if the bandwidth is too large, although the variances will become smaller, but the estimates of local coefficients are based on a much larger area and result in biased estimates which masks the true local relationships, especially if the relationships vary dramatically over small areas. This is the so-called bias-variance trade-off (Fotheringham et al., 2002)[3]. The effective number can be used to reflect bias-variance trade-off in GWR, which is a measure o f the number of observations that have been used effectively for calibrating the local model. Bias-Variance Trade-Off To find the best bias-variance trade-off, an appropriate weighting function and optimal bandwidth need to be selected. It has been argued that the selection of bandwidth selection is far more important than the weighting scheme as the weighting all decreases as distances increase by all weighting functions but the size of bandwidth decides the degree of decay (Fortherham†¦). The optimization process is generally exploratory and can be very compute-intensive process as it requires all the local regressions fitted at each step[4]. It can be achieved by either cross-validation method or use corrected Akaike information criterion (AICc) (Fotheringham et al. (2002). Leave-one-out cross-validation (LOOCV) is a commonly used cross-validation method in GWR, where for each local model, it is validated by using all the cases except for one observation and the model is tested on that single observation. The bandwidth which produce the smallest root mean square prediction errors for all the dependent variables of all the local models is deemed as the optimal bandwidth. AICc is an indicator of goodness-of-fit and can be used to compare competing models while taking into account the complexity of a model. A lower AIC score indicate a better fit of a model. As a rule of thumb, a decrease of 3 in AIC of two competing model score indicates an improvement in the model fit for the model with lower AIC (Fotheringham et al 2002; Zhang etal., 2011). It is common though to get different optimal bandwidth from the two methods as the criteria for optimal is different for AICc and for CV[5] and the AIC value is not based on prediction of the dependant variable (†¦[6]..). In addition, AIC score can be corrected for small sample size, while classical CV method tend to produce under-smoothed result for small sample size[7]. One thing is note is that AIC should be avoided when the sample size is large as it requires the creation of an n by n matrix [8]so the optimization can be very slow[9]. Both method will be tried out in the planned research. Why Use GWR and when? As mentioned earlier, when there is spatial dependency between variables and spatial non-stationarity, GWR can be used to disaggregate global relations to local levels to obtain a better understanding of spatial data in more details. As every local model is fitted to local observations, it fits better to data than a global model and residuals are generally lower and less spatially dependent. The outputs, the estimates of local coefficient are specific to each location. In Chapter 2, Moran’s I has been used and indicate that there is statistical significant spatial autocorrelation within both house prices and the residuals of HPM results. This means that the global fitted coefficient value of HPM does not represent detailed location variations adequately and GWR should be used in this instance to taken into account the spatial dependency and examine the heterogeneity in housing market. A review of GWR approach in house price estimation This section reviews the application of GWR technique with a focus on residential real estate, as well as the comparisons of GWR with a range of other methodologies. The section will conclude with the identification of the research gap and thus the contribution of the current chapter. Application in Real Estate Valuation GWR has been applied to a number of field, including land use (Geniaux et al. 2011†¦.), environment (Harris et al. 2010a), health (Comber et al. 2011, Helbich et al. 2012b, Yang and Matthews 2012; [10]) and crime studies (Leitner and Helbich 2011), economics ([11]), regional studies ([12]) and residential real estate studies (Kestens et al. 2006; Bitter et al. 2007†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦). In terms of the application to real estate, GWR has been used to investigate the effects of the locations and surrounding neighbourhood characteristics, such as †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦,the effects of accessibility, such as the new bus transitway in†¦..((Mulley, 2013), infrastructure availability in †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.(Cellmer, 2012), and the effects of open space amenities (Nilsson, 2014). GWR has also been used to identify housing sub-markets (Borst Mccluskey, 2007; Crespo Grà ªt-Regamey, 2013; Helbich, Brunauer, Hagenauer, Leitner, 2013). GWR compared with other modelling techniques GWR has also been compared with a few valuation tools in real estate, such as multiple regression analysis (MRA), simultaneous autoregressive model (SAR), Artificial neural networks (ANN), spatial expansion method (SEM) and Spatial lag model (e.g., Brunsdon et al., 1999[13]; LeSage 1999[14]; (Bitter, Mulligan, Dall’erba, 2006; Helbich, Brunauer, Vaz, Nijkamp, 2013; McCluskey, McCord, Davis, Haran, McIlhatton, 2013; Yu, Wei, Wu, 2007). More specifically Bitter, Mulligan, Dall’erba (2006) demonstrated in their study that GWR was superior to spatial expansion method ( define briefly †¦.)in terms of predictive accuracy and explanatory power when applied to examine the marginal price of key housing attributes in the Tucson, Arizona housing market. McCluskey, McCord, Davis, Haran, McIlhatton (2013) also showed that GWR outperform MRA, ANN and SAR in term of predictive accuracy, transparency, and cost-effectiveness and offered when applied to 2,694 residual properties in for real estate price estimation. In a case study of spatial heterogeneity in Austria, Helbich, Brunauer, Vaz, et al. (2013) extended GWR to a mixed-GWR(MGWR), which allows some coefficient to be stationary while others to be non-stationary. This approach is more flexible and parsimonious than standard GWR (Wei and Qi, 2012). Both MGWR and GWR has smaller prediction errors in comparison with a global approach, such as OLS, SAR and spatial t wo stage least square procedure (S2SLS)[15]. There are other extensions of GWR. To deal with cross-sectional time series data, GTWR (Huang, Wu, Barry, 2010) was developed to integrate both temporal and spatial information in the weighting matrices to capture spatial and temporal dependency and heterogeneity[16] . GTWR is able to model spatial and temporal nonstationarity simultaneously and therefore offers a better goodness-of-fit. LeSage (2003) incorporate a Bayesian treatment into GWR in order to improve the estimates of GWR parameters. Contextualized Geographically Weighted Regression (CGWR) was developed by adding contextual variables into standard GWR. The research applied this approach to model spatial heterogeneity in the land parcel prices of Beijing in China and demonstrated that the incorporation of contextual information improved the model fit. However, multicollinearity between explanatory variables may result in unstable results in GWR models and cause more problem for GWR than in a global regression model (Lloyd 2007). Therefore, extreme caution should be exercised when analysing the spatial patterns of local coefficients derived from GWR (Wheeler Tiefelsdorf, 2005). A range of diagnostic tools was proposed and usage of PCA to identify the most influential predictors or integrating ridge regression into the GWR framework (D. C. Wheeler, 2007) can help stabilize GWR regression coefficients. There is only limited comparison of GWR with MLM, or random coefficient model (RCM). These two approaches are very different in terms of its underlying assumptions of the spatial process and yielded completely different results in the study of long-term illness in the UK (Brunsdon, Aitkin, Fotheringham, Charlton, 1999). There has no published research that compares GWR with MLM in terms of their capability to model spatial heterogeneity of house price data and their predictive accuracy. In addition, although GWR can be applied at any geographic scale of measurement, in practice however, may applications and previous research applied it to an coarsely aggregated scale due to the availability of data or keep anonymized information. Unlike previous studies, we have geo-code the â€Å"location† of each house based on its unit postcode location, which only contains typically around 15 residential addresses[17]. We hope to offer further insight into the geographical variation of the relationships at this detailed level, which previously might be disguised in previous research when the level of analysis was carried out at a much coarser scale. Planned Research Standard GWR is applied to the same dataset in chapter two and three, the house price data of the Greater Bristol area. Two extended version of GWR, GTWR and CGWR, will be explored with the former to capture the temporal dependency and heterogeneity and the later to incorporate contextual information into the model. In GWR and CGWR, the whole dataset will be split into yearly data to avoid the potential temporal autocorrelation within the data. There is no need of doing so in GTWR, as the time of sale has been taken into account in the model. Individual house characteristics are all categorical variables as described in Chapter 2 and will be modelled first and then neighbourhood variables will be added in the subsequent models. The planned procedures and a few methodological issues are addressed as follows. Firstly, before carrying out actual modelling of GWR, whether there is significant spatial autocorrelation within the data, which can be between the response variables and its lagged values or between the explanatory variables and their lagged value. Two most commonly used weighting function, Gaussian and Bi-squares functions will be used, although it has been shown that the selection of the weighting function does not have as much an effect on the results as the selection of bandwidth (Fotheringham, Brunsdon, and Charlton 1998). If it is the case, just one weighting function will be used in the subsequent yearly models and the focus will be one the optimization of bandwidth. An adaptive bandwidth is proposed, as there is a good mixture of rural/urban of housing stock in Greater Bristol and the density of the house sales varies dramatically over space. Both CV and AIC will be used to obtain optimal bandw idth and measure model fit as it was shown in the past that the two methods resulted in different optimal bandwidth and regression coefficients ([18]). Once a weighting function and bandwidth has been selected, the weighting matrix can are defined and used to estimate the coefficient for every location based on equation (4.1) and calibrating local GWR. The standardised residuals and the parameters, and their estimated standard errors will be mapped to investigate whether they vary spatially[19]. This will also be compared with the map of the shrinkage estimates of the neighbourhoods (OAs, LSOAs and MSOAs) derived by MLM in previous chapters. It is expected that the mapped patterns of MLM coefficient exhibit more â€Å"noise† than that of GWR, since GWR is essentially a spatially smoothing calibration. All of the model caliberation will be conducted in R, using GWmodel package as this software is free and the process can be easily replicated. Lastly, the predictive accuracy of GWR will be measured and compare with MLM. R squared is used for goodness of fit of the model and it measures the proportion of variation in the data that is explained by the model. Adjusted Rsquared takes into account the complexity of the model in terms of the number of variable that are specified in the model. It is expected that extended version of GWR, GTWR and CGWR, may provide better model fit and more accurate predictions based on their previous applications. In the past, there has been criticism that GWR cannot produce confidence intervals (†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..) and the significance of the estimates for parameters cannot be tested. However, Monte Carlo significance tests have been used to test whether there is significant variability (†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..) so this test is also planned to test if the spatial variation of the coefficients are statistically significant. â€Å"Wild bootstrap† approach as suggested by by H ¨ardle (1990) and McMillen (2004) can also be used to produce a weighted average of the variance of the separate parameter estimates. Conclusion GWR generally give much better fits to the data and the residuals are less autocorrelated. Its advantages over MLM is that it no longer treats space as discrete, which more likely resemble the spatial process in reality, and it models both spatial dependency and heterogeneity. In addition, it is essentially a non-parametric approach that does not requiring any assumptions with respect to the predictors, which can be categorical or the underlying distributions of the predictors can be highly skewed. There is no need to specify a functional form to produce the estimates of spatially varying parameters (Brunsdon et al 1998). The underlining concept of â€Å"letting the data speak for themselves† make it a good exploratory tool [20] for spatial analysis. This concept is very much similar to another modelling technique, ANN, except that in ANN, there is no implication of nearer locations have more influences on the estimates of local coefficients than locations that are further awa y as in GWR. This although unlikely in reality, but it might happen. How does GWR compared with ANN will be discussed in the next chapter. Link GWR and ANN: a set of estimates of spatially varying parameters WITHOUT specifying a functional form – â€Å"let the data speak for themselves† (Chris et al 1998) [1] the parameter estimates are assumed to be randomly distributed with either a finite (Wedel and Kamakura 2000) or a continuous mixture distribution (Aitkin 1996). [2] And Legendre, 1993 [3] Check: Bias-variance trade-off: MLM (Goldstein 1987) and Ridge Regeression (Hoerl and Kennard 1970a, 1970b) [4] check reference Schabenberger and Gotway (2005 316-317) statistical methods for spatial data analysis Waller and Gotway (2004, p434) – applied spatial statistics and Lloyd (2007 pp 79-86): local models for spatial analysis [5] http://webhelp.esri.com/arcgisdesktop/9.3/body.cfm?tocVisable=1ID=-1TopicName=Interpreting GWR results [6] Housing Sub-markets and Hedonic Price Analysis: A Bayesian Approach by David C. Wheeler1*, Antonio Pà ¡ez2* , Lance A. Waller1 and Jamie Spinney3 Chapter 4 [7] Encyclopedia of Geographic Information Science edited by Karen Kemp (p183) [8] (gwr.sel {spgwr}) [9] NOTE AIC be applied in non-Gaussian GWR( Local Models for Spatial Analysis, Second Edition By Christopher D. Lloyd) [10] Modelling spatially varying impacts of socioeconomic predictors on mortality outcomes, J Geograph Syst (2003) 5:161–184, DOI: 10.1007/s10109-003-0099-7, proposed for modelling spatially varying, predictor effects on a disease or mortality count outcome The methodology is illustrated by suicide mortality in 32 London Boroughs over the period 1979–1993, in terms of area deprivation and a measure of social fragmentation disease mapping methods [11] SPATIAL HETEROGENEITY AND THE WAGE CURVE REVISITED*Simonetta Longhi, ISER, Peter Nijkamp [12] The Geographic Diversity of U.S. Nonmetropolitan Growth Dynamics: A Geographically Weighted Regression Approach Mark D. Partridgey Dan 5. Rickman, Kamar AU, and M, Rose Olfertte.st for geographic heterogeneity in ihe growth parameters ami compare iliem to global regression estimates. The results indicate significant heterogeneity in the regression coejjkients across the country, most notably for amenities and college graduate shares. V.sing GWR also exposes .signiftimt local variations that are masked by global estimates [13] A Comparison of Random-Coefficient modelling and Modeling and Geographically Weighted Regression for Spatial Non-Stationary Regression Problems, Geographical and Environmental Modeling, 3 (1), 47–62 [1