The Bell Jar By Sylvia Plath - 1803 Words

In the 1963 novel, The Bell Jar, Sylvia Plath depicts the mental breakdown of a young woman, Esther Greenwood, as a result of the pressures of her environment. Esther grows depressed throughout the novel and goes â€Å"crazy† due the many conflicting choices she is faced with. In Esther’s 1950s society, she is expected to marry and have children. Yet, she is confronted with her many wants that conflict with this picture of ideal femininity. As Jay Cee says, Esther â€Å"wants to be everything† (83), and this is precisely where her dilemma lies. Essentially, Esther’s breakdown can be attributed to her fear of making a choice. This fear is communicated when Esther states â€Å"I saw my life branching out before me like the green fig tree in the story. From the tip of every branch, like a fat purple fig, a wonderful future beckoned and winked† (62). Esther is torn between the want for many different futures. The â€Å"branches† suggest that her choices are mutually exclusive, and she is only able to take one path. All the figs are â€Å"fat purple,† communicating that all the options are equally fruitful, desirable, and attractive, making Esther’s decision extremely difficult. She describes an array of paths including motherhood and careers, none of which she is able chose from. She states she, â€Å"wanted each and every one of them, but choosing one meant loosing all the rest† (63). Unable to make a decision she â€Å"starves to death† (63), and allows the futures to â€Å"die.† She says, â€Å"the figs began toShow MoreRelatedThe Bell Jar, by Sylvia Plath1318 Words   |  6 Pageswe live. Many authors who seek this understanding fall short of their expectations and find themselves questioning life to an even greater extent than they had prior to their endeavors. One example of this would be author and poet Sylvia Plath, whose novel The Bell Jar parallels the tragic events that occurred throughout her own life. This coming-of-age story follows the life of Esther, a very bright and introverted student from Boston. She spends a month in New York City as a contest-winning juniorRead MoreThe Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath1211 Words   |  5 PagesOn January 14th of 1963, Sylvia Plath had finally completed The Bell Jar after approximately two years of writing. This novel could have been considered a partial autobiography, because the main character Esther Greenwood eerily represents Sylvia Plath. There are a number of references to Plath’s real life throughout the book, too many for it to be considered a mere coincidence. Within the story, Esther Greenwood considers and attempts suicide quite frequently. Could this novel have been foreshadowingRead MoreThe Bell Jar By Sylvia Plath Essay1438 Words   |  6 Pagesthe novel been translated into nearly a dozen different languages, but it is also the only novel under the American writer and poet Sylvia Plath. She wrote this novel to resemble her life whenever she was dealing with mental illness. It was published in 1967 and was not published in the United States until 1971. After the first publication in the United Kingdom, Plath committed suicide in a very tragic way.   Even though this novel can be viewed as â€Å"dark†, many english classes read this world wideRead MoreThe Bell Jar By Sylvia Plath1099 Words   |  5 PagesThe Bell Jar by: Sylvia Plath Depression is a serious topic throughout the world, especially in America. Depression can result in someone feeling completely alone. There is no direct cause for depression in adolescents, but it can be brought on by the maturing process, stress from failure in some sort, a traumatic or disturbing event such as death, or even a break up. Sure, everyone has an off day here and there, where they feel like they shouldn’t even bother getting out bed in the morning, butRead MoreThe Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath1211 Words   |  5 PagesSylvia Plath Research Paper Title The Bell Jar place[s] [the] turbulent months[of an adolescent’s life] in[to] mature perspective (Hall, 30). In The Bell Jar, Sylvia Plath uses parallelism, stream of consciousness, the motif of renewal and rebirth, symbolism of the boundary-driven entrapped mentally ill, and auto-biographical details to epitomize the mental downfall of protagonist, Esther Greenwood. Plath also explores the idea of how grave these timeless and poignant issues can affect a fragileRead More The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath1820 Words   |  7 PagesIdentity is fragile and is a characteristic that every person must discover without hiding behind inexperience’s and excluding themselves from the outside world of reality or else their own personal bell jar will suffocate them alive. The Bell Jar, a semi-autobiographical novel written by Sylvia Plath portrays how a young woman with too many identities and unrealistic expectations overwhelms herself to the point that she contemplates and attempts su icide multiple times. Esther Greenwood, a young collegeRead MoreThe Bell Jar By Sylvia Plath942 Words   |  4 Pagesdevelopment of her relationship with many characters in the novel, The Bell Jar. Esther is mentally and emotionally different than a majority of the people in her community. As a result of this state, she often has difficulty taking criticism to heart. Her depression continues to build throughout the novel as she remains in the asylum. It does not help that she has no aid from her loved ones. In the novel, The Bell Jar, Sylvia Plath utilizes the relationships that Esther shares with Buddy Willard MrsRead MoreThe Bell Jar By Sylvia Plath1274 Words   |  6 Pagesnovel The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath the prime character, Esther Greenwood, struggles to handle life in her own skin. She feels as though she is trapped in a glass bell jar with no escape because of her incapability to comprehend herself. For example, in chapter one Plath states, â€Å"‘My name s Elly H igginbottom,’ I said. ‘I come from Chicago.’ After that I felt safer. I didn t want anything I said or did that night to be associated with me and my real name and coming from Boston† (Plath 11). In thisRead MoreThe Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath1554 Words   |  6 Pagestrials and triumphs in their personal life, their relationships with others and their surroundings. In the Bell Jar, Sylvia Plath explores the role of women in society in 1950s New York City through her relationships and interactions. Esther Greenwood is the major character and is therefore central to the novel. The book is considered to be a â€Å"roman a` clef† portraying the painful summer of Sylvia Plath’s psychotic breakdown in 1953, and contains â€Å"thinly disguised portraits of her family and friends†Read MoreThe Bell Jar By Sylvia Plath1940 Words   |  8 PagesAccording to the Merriam Webster dictionary, the definition of the word â€Å"bell jar† is, †Å"a bell-shaped usually glass vessel designed to contain objects or preserve gases and or a vacuum†. Sylvia Plath’s title, The Bell Jar, symbolically represents her feeling towards the seclusion and inferiority women endured trapped by societes glass vessel during the 1950’s. The Bell Jar, follows the life of Esther Greenwood, the protagonist and narrator of the story, during her desperate attempt to become a woman

Sexuality Constructing Problems And Defining Solutions

Sexuality: Constructing Problems and Defining Solutions In 1942, Alfred Kinsley â€Å"founded the Institute of Sex Research† (Macionis, 2015, p. 204) and his research opened this country’s culture to talk about sex and its sexuality (Macionis, 2015). Also, â€Å"Advances in technology lead to more control over reproduction and societies then allowed more choice about sexual practice (Macionis, 2015, P. 202), adding cultural issues to what was once a more biological issue. Sexuality social problems began to emerge, such as prostitution, sex tourism, and sexually transmitted infections (STI), to name a few. This essay will investigate these three social problems, looking at the political positions, traditional morality versus individual choice, and possible solutions to these three specific issues. Globally, some of these social issues have seen major decline, which could also be possible in the United States (Macionis, 2015) Political Positions Over the years, laws in the United States have changed to address some of the social problems of sexuality. The legal system has banned discrimination based on sexual orientation and as of 2015, some thirty states have legalized same sex marriages (Macionis, 2015). Today, â€Å"Laws regulate certain types of pornography, including the depiction of sexual violence and sexual acts with children† (Macionis, 2015, p.210). In the are of sex tourism, the US prosecutes predators who engage in travel for the purpose of sexual activities with childrenShow MoreRelatedState s Control Over Sexuality2212 Words   |  9 Pagesapply them to how the state approaches the issue of HIV/AIDS. We will examine the issue in relation to how the state uses sexuality to control and regulate its population. We will utilize Dean Spade’s principle of â€Å"population-management power† for such ends and contrast it with other models of state power and their shortages when we try to explain t he state’s control over sexuality. First, we outline the theoretical framework of power models on which this paper will be built. The conventional wayRead MoreMedia And Its Effect On Children1954 Words   |  8 Pageshealth problems in the United States. (Collins, Martino, Elliot, Miu) While there are smaller efforts to create positive sexual messages, as well as more parent involvement on the subject, it is mostly the overwhelmingly negative effects that we get to see on health statistics of youth today. With 745,000 women under 20 becoming pregnant every year and one in four US women between the ages of 14-19 being infected with one of the most common STDs, the numbers don’t lie and there is a problem. (GavinRead MoreThe Forever War By Joe Haldeman2059 Words   |  9 Pagesconcept is formed. Human nature is frequently viewed as a symbol of fortitude and the foundation of everything humans do. It is the force that guides our actions and the center from which institutions are built. There have been many attempts at defining human nature as well as distinguishing its susceptibility to change (Farris 1; Klasios 103; Murphy 191; Panese 1). Evolutionary psychology argues that human nature is the aggregate of four distinct parts: survival, reproduction, kin selection, andRead More Human Trafficking and the International Sex Industry Essay3304 Words   |  14 Pagesbrothel’s profits. Many elements of human trafficking can be theorized in relation to Orientalism. Critical scholar Edward Said defined Orientalism with several different approaches. Orientalism is a legacy of the Enlightenment, which focused on defining the world in strict dichotomies such as good versus evil. Said analyzes Orientalism as a tradition of theory and practice that has affected the way we think today. According to Said, Orientalism emerged in Europe as an academic tradition of teachingRead MoreEssay on The Category of the Individual4933 Words   |  20 Pagesheterotopias, which undermine language, make it impossible to name this and that, shatter or tangle common names, and destroy syntax in advance (Foucault xviii). When Foucault refers to syntax, he is not just talking about our method of constructing sentences but also that less apparent syntax which causes words and things (next to and also opposite one another) to hold together (Foucault xviii). In other words, there is need for us to take into account how the things in our world areRead MoreCMNS 304 Notes Essay5778 Words   |  24 Pagespart Meeting a need = problem solved (supply and demand) Identifying needs and interests (sporty guy = sporty car) Language plays a role in transaction Horse example* What’s wrong with this? HOMYNYMS (sound the same but different meanings), always give†¦ Why? odd, math = formal logic, speech variation and reading variation, power of signifiers (if this then that), manipulation of expert knowledge because they sound technical SO, we don’t know Bush Example* Much isn’t a problem but some is? What ifRead MoreStatement of Purpose23848 Words   |  96 Pagesprogram. Explain your research interests and link them with one or two professors in the program. As I note above, this means learning about the program and familiarizing yourself with the research of one or more faculty members. And refrain from defining your interests too broadly unless you have interdisciplinary interests that match the integrative philosophy of the programs. Limit your research interest to one area, possibly two, depending on the discipline and program, if you want to be consideredRead MoreOrganisational Theory230255 Words   |  922 Pages282 330 382 432 . . Contents Preface List of figures List of tables Acknowledgements xiii xvii xix xx Chapter 1 Introducing organization theory: what is it, and why does it matter? Introduction What is organization theory? Defining theory What are organizations? The relationship between organization theory and human activities The relationship between organization theory and management practice Social engineering and organization theory Critical alternatives to managerialismRead MoreRacism and Ethnic Discrimination44667 Words   |  179 Pagesprocess of juridical and political recognition of multiculturalism has initiated.6 These measures however have not contributed to transforming the State, or to guaranteeing equal opportunities of access in the construction of democracy. The central problem continues to be the form and behavior removal or diminishment of recognition, enjoyment, or exercise, under equal conditions, of human rights and fundamental liberties in political, economic, social, cultural spheres, or any other sphere of publicRead MoreOcd - Symptoms, Causes, Treatment131367 Words   |  526 PagesCriterion A Presence of obsessions and/or compulsions: Obsessions are repetitive and persistent thoughts, images, or impulses that, at some point, are considered intrusive and inappropriate and cause marked distress; they are not worries about real-life problems; they are accompanied by attempts to ignore, suppress, or neutralize (i.e., subjective resistance); and they are acknowledged as a product of the person’s mind. 7 Compulsions are repetitive behaviors or mental acts that the person feels compelled

How Life Will Be in 50 Years Free Essays

In general life will be a lot better in 50 years. Some people can say that it’s true,however some may not agree with this opinion. World and life are changing on our eyes with the killing speed. We will write a custom essay sample on How Life Will Be in 50 Years or any similar topic only for you Order Now There are changes in our life which are good for us,for all mankind,but also there are a lot of changes that are bad for people or for health. In my opinion life wouldn’t be much better than it is today and it’s possibile that it would be even worse. New technologies are considered as good by the most of the society and there is a tought that life will be easier and better thanks to them. But is this a wholly true? Surely not. Computer is one of the greatest inventions of the 21th century. If we use it in the right way it won’t be dangerous for us. But even know we can see problems according to internet and computers so what would be in 50 years? Scientists certified that time we are spending in virtual world will be notoriously increasing. So†¦ will we spend something about 12 hours a day in front of a computer? I don’t think it would be healthy for anyone. Part of the society will be just unable to handle that and something that was invited to serve us and make life easier can lead people right into madness. However,new technologies have a good side too. In present there ale ilnesses and diseases which we are unable to cure. Cancer kills a million of people around the world everyday. Thousands of people get HIV everyday. Medicine made a hughe step in 21th century but not as big as to cure every ilness. I think in 50 years from now scientists will invite medicine to many different kinds of ilnesses. How to cite How Life Will Be in 50 Years, Essay examples

The Scarlet Letter Persuasive Essay Example For Students

The Scarlet Letter Persuasive Essay People judge others they encounter based upon their own values. These values are acquired through experiences in the home, school, at work, and with friends. A person is taught from their parents at a very young age what is right and wrong, but they may fail to realize that the values they are taught are filtered through the minds of those who teach. Therefore one is a product of their previous generation adding our his or her judgement to the values that we will pass on.Hawthorne judges the characters in The Scarlet Letter by using his own values. These values were drastically different from other Puritans. Instead of the stern, harsh values of the Puritans, Hawthorne sees life through the eyes of a Romantic. He judges each person accordingly, characterizing each persons sin as the pardonable sin of nature or the unpardonable sin of the human soul. One can infer, by the writing style, that Hawthorne is most forgiving to Hester. He writes about Hester with a feeling of compassion that the descriptions of the other characters lack. Hawthorne approves of Hetsers feeling, vitality, and thirst to overcome the iron shackles of binding society. We will write a custom essay on The Scarlet Letter Persuasive specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now He shows us that although Hester is not permitted to express her feelings verbally because of social persecution, there is no one that can restrain the thoughts of the human mind. Hawthorne, being a romantic and man of nature himself, can relate to the this. If you were to look up the human mating characteristics in a science book you may surprise yourself. The human instinct is to have more than one partner not to stay loyal to one partner- In fact Hester is often contrasted with the Puritan laws and rules, especially when Hawthorne states: The worlds law was no law for her mind. (70) Roger Chillingworths personality is one of intelligence and knowledge but no feeling. Hawthorne considers Roger Chilingworths sin the worst in the book. In one of his journal entrees he labels it the unpardonable sin. Hawthorne describes him as very cold and Puritan-like, an educated man that looked very scholarly. As stated here:There was a remarkable intelligence in his features, as a person who had so cultivated his mental part that it could not fail to mould to physical to itself, and become manifest by unmistakable tokens. (67)Hawthorne frequently refers to Chillingworths genius and diction, but purposely fails to have Chillingworth show any slight sign of compassion. This lack of compassion is what made him the monster that he is. He treats people like a mathematical problem analyzing only the facts, caring nothing about the harm that he might cause. (my notes) He picks at Dimmsdale the same way as described here:He now dug into the poor clergymans heart like a miner searching for gold or, rather, like a sexton delving into a grave Possibly in the quest of a jewel that had been buried on the dead mans bosom, but likely to find nothing save morality and corruption. (127)Chillingworth now takes room with Dimmsdale only pretending to be his friend but secretly plotting his demise. Shortly after people begin to notice something ugly and evil in his face which the had not previously noticed and grew to the more obvious to sight the more they looked upon him. (67) Chillingworths face seemed to change more and more. Hawthorne soon refers to Chillingworth as the black man, which is a derivative of the devil. Hawthorne describes Chillingworth with such strong disdain that in the end Chillingworth simply dies when there is no pain or suffering for him to live off of. He is a parasite, a leech that sucked dry the life of the once young and strong Dimmsdale. For this feat Chillingworth shall be eternally punished. .ue4f9586596c54548b871c8923bb69eb8 , .ue4f9586596c54548b871c8923bb69eb8 .postImageUrl , .ue4f9586596c54548b871c8923bb69eb8 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .ue4f9586596c54548b871c8923bb69eb8 , .ue4f9586596c54548b871c8923bb69eb8:hover , .ue4f9586596c54548b871c8923bb69eb8:visited , .ue4f9586596c54548b871c8923bb69eb8:active { border:0!important; } .ue4f9586596c54548b871c8923bb69eb8 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .ue4f9586596c54548b871c8923bb69eb8 { 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; } .ue4f9586596c54548b871c8923bb69eb8:active , .ue4f9586596c54548b871c8923bb69eb8:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .ue4f9586596c54548b871c8923bb69eb8 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .ue4f9586596c54548b871c8923bb69eb8 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .ue4f9586596c54548b871c8923bb69eb8 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .ue4f9586596c54548b871c8923bb69eb8 .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; } .ue4f9586596c54548b871c8923bb69eb8:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .ue4f9586596c54548b871c8923bb69eb8 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .ue4f9586596c54548b871c8923bb69eb8 .ue4f9586596c54548b871c8923bb69eb8-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .ue4f9586596c54548b871c8923bb69eb8:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Autism Essay He has committed the worst sin, not of the mind but the mortal sin that is the desecration of the human soul. The reader first comes across Arthur Dimmsdale in the church making his sermon. The people love him, regarding him as a good, young, Christian man. The one thing that no one knows is the secret that he holds within. We see that Dimmsdale watches Hetser being prosecuted, doing nothing to stop the injustice. He is a weak and immoral man that has no inner strength whatsoever. In some points of the story he cannot even bear to live with the sin, in some severe instances he even whips himself as punishment, but he will not tell of the sin because he fears the social persecution that he will receive if he admits to this hanous crime. Dimmsdales sin is one of enigma. He commits a sin against two people, one being himself and the other being Hester. It is very clear that he has done Hester wrong but the sin against him is more complicated. By not telling the people that he has done wrong he lays tremendous guilt on his soul, so much so that it causes his physical appearance to fade and almost extinguishes as Hawthorne iterates here:His form grew emaciated his voice, still rich and sweet had a melancholy prophecy of decay in it he was often observed on a slight alarm or other sudden accident, to put his hand over his heart, with first a flush and then paleness, indicative of pain. (119) Hawthorne is a romantic and has the personality of one. He is most forgiving to Hester because she is a Romantic person. She lives in a society many years before her time, but she is strong willed and fights societies disdain to overcome her own sin. He places Dimmsdale somewhere amidst the foggy middle, between these two characters. Dimmsdale is sat here because he commits no direct sin. By not telling anyone of his secret sin he causes the pain of himself and Hester. He clearly characterizes Chilingworth as the least pardonable because he commits the sin of the heart, the soul, and of God.

Work Ethics in Children an Example of the Topic Economics Essays by

Work Ethics in Children Teaching a work ethic is very important. We have a lot of adults, who do not exhibit a strong sense of responsibility, which is the basis for a good working attitude. Expectations that are developmentally suitable give children the sense of achievement, which is the basis to build self-esteem. When we fail to provide opportunities for real work, we are depriving children of the opportunity to grow which is a very important aspect in ones life. Need essay sample on "Work Ethics in Children" topic? We will write a custom essay sample specifically for you Proceed Kids (and even grownups) tend to manage responsibilities better when there is a schedule. When everyone knows what should be done before they leave the house in the morning, what happens at dinnertime, what has to be done before the end of the day on Saturday, it is all much more possible to happen. If, for example, you institutionalize the idea that beds are to be made before everybody goes out on their daily chores, you dont have to talk about it anymore. Its just a part of the pattern of the day. If everyone knows beforehand what his or her Saturday morning task is, you dont have to go through a weekly squabble about who is going to do what. Parents should remember not to make the mistake of relieving kids of all chores because they have homework, tennis, and dance practice. There will always be other things that seem to be more important to do than the housework. Teach the children how to balance their time, build in routines, and how to be contributing members of the family. It will be better to know about the consequences before hand, perhaps at the same meeting where you have delegated who was going to do what. Ask the kids what they think would be a reasonable way to deal with people who doesnt complete their share of work. Generally, when actually asked, children come up with far tougher consequences than the parents would. Bring them down to something practical and fair. If you find that the consequence you all have set doesnt work, dont get mad. Call another meeting, and make a review of how the family wants to handle the problem. Sharing work also means sharing the work of figuring out how the work best gets done. When everyone willingly participates in household chores, the work gets done without overburdening any one member of the family, and has everyone feeling good about themselves. For children and teens, school is their main job. Families have a great influence on how students feel about schoolwork, attendance and performance. Adults who take their work seriously by daily attendance, promptness, and follow-through on job responsibilities will find it easier to make an impression upon students the significance of their schoolwork. Its never too early to create a positive outlook towards school and the work that comes with it. Creating a Schoolwork Ethic: Speak often to children about the importance of school. Impress upon them that it is a main concern and that, while fun and amusement are important, they must wait until school responsibilities are met. While no child should ever go to school ill, parents should set the expectation that children have to go to school every scheduled day unless they are truly ill or an emergency arises. Allowing students to skip school for a slight ailments, for routine appointments, or for shopping or other activities sends the message that school is not a job to be taken seriously. Enforcing a reasonable routine bedtime ensures that the children will be well rested for the next days job. Show interest in your childs school experience. Parents should attend all school meetings, get to know the teachers, and frequently ask about school activities, friends and studies. Let the kids know that you care and that you expect them to do their best. If they are having any difficulties, offer to help them or to find others who can help. While theres no guarantee that your children will see school as important just because you want them to, the chances that they will develop a positive schoolwork ethic are increased if your words and actions support school as a priority. Inculcating work ethics in children: Parents should strive hard to give children many varied opportunities to learn about their world. Parents can use conversation, speech, film, and books to communicate frequently and at length with children. Design and implement an appropriate curriculum for the children, to help children learn all the time and everywhere. Highlight and model the behavior you want children to exhibit. Teach values practically and show behaviors that are important to children. Parents should take a look at their own attitudes about household tasks. Make sure that adults and kids alike, does a fair share of work. Whenever possible, do chores together. Chores should be made routine and regular. Make consequences a lesson in reciprocity. When everyone at home helps, there will be time to do things that people want to do. Parents should try hard to instill some essential work ethics in children, for example, Punctuality, teamwork, attitude, cooperation, character, appearance, productivity, proper communication, respect and other skills. Employing these character qualities in your children throughout his childhood, improves the self-esteem of the child, and will help him in the long run. Rewarding children for telling the truth, setting high standards for schoolwork, demanding punctuality and correct attendance, and requiring them to follow through on commitments, make the children more aware of their responsibilities. Each moment you spend training your child in these qualities literally pays off in the future. In a world that gets ahead through situational ethics, parents should help their child stand out by teaching them to live a hard-working life. Show the child that developing a reputation for honesty and reliability with employers as well as fellow employees is how to become a true success. ( Teaching work ethics, http://www.aop.com/enews/hsview/09.07.06/ethics.php). References What if a Work ethic begins very early, December 12, 2006, Exchange Everyday, Marie Hartwell-Walker, December 12, 2006, Teaching a work ethic, Psych Central, Betty Lou Barsley-Marra, Parenting Again, September 2006, Teaching work ethics, Home School View.

Brexit and the Fantods

Brexit and the Fantods Brexit and the Fantods Brexit and the Fantods By Maeve Maddox My mistake with the portmanteau word Brexit brought me so many kind corrections that I feel a need to thank the readers who sent them and to apologize for making such a big gaffe. I got my information directly from the Oxford site, so there’s no excuse for such a mistake. Along with my carelessness, my vision was at fault. I took my information from this decorative panel: Never having seen Brexit written in ordinary type, I read the t as an l. The post has been amended to explain that Brexit is a combination of British+exit. Another word in that post that drew emails from readers is fantods. One reader, having pointed out the Brexil/Brexit error, asked me to explain fantods. Fantods is a word I learned from reading The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Spelled fan-tods by Twain, it’s one of Huck’s words. It occurs in one of the funniest scenes in the book. Huck is looking at pictures in the home of the Grangerford family. Most of the pictures are the work of Emmeline Grangerford, a daughter who has died. They are typical of the morbid mourning portraits favored by Victorian society. Here is an extract that illustrates Twain’s descriptive powers as well as the use of the word fantods: There was some that they called crayons, which one of the daughters which was dead made her own self when she was only fifteen years old. They was different from any pictures I ever see before- blacker, mostly, than is common. One was a woman in a slim black dress, belted small under the armpits, with bulges like a cabbage in the middle of the sleeves, and a large black scoop-shovel bonnet with a black veil, and white slim ankles crossed about with black tape, and very wee black slippers, like a chisel, and she was leaning pensive on a tombstone on her right elbow, under a weeping willow, and her other hand hanging down her side holding a white handkerchief and a reticule, and underneath the picture it said â€Å"Shall I Never See Thee More Alas.† [] These was all nice pictures, I reckon, but I didn’t somehow seem to take to them, because if ever I was down a little they always give me the fan-tods. Everybody was sorry she died, because she had laid out a lot more of th ese pictures to do, and a body could see by what she had done what they had lost. But I reckoned that with her disposition she was having a better time in the graveyard. The OED gives this definition of fantod: fantod noun: A crotchety way of acting; a fad. Merriam-Webster gives a bit more: fantod noun: 1. usually fantods plural: a. a state of irritability, fidget, and tension; sometimes a state of acute worry and distress. b. a state of bodily or mental disorder especially when ill-defined and more or less chronic. 2. sometimes fantods plural a. an instance or occurrence of the fantods. b. a violent or irrational outburst. 3. a fidgety fussy officer of a ship. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Wether, Weather, Whether40 Synonyms for â€Å"Different†English Grammar 101: Prepositions

Why and How Retailers Internationalize - H&M Literature review

Why and How Retailers Internationalize - H&M - Literature review Example There are a number of reasons and motivations for the retailers including H&M to internationalize. One of these motivators is retail expansion due to saturation in the local market. Other motivators for internationalization are resource seeking, market seeking, efficiency seeking and strategic asset seeking. Resource seeking and market seeking are usually motivators for a firm’s initial internationalization strategy, while the other two are for sequential internationalization. After motivation triggers the internationalisation process, the retail firms has to study the market to be entered, so they can optimally position themselves there. Number of factors will help the firms including H&M in market positioning, thereby aiding them in carrying out the operations aptly. These typically include selecting the right target market, studying and understanding the competitive environment, then accordingly formulating steps to improve their competitive position, having a strong store brand image, and controlling the supply chain. Another very important factor that would determine success is the mode of market entry. There are a number of modes but the most common ones are licensing, franchising and joint ventures. These modes are only followed by number of retailers including H&M while expanding overseas. There are others entry options such as acquisition, mergers and contracts, but is not a part of the scope of this paper. This paper will review existing literature on reasons why retailers internationalize – Motivation for Internationalization, in brief. These are fundamentally the same for many firms, retail or non-retail. Moreover, market position that ensures that an internationalization strategy is a success in foreign shores will be discussed. Finally, how retailers internationalize or methods they use to enter new markets will also be discussed concisely. All of this will be discussed keeping in mind the practical case of the renowned fashion

Discussing rationale behind your selection Assignment

Discussing rationale behind your selection - Assignment Example f the characteristics of patients should be at hand, which includes the number of patients, in this case 10 patients, the diagnoses, the acuity of the illness, including any required significant nursing needs. All these characteristics help the head nurse in staffing a unit, which is crucial for clarifying numbers and groupings required to care for the patients (Kuruvilla, Et al, 2007, p.626). In the case stated, we have three professionals, the RN, LPN and CAN, with their job descriptions. The information from the given patients involves three patients, who are critically ill, that includes patients 101, patient 105 and patient 106. The other seven patients are moderately ill and include patients 102, patient, 103, patient 104, patient 107, patient 108, patient 109 and patient 110. Based on information regarding the characteristics of the patients and the professionals present, and upon judging the situation at the unit, the assignment of the work should proceed as follows. The RN professional, who is the nurse in charge, will attend one critically ill patient 105, while the LPN professional attends two critically ill patients, patient 101 and patient 106. The CAN professional will assist both of professionals in any requirements. The reason why the three patients need urgent medical attention is their current condition. For instance, the patient 106 should be of first p riority in the medical attendance, simply because of her situation, that being that he is experiencing pain due to the fracture of the pelvis, plus his girlfriend’s possibility of pregnancy. The patient is also drug dependant, and his family is in some arguments with the physician. Therefore, this patient needs the assignment of the physician, and hence, fits the LPN (Boltz, 2011, p.231). Since the critical patient 105 needs one hour of wound care plus other characteristics such as bruises and multiple lacerations, the patient should have the attendance of the RN. After LPN attending patient

Working with young children from 16 to 36 months Essay

Working with young children from 16 to 36 months - Essay Example You may choose to include photographs, observations and evidence of activities carried out (to include one out of the setting context). Your portfolio should be well supported by theory and your own critical reflections. Present and communicate complex information and ideas verbally and in written form, using specialist vocabulary where appropriate.? Critically identify, assess, select and use information from a wide range of sources. Materials from the portfolio and the reflective report can be used in the validation process. 4,000- 5,000 words (100% weighting) Rationale This module will consider current research and pedagogical approaches when working with young children, and what those who work with children need to know about theory, research and practice. It will consider the development of policies in providing for the youngest children in the UK in recent times. In the context of the rapid changes in the field of early childhood education and care, this module will critically discuss the complex policy context in the UK. It will attempt to provide an overview of the recent history of policy development, considering the impact of Every Child Matters, The Early Years Foundation Stage and the developing role of the Early Years Professionals. Key aspects of practice will be explored in the light of this discussion. This module aims to enable students to: Apply critical, analytical skills to approaches of early childhood ?pedagogy. Synthesise the theory and practice of working with young children. Gain knowledge and understanding of current initiatives and their ?effect on early childhood education and care. Develop critically reflective and questioning perspectives on how ?young children develop and learn and the role of the adult. Recognise processes which improve quality of provision. Understand the role of an early years team. ?The distinctive features of the module are to provide an overview of theoretical underpinnings of early childhood practice with t he youngest children and to examine research studies in to the learning and development of children from 16 to 36 months. The emphasis of the module is concerned with linking theoretical aspects with the experience acquired in placement and ways in which high quality provision can be offered to young children to support development and learning. Learning Outcomes Demonstratebreadthanddepthofawarenessandunderstandingofthe expected patterns of children’s physical, cognitive, linguistic, social, emotional and behavioural development from 16-36 months. Demonstrate the ability to identify how to use everyday care routines, play and planned learning activities to promote children’s well-being, development and learning, and knowing how to critically evaluate and adapt them to meet children’s varied needs. Demonstrateabreadthanddepthofknowledgeandunderstandingof current legal requirements, national policies and guidance on health and safety and their implications for ea rly years settings. Intellectual skills: 4. Coherently collate, critically evaluate and analyse evidence about effective practice and use it to improve their own and others practice. 5. Engage with complex theory, new concepts and evidence from a range of sources associated with early childhood development and apply it to the learning process. Transferrable Skills: 8. Present and communicate complex information and ideas verbally and in written form, using specialist vocabulary where appropriate.? 9. Critically identify, assess, select and use information from a wide range of sources. Essay Task Portfolio –

Improving Concordance to Smoking Cessation Treatment

Improving Concordance to Smoking Cessation Treatment National Institute of Clinical Excellence (2009) identified that medicine taking is a complex human behaviour that lies ultimately, in the hands of the patient. NICE (2009) estimates that between a third and a half of all medicines prescribed are not taken as recommended and Dunbar-Jacob et al (1995) evaluates that up to 80 per cent of patients can be expected not to comply with their treatment at some time. Shuttleworth (2006) noticed that health professionals use two terms to describe the medicine taking behaviour of patients: compliance and respectively adherence. Compliance represents the extent to which a persons behaviour coincides with the medical advice, for example patients to do as they are told (Haynes et al, 1979) while adherence is the capacity of the patient to self-regulate his or her treatment, for example his or her ability to re-fill prescriptions (Brock, 2000). Medicines Partnership (2003) argue that in both compliance and adherence patients have a passive role, with no implication in their care and therefore concordance is needed to correct issues of non-compliance and non-adherence. Concordance advocates the idea of shared decision-making between health professionals and patients and it requires health professionals to engage with patients as partners, taking into account their beliefs and concerns (Medicines Partnership, 2003). NICE (2009) insists that the biggest challenge of the research of concordance is how to influence and change behaviour and this is where health psychology comes in. According to Marks and Evans (2005) health psychology attempts to move away from a linear model of health that treats only the physical, to a model that treats the whole person including his or her behaviour. In this essay the author will critically discuss how knowledge of health psychology can help nurses improve concordance with treatment in smoking cessation treatment. The idea promoted is that smoking is a behaviour influenced by the patients beliefs; the nurse will explore the patients beliefs on smoking and will help the patient to make an informed decision regarding her treatment. Patient X will be used as an example to observe behaviour change. The Stages of Change Model and other theories from health psychology will also be discussed. Discussion: Health Development Agency (2004) estimates that smoking is the greatest single cause of preventable illness and premature death in the UK, being responsible for more than 106,500 deaths each year. Approximately 4000 chemical compounds have been identified in the cigarette smoke, of which 40 are known to cause cancer (McEwen et al, 2006). Among these compounds tar was linked to cancer, lung disease and heart disease; carbon monoxide (CO) was also identified as an inevitable consequence of the combustion that takes place while smoking (Tyler, 1995); furthermore, nicotine was found in cigarettes, however nicotine is not connected to cancer but with the addiction process. According to the RCPÂ  [1]Â  (2000) nicotine meets all criteria used to define a drug of dependence and Wilkinson et al (2004) reasons that this makes smoking not a habit but an addiction. In the light of these, nurses face a real challenge when trying to improve patients concordance with smoking cessation treatment. However, NIHÂ  [2]Â  (2008) urges that most patients are ready to hear and receive help from nurses as the patients willpower alone has been shown to succeed in only 3 per cent cases of smoking cessation (McNeill et al, 2001). The following scenario will be used to exemplify a nurses action and use of health psychology knowledge in helping improve a patients concordance with smoking cessation treatment: Patient X is a bank manager. She has been a smoker for ten years. She is married and has one child age 5. She doesnt want to stop smoking because smoking calms her nerves, because it is not a good time and because she is afraid of withdrawal symptoms and gaining weight. The nurse will use the Transtheoretical Stages of Change Model to assess patients X motivation. The model was developed by Prochaska and DiClemente in 1982 to examine the five stages of change in addictive behaviours. According to Odgen (2009) the model is dynamic, not linear, with individuals moving backwards and forwards across the stages. The first stage of the model is Pre-contemplation. Patient X was identified as being in this stage because she is not interested in quitting. McGough (2004) points out that sometimes beliefs are used to sustain unhealthy behaviours, for example cigarettes calm my nerves, as patient X claims. To address such health beliefs and her resistance to change, the nurse will use a consciousness raising exercise, respectively she will address patient X reasons for not quitting and give counterpoints to refute these reasons (Perkins, Conklin and Levine, 2007; Kaufman and Birks, 2009). For example, patient X states that it is not the right time; the nurse can address this by saying, Im concerned about your health and I would like you to consider quitting. I know its going to be difficult because it will interfere with life responsibilities however, the perfect time to quit may never come therefore this moment is as good to quit as any (Perkins, Conklin and Levine, 2007; Hollis et al, 2003; Rana and Upton, 2009). TMAÂ  [3]Â  (2008) suggests that such message can prove more effective than a lecture about the lung cancer however the nurse can have a stop smoking handout to give to the patient as well. This interaction with the patient must be kept as patient-centred as possible to improve concordance with treatment (Walker, J et al, 2007). Balint et al (1970) as cited in Rena and Upton (2009) suggest that being patient-centred should involve the asking and receiving of questions and information which result in patients understanding of the health information and the treatment proposed. An accurate assessment of patient X within this stage will generate a strong treatment plan, therefore improved concordance (Straub, 2006; Brock, 2000). Furthermore, the nurse will convey warmth, understanding, acceptance and respect for the patient; this will help develop a fundamental nurse-patient relationship that is seen as a contributing factor to the patients concordance with the treatment regimen (Rana and Upton, 2006; Donohue and Levensky, 2006). By learning that smoking is not good for her health patient X will move to the second stage of the Stages of Change Model called Contemplation. The patient is now aware of the health risks that smoking entails and contemplates the idea of quitting (Perkins, Conklin and Levine, 2007). At this stage motivational interviewing can be used by the nurse to allow the patient to discover her own internal motivating factors in the favour of quitting; examples of factors can be: my five year old child will grow in a smoke free environment or I will have less changes of getting cancer (Ogden, 2009; NIHÂ  [4]Â  , 2009). Furthermore, the nurse can suggest that patient X writes down as a reminder I lose these benefits every day that I do not quit smoking (Connors, Donovan and DiClemente, 2004). Moreover, the nurse can help patient X identify the pros and cons of smoking cessation treatment (Hollis et al, 2003). According to the Health Belief Model (HBM) (Rosentock, 1974 as cited in Rana and Upton, 2009) by weighing the pros and cons of treatment, people arrive at a decision of whether the perceived benefits (e.g. NRTÂ  [5]Â  ) outweighs the perceived barriers (e.g. being afraid of the side effects of NRT). Moreover, patient X is concerned that she may gain weight upon quitting. By still using the HBM the nurse can help the patient decide whether the perceived benefits of quitting (e.g. improved health) outweighs the perceived barriers (e.g. gaining weight) (Perkins, Conklin and Levine 2007). The HBM is a social cognition model that has been applied to understand adherence behaviour in patients. This model suggests that the likelihood that someone will engage in a given health behaviour (e.g. adherence) is a result of four functions: perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, perceived benefits and cues to action (Rena and Upton, 2009). In an argument against HBMs application to smoking cessation, Robinson and Beridge (2003) state that weighing pros and cons of smoking cessation treatment is not a reliable approach because the smoking behaviour is underlined by addiction, so that it operates outside conscious awareness and it does not follow decision-making rules. Perkins, Conklin and Levine (2007) agree that the motivational intervention used in the contemplation stage may push the person into the third stage of the Stages of Change model, called Preparation. The patient is now determined to make a change. Both the nurse and patient X will share a decision making over preparation strategies; the outcome of this partnership will be a patient-centred, tailored plan that will improve adherence. For example, a nicotine patch may indeed help patient X to quit smoking, but a patient Z who not only has nicotine patches but also told his family and colleagues (especially those who smoke) about his quit attempt and ask for their support, is likely to be more successful than someone who relies on nicotine patches and willpower alone because social support enhances the likelihood of adherence (TMA, 2009; McEwen et al, 2006; Medicines Partnership, 2003). Furthermore, patient X will be encouraged to set a quit date. The chosen date should be of significance for the patient so she can feel motivated to adhere to the treatment (Gross and Kinnision, 2007). Moreover, the nurse may suggest behavioural changes such as clearing the house of all cigarettes and lighters (Marinker and Shaw, 2003). Patient X will also be educated to recognize withdrawal symptoms and will be given tips on how to resist cravings (e.g. keep busy, eat fruits, sip water, call a helping friend); patient X will be re-assured that withdrawal symptoms last 2-4 weeks and reduce gradually; also, the nurse must introduce patient X to medication that can help reduce the severity of the withdrawal discomfort, such as NRT and Bupropion (McEwen et al, 2000). According to NICE (2009) the information about medication should be written to serve as a reminder at any stage of the treatment. Moreover, the patient will be shown how to use nicotine patches and gums because in this stage specific skills rather than motivation alone are needed to facilitate concordance with treatment (Gross and Kinnison, 2007; Thomason, Parahoo and Blair, 2007). Furthermore, the nurse will answer any questions that the patient may have regarding medication. The Royal Pharmaceutical Society (1997) as cited in Rana and Upton (2009) suggests that how individuals perceive and think about medication (medication belief) is important when considering treatment adherence, therefore the nurse should be aware of patients X medication beliefs if she wants to break the barrier of non-adherence to treatment. Patient X is now considered ready to move into the penultimate stage of the Stages of Change Model called Action. At this stage, the nurse must provide on-going support to prevent the patients relapse. The nurse is encouraged to be honest with patient X about the likelihood of reverting to the old behaviour once the change process has started, not because the nurse expects patient X to fail, but because it normalizes the experience and takes away some of sense of failure and shame (Singer, 2009). The nurse will also monitor patient Xs CO and saliva cotinine to confirm abstinence and boost motivation (Haskard-Zolnierek and DiMatteo, 2010). According to the Foundation for Blood research (2010) many patients may not be truthful when answering questions about their smoking behaviour, therefore tests such as measuring the amount of nicotine in saliva and the amount of carbon monoxide levels in the patients expired air can be useful to compare self-reported smoking behaviour against real measurements. In an argument against this, Riemsma et al (2003) state that there is no evidence that moving an individual closer to the action stage actually results in a sustained change of behaviour at a later date. After approximately six months in the action stage patient X will move to the last stage of the Stages of change model, the maintenance stage. The nurse will praise the patient for the efforts made to change the unhealthy behaviour into a healthy one. This will make the patient feel self-efficient and have confidence to maintain the behavioural changes done in the quitting process (Odgen, 2009; NIH 2009). Self-efficacy is a term introduced by Bandura (1997) as a cognitive mechanism underlying behavioural change. According to this theory, efficacy determines whether coping behaviour is initiated and maintained when faced with obstacles (e.g. nicotine cravings) (DiClemente, 1981). Furthermore, the nurse can also write down essential tips to help patient X maintain concordance with treatment, such as do something else instead of smoking, keep yourself busy, avoid tempting situations and stick with your effort to quit, you can do it (Johnson et al, 1999; NIH, 2009). Conclusion: To review, within this essay the author highlighted the ideas that knowledge of health psychology can be used to understand the patients smoking related health beliefs and also, improved concordance with smoking cessation treatment can be achieved by involving the patient as partner in care.

Prejudice in To Kill A Mockingbird & Telephone Conversation Essay

The dictionary defines prejudice as a learned, preformed, and unsubstantiated judgment or opinion about an individual or a group, either favorable or unfavorable in nature. Through the study of the book, To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, and the poem Telephone Conversation by Wole Soyinka, ones understanding of prejudice and what makes up prejudice changes considerably for what could be perceived as for the better or for the worse. Being ignorant of what is happening or not knowing and properly understanding what prejudice is can make it easy to turn a blind eye to what is happening around you. Learning what prejudice is makes one more conscious of what is happening right next to you in everyday life. Being educated about prejudice is one step closer to a more peaceful life but prejudice will likely never completely disappear, like George Aiken says, â€Å"If we were to wake up some morning and find that everyone was the same race, creed and color, we would find some other cause for prejudice by noon.† Ones perception of the concept of prejudice is primarily determined by the environment in which one grew up. As Sydney Smith said, â€Å"Never try to reason the prejudice out with a man. It was not reasoned into him, and therefore cannot be reasoned out.† It is evident that ones opinion of other people reflects back to the ethics that they were brought up with. From the eyes of the young and innocent Jean Louise ‘Scout’ Finch, we follow the story of Arthur ‘Boo’ Radley and Tom Robinson in the deceivingly quaint town of Maycomb where these two innocent men’s lives are ruined by the evil of other men and women. The two men are the ‘mockingbirds’ of the story, good, innocent people, hurt by the injustice, hatred and prejudice of a small town... .... Red pillar-box. Red double-tiered Omnibus†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Like Tom Robinson in To Kill A Mockingbird, the West African man is unjustly discriminated against because of his race and the colour of his skin. In comparing and analyzing these two texts, one gains a better understanding of the concept of prejudice. There is no logic or reasoning behind prejudice, which is why it is hard to stop it. We all like to think that one day the world will be free of prejudice and everyone will be considered equal and we hang on to that hope as in the words of Martin Luther King Jr, â€Å"Let us all hope that the dark clouds of racial prejudice will soon pass away and the deep fog of misunderstanding will be lifted from our fear-drenched communities, and in some not too distant tomorrow the radiant stars of love and brotherhood will shine over our great nation with all their scintillating beauty.†

Technology in Satellite Internet

Technology is getting better each day. The Internet is one of the best, if not the best, technology that was invented on this century. Internet allows us to see the world that we have not seen. Internet widens our knowledge on certain perspectives and information. Internet makes learning easier and more accessible as compared to the past century before it was invented. It allows us to see places that we cannot see physically. In short, it gave us the world of easier and more accessible pool of knowledge. Dial-up Internet access was the first innovation that was used to connect to the Internet. This type of Internet connectivity connects through the Internet using the customary telephone line. The telephone line is then connected to a modem, a device that needs to be attached on the computer to allow internet access. By configuring the computer to dial up a specific telephone number of an Internet Service Provider (ISP), Internet is already accessible. The next innovation used to connect through the Internet was the Digital Subscriber Line (DSL). This type of Internet connectivity was the widely used type of Internet connectivity on these days. Compared to a dial-up connection, DSL is faster as they are designed for use with high-speed DSL connections. Recently, another innovation in Internet connectivity was introduced to the market, the satellite Internet. Satellite Internet, from the name itself, connects to the Internet using satellite. The outgoing and the incoming data are sent and arrive at the computer through the satellite. Hardware that is needed to be installed on the computer to have this type of internet connection includes satellite dish antenna and a transceiver which works in the microwave portion of the radio spectrum. This type of Internet connection is recommended for residents and business establishments that do not have access on DSL or cable internet on their location. This research paper aims to take a closer look on the technology behind satellite Internet. What is satellite internet? Satellite Internet provides Internet through satellite. It is connected to a dish network subscriber service. The speed that satellite internet provides is just the same as those provided by other broadband technologies. However, not all locations have DSL or cable internet providers. Some rural areas lack DSL and cable internet service. Satellite Internet solves this problem for it can be connected anywhere as long as there is electricity to power a computer system. There are three types of services offered in satellite internet: (1) One-way multicast; (2) One-way with terrestrial return; and (3) Two-way satellite access. IP multicast-based data, audio, and video distribution are the usage of one-way multicast satellite Internet systems. This type of service is recommended for TV and radio contents as they need modest user interface. This happens because full interactivity is not possible for this type of service. FCC license is a requirement in the United States for the uplink station though there it is not needed for the users. Because of this, most Internet protocols does not work adequately on one-way access because a return channel is needed. By pushing to a local storage at end user sites, webpage can still be distributed on the Internet. Interface to the Public Switched Telephone Network for squawk box application is a system hardware component needed for this type of service. On the other hand, custom programming at the remote site is needed for the system software component. Filter, store, present a selection interface to, and display data are the tasks needed to be performed by the software at the remote site. While provision of access control, priority queue, sending, and summarizing of data are the tasks needed to be performed by the software at the Teleport. Used with a dial up access to the Internet, together with outbound data traveling with the use of a modem, one-way terrestrial return satellite Internet systems downloads are sent through satellite having the speed almost the same as those offered speed by other broadband Internet services. The transmitting station or the Teleport is needed component of system hardware. This transmitting station has two components: (1) Internet connection and (2) Satellite uplink. Minimum programming that can provide authentication and set Proxy server settings are needed by the remote sites, which is the system software component. Compared to a dial up modem, this type of satellite Internet service’s speed is faster and latency is higher. Speed of download is faster than dial-up modem but slower than terrestrial broadband methods. According to sattellitemaps. om, two-way satellite Internet sends data from remote sites via satellite to a hub, which then sends the data to the Internet. To avoid obstruction with other satellites, the satellite dish must be accurately positioned on each location. Obstruction with these systems can be caused by oscillators in various radar detectors. To adjust the amount of transmit power, each location is required to use power management. TDMA and S CPC are the two types of two-way satellite Internet. Internet speed for this type of service uncommonly exceeds one megabit per second and the latency can reach up to one second. Speed, in general, for satellite Internet can be two-megabits per second (Mbps) for downstream and one-megabit per second for upstream. On the other hand, a typical dial-up Internet connection speed reaches only 53 kilobits per second (Kbps). Therefore, satellite Internet is by far faster than a dial-up Internet connection. Though satellite Internet solves the problem of those who live in areas that do not have DSL or cable Internet services, it still has its drawback. It is generally expensive as compared to dial-up and DSL connection. High latency, which means signal delay, is another drawback of satellite Internet. A request for a webpage from a satellite Internet subscriber travels 22,300 miles to reach a satellite in a geostationary orbit. Another 22,300 miles is traveled by the signal upon reaching the geostationary orbit back to the earth. Lastly, another 22,300 miles must be traveled for the signal to reach the user. All in all, the total distance traveled by the information is 89,200 miles. The total distance is what the user is paying for this type of Internet connection. Average latency, on the other hand, is approximately 500-700 milliseconds. In short, latency cannot be avoided in satellite Internet. Thus, it is not recommended for some Internet activities such as multiplayer online gaming. In general, satellite Internet is by far faster than a dial-up connection but still slower as compared to other broadband technologies such as DSL and cable internet connection. How does satellite internet works? The Technology behind the Innovation The large satellite dish is the hub station. Its average diameter ranges from 6 meters to 32 meters. Receive gain is dependent on the size of the satellite dish. The large size of the satellite dish brings high receive gain and sensitivity. Transmit power is minimized through the large dish. The large size also brings high transmit gain at the same time minimizes the transmitter power at the hub. A router to interface to the external ISP network, DVP-IP encapsulator that will insert the IP data into a format of MPEG-2, DVB multiplexer, continuous modulator, timing clock, up-converter, and high power amplifier are the transmit Hub Common Equipment (HCE). Meanwhile, low noise amplifier, down-converter, timing and distribution of MF-TDMA demodulator unit and multiple MF-TDMA demodulator units for each inbound carrier to be received simultaneously are the components of receive HCE. Having high sensitivity is a requirement for the satellite uplink so it can function well in small dish transmits services. If the uplink beam coverage area is small, high sensitivity is easily achieved. Adequate high gain setting is also a need for the satellite transponder. This will be easily achieved but it should be specified fist before satellite construction begins. Through a remote control of a gain step attenuator, adjustment of the gain of satellite is possible. On the other hand, a lower gain setting is preferable for large dish services. Frequency bands for satellite internet can be any of the following: (A) C band 4/6 GHz; (B) Ku band 10-12/14 GHz; or (C) higher Ka band. Among all the customer terminals, a large outlink carrier from the hub is shared. It has a bit rate of 60 Mbits/s rate. It is also ETSI-compliant for modulation and FEC. Quadrature or 8 Phase Shift Keying (QPSK or 8-PSK) is the format of the outlink carrier. The following are the ways of transmitting digital data. For a particular bit rate, both need the approx and the same power from the satellite but 8-PSK concentrates the power into half the bandwidth (VSAT, 2005). 8-PSK becomes viable with dual satellite transponder bit rate capacity if there is a powerful satellite and maybe larger remote terminals. A series of symbols, where each symbol has four to eight possible states, form the carrier. Thus, each symbol conveys two to three binary bits per symbol. Forward error correction systems are used, which add extra bits to form a higher transmission bit rate, to attain an insignificant bit error rate for the information. A pragmatic Trellis type is the inner code together with the 8-PSK. MPEG-2 with DVB Multi-Protocol Encapsulation (DVB-MPE) format for IP data is the data stream format. The extra forward error correction bits, found at the customer receiver, are utilized to perceive errors and basically correct all of them. Another important component in satellite Internet is the Return Channel Satellite Terminals (RCST) outdoor unit (ODU). The following are its components: (1) Parabolic antenna reflector; (2) Feed; (3) Ortho-mode transducer; (4) Filters; and (5) Transmit/receive radio frequency modules. The received downlink from a satellite is normally collected by the reflector. It is better to have a bigger size of the reflector. Most dishes used are of offset front fed parabolic shape with the feed at the bottom on an arm (VSAT, 2005). Appearance of radio signal from the radio equipment until it reaches the air functions in the feed. To allocate power across the dish area is its primary function. It should also be considered that the position of the dish must be at the focus of the parabolic dish shape. Division of the two polarizations positioned at linear and right angles are performed by the Ortho-Mode Transducer (OMT). The function of the two polarities is for the other to transmit and the other to receive. To avoid the transmitter from obstructing the receiver, filters are inserted. It is also used to attach the transmitter and receiver. Up-converting of the signals to transmit frequencies and amplifying them before transmission is the function of transmit module. Powers are directly proportional to transmit bit rates. The higher the power, the greater is the transmit bit rates. If there is RCST-ODU, there is also Return Channel Satellite Terminal (RCST) Linkstar indoor unit, which is an integrated unit that has connections for two coax cables to the antenna and a CAT5 10/100 Base-T connection for an ethernet cable that is linked to the subscriber’s computing equipment. The received MPEG-2 stream is recovered from the outbound signal by an integrated circuit consisting of a DVB-S demodulator and de-multiplexer (VSAT, 2005). The outbound signal is demodulated by this logic. The IP packets that are aimed for precise customer terminal are recovered by the demux, which is then delivered to the external network via the ethernet interface. RCST is responsible in preparing the data into short packets or bursts that are conveyed according to a Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) system. If you are interested in connecting your personal computer or a local area network, the least complex installation will involve a single computer that is connected with ethernet cable. The basic task is to set the IP address and subnet mask. On the other hand, local area network can be connected through the use of a local router. This will allow many computers on a local area network, cafe, and wireless LAN to be connected. Future Trends in Satellite Internet As we all know, satellite Internet is just a recent innovation for Internet connection. Thus, it still needs to be improved and developed further to allow more people to benefit from this innovation. In the near future, IP protocols are expected to improve at the same time compatible to SAT channel. Voice over IP is also a future trend for satellite internet. Since satellite Internet is costly these days, it is expected to have a lower cost specifically in storage devices in the near future. Traffic over satellites is one of the drawbacks of satellite Internet. However, it is an expected trend in the future to have a more advance hardware and software that will handle and improve traffic over satellites. New networks and traffic management systems is also expected. Innovation in antennas, switching, MMIC, and bandwidth use are expected to get better as satellite internet attracts more market share. Lastly, new satellite systems that use new frequencies such as Ka, V, and Optical systems are also expected to occur in the near future for satellite Internet. Companies Involved in Satellite Internet Teleglobe is one of the largest Internet backbone access providers to Latin America. Recently, it just closed the deal of providing satellite access to content located on Teleglobe’s global Internet backbone network to the University of Costa Rica. It is the leading provider of Internet backbone access services to carriers and ISPs all over Latin America. In addition to its services, it also provides access services for research and education networks throughout the world. Another satellite Internet provider is the Panamsat Corporation. It is included among the world’s top three satellite operators. It manages a global fleet of 30 satellites, which 23 of these satellites are owned by the company. It also supports the largest satellite-based business networks in United States. Its services benefits cable television systems, broadcast affiliates, direct-to-home operators, Internet service providers, and telecommunication companies. One of the global leaders in the market of broadband satellite networks and services is Hughes Network Systems. It provides its services to enterprises, governments, small businesses, and consumers. Globecomm Systems Inc. acquired all the shares of Netsat Express Inc. in June 2001 and decided to combine the services offered by both companies. This acquisition improved Globecomm’s position in the field of satellite-based communications and Internet solutions. Another satellite-based company is the Intelsat. It is the largest provider of fixed satellite services all over the world. These are just some of the companies using satellite for the services that they are offering to the market. Another provider of satellite Internet in Australia and other countries in Asia is Orion Satellite Broadband. Generally, Orion is a provider of wide-ranging telecommunications solutions. However, their primary focus is on developing innovations and approaches to some issues and challenges in communications that cannot be solve by conventional providers. Satellite Internet is one of their services to solve the problem of Internet accessibility. It is also developed and operated by HughesNet in the United States. Another provider of satellite Internet is the partnership of Zaksat and Fantastic Corporation. Zaksat is known as one of the leaders in satellite operator in Middle East countries. Fantastic Corporation is a Swiss-American company that focuses on software technology. The partnership of Zaksat and Fantastic Corporation aims to provide broadband multimedia services among businesses and household consumers in the Middle East, India, Asia, and Australia. In Australia and New Zealand, Netaccess Satellite is the leading provider of satellite Internet. It provides high-speed, business-grade Internet connection even on remote areas of the country. The satellite that they are using for their services, which is their own satellite Optus, covers 100% of countries Australia and New Zealand. The benefits that they are offering their consumers include lightning-fast broadband anywhere in the country, wider coverage of Internet access, ideal Internet access backup, trusted and quality performance, 24-hours customer support, and reporting tools. In countries Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, Lebanon, Cyprus, Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Syria, and Turkmenistan iDirect is the leading provider of two-way broadband Internet access. Their services can benefit private consumers, businesses, and institutions. Speed, performance, and flexibility is what they are offering to their services offer the market. There are others that are not mentioned here. These companies are proofs that satellite Internet can benefit and have a large share on the market of Internet providers. Regulatory Issues in Satellite Internet Just like in cable Internet, privacy and speed are the major drawbacks in satellite Internet. Another of its drawback is its susceptibility during bad weather conditions. Redefinition and recasting of 1934 Communications Act is shown in Telecommunications Act of 1996. Its primary goal is to address the emergence of competition in previously monopolistic markets. However, many still believe that the Telecommunications Act of 1996 is not enough to solve and address the issues of the continually changing telecommunications environment. Innovations and changes in the technology of telecommunications include the advancement of Internet in supplying data, voice, and video. Convergence in the telecommunications sector is also a factor that is considered for the need of revision of the act. Some of the issues that concerns broadband communications are as follows: (A) Traditional providers who enter new markets, which they do not hold any power; (B) Extent of existing regulations that should be imposed on new entrants while they compete for traditional providers in the same market; (C) Suitable regulatory framework that will be imposed in new and converging technologies which are not classified in the present framework. Broadband technologies are major considerations in the policy debate. Questions on whether the present regulations are enough to address the issues concerning competition and consumer benefits and satisfaction. Global Implications of Satellite Internet The primary implication of satellite Internet is its geographically advantage over other broadband providers. It solves the problem of Internet accessibility, especially in rural areas where there are no providers of DSL or cable Internet connection. Though innovations and technical advances are continuously arising in today’s world, there are still some who do not have the access to these technologies. Internet is one of the best innovations in today’s century. Though, there are still some who do not have access to it. This is where the function of satellite Internet comes in. It offers an alternative to many consumers. However, its price is generally expensive compared to other broadband providers. Other drawbacks include its delay in delivering of data and its susceptibility on bad weather. As compared to dial-up Internet connectivity, it is by far faster in terms of speed. However, when compared to other broadband technologies such as DSL or cable Internet, it offers just the same speed and other benefits with higher price. As a summary, satellite Internet provides an alternative Internet connection to many geographically challenged areas that do not have connection for DSL or cable Internet. It is not recommended for those who have broadband connections in their area for it has higher price and delay in relaying information especially on bad weather conditions. It diversified the market for consumers in terms of Internet connection.

group aggression essays

group aggression essays What happens when people come together and express emotions of aggression as gangs or groups? Items such as plays, magazine articles and scientific journals all suggest that each individuals emotions of aggression are increased and this ultimately leads to a dramatic exhibition of aggressive emotions. In the play Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, characters such as Mercutio and Tybalt are undoubtfully devoted to honoring their familys name, and are not hesitant in using violence to do so. This particular devotion is also seen in the article in the Bulletin titled Bondi, Beirut and the big lie published on page 30 where young Lebanese gangs are being blamed for a series of attacks and brawls. Also, with the age of technology advancing, scientists such as Konrad Lorenz are now able to prove the connection between intense aggression and groups of people, through particular experiments such as that of the rats. When Shakespeare wrote Romeo and Juliet four hundred years ago, he gave no or little consideration to the future. However, what he did not realize was that the aggressive attacks displayed by the Montagues and the Capulets in the seventeenth century would span generations, to encompass youths of the contemporary worlds and their behaviours. As Tybalt, a violently fierce character, said to Mercutio what, drawn, and talk of peace! I hate the word as I hate hell, all Montagues, and thee. (Act I scene I) Tybalts own aggression fuelled the aggression of the whole Capulet family, which resulted in various outbreaks of violence. Therefore, it is obvious to see how one characters aggression can encourage others to become aggressive also, as seen in Mercutios response to Tybalts aggression And but one word with one of us? Couple it with something; make it a word and a blow. (Act III scene I) The text that I have studied during the course of this unit...

How Good Are Your Communication Skills Essays - Communication

How Good Are Your Communication Skills Essays - Communication How Good Are Your Communication Skills Complete 'How Good Are Your Communication Skills?' assessment available on the Mindtools website. Write a 200- to 350-word summary of your communication quiz score, describing your strengths and weaknesses and how you plan to develop your communication skill set. Additionally, what aspects of communication that were not covered by the quiz do you think are important in professional life? My final score from this assessment was a 57. This number means my communication skills are on target. I am cautious of how people perceive my messages, but also pay attention to the clues they are giving me. I scored an 8/10 in the planning of my messages. When I begin a message to someone I like to know what I plan to say before I say it. Often times I will have notes to reference. I only scored a 15/25 in the encoding process. I spend a lot of time being sure my message contains information and I think I may over analyze what I need to say. The best option for me is to make clear and concise points and not be too detailed. I think I try to describe things too much and may come off as chatty. I was able to score a 14/15 for my choice of what channel to use when communicating. This to me is one of the most important aspects of communication. If you dont choose the right method to communicate, points may be lost, misconstrued, or missed. Writing an email, talking on the phone, and ta lking in person all have separate advatages and disadvantages. Each type of communication has a time and place. Next I scored a 17/20 in receiving messages. I like to think of myself as a fairly active listener. A big pet peeve of mine is one others dont look at me when I am speaking. So for me this is important to do for others as well. I want to know the people I am speaking to are listening and respecting what I am saying, so therefore they deserve the same courtesy. Finnaly I scored an 8/10 on feedback. Feedback is a vital part of communication. You want to be sure the people you are talking to understand what you have said and where to go next. You also want to be able to provide feedback. I feel feedback is an area of great strength for me. I am not afraid to ask questions if I dont understand, and I enjoy knowing if others understood me. If they did not understand I can correct it and also make corrections for the next time. The other most important aspect of communication, for me, is body language. In a professional setting it is easy to get settled in if you are around the same people all the time. This is also a problem. If you get too comfortable talking to your co-workers you may quit paying attention to the way in which you communicate with them. If you are not aware of the messages your body is sending you can cause a lot of unneccesary confusion or hurt. Lets say for instance you roll your eyes at a comment made by someone and they notice. This person may not wish to speak to you further or share their ideas anymore. You need to be courteous and conscious of what your body is saying as well as your actual words. Click the Assignment Files tab to submit your assignment. Copyright 2014 by University of Phoenix. All rights reserved. Title ABC/123 Version X PAGE \* MERGEFORMAT 1 Copyright XXXX by University of Phoenix. All rights reserved.

Burger Kings famous advertising slogan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Burger Kings famous advertising slogan - Essay Example For instance, in case consumers switch to certain brands, producers follow suite and produce goods to meet this target group. Starbucks is one of the brands that follow the need for customization and immediacy. The company launched restaurants to serve food while it expanded its coffee offering. Several companies spend a lot of money on research and marketing to find out the kind of products that customers desire upfront. The need for customization and immediacy is well accepted factor among producers (Ferrell 114). Marketing evolved from the need to understand the consumer and as a result, marketers had to come up with strategies that could focus on the customer. This has been practised over a long period of time. In the past, goods were produced for the purposes of serving customers with quality goods. This was continued further when production was enhanced and customers were now sold goods due to increased production. In these early days, production was not done to suit consumer needs but rather it was driven by consumer wants (Ferrell 88). However, in the recent past marketing has been done to focus on customer needs and expectations. As a result, the customer has been bombarded by goods and products that are suited and catered for their needs. For instance, Apple produces handsets that are suited for consumers since it ends up meeting the expectations of the consumer. However, today consumerism is driven by social changes and values such as fashion, technology and other current trends. For instance, Google allows for its users to have choice on the services they require. Marketing concept involves understanding the needs and goals of different target markets with the need of achieving organizational goals to consumers better than the organization’s competitors. While, on the other hand societal marketing is that the company should market their goods based on the consumer’s wants/needs, the company’s requirement long-term

Answer questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

Answer questions - Essay Example There was a resultant concentration of wealth on the remaining populations and the remaining workers were paid five times more. It, therefore, had positive addition to civilization in Europe, hence, the reduced suppression of rights of workers and the concentration on health issues. It equally lead to adjustment on the distribution of land wealth in relation to the landowners. (Fredrick and Cartwright) The medieval communities longing for better lives made them live in brutality and horrible experiences from the acts of their superiors. The community lived in social tied out sets until they were torn by economic strife and the need for changes due to advancements and developments. The division of social class made the lords suppress the thoughts and notions of the peasants with a direct correlation with the tying with religion of which failure to conform would mean religious revolt by the peasants, hence, they had to humble themselves despite the hard times. De jure systems of justice ensured that fear and forceful obligation of the parties involved in conflicts ensued. The crude systems of justice in the middle ages were designed by the lords and powerful individuals in these societies to be able to meet their desired needs at the expense of others illegally and to maintain the status

Health and safety management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Health and safety management - Essay Example The employer is in charge of planning, monitoring, implementing programs and systems needed to ensure OHS on its grounds. Joy suggests (2004) that occupational health and safety risks arise from the normal functions, operations and activities and during unexpected incidents and circumstances such as accidents. The employer is in charge of ensuring the correct national and international recognized OHS codes, standards and guidelines are maintained to the fullest. The full effectiveness of OHS systems attracts the inclusion, and significance participation of every employee in implementing and maintaining of procedures and processes. There are a quiet a number of companies that have already implemented the rules that governs the safety of each employee on the ground. An example of such company is Barrick, a mining company. This is a high risk job that requires full safety gears when doing it through out the day at all time. The company reputes itself of being the best in mining industry and the one that protects its employee the best and safest way possible. It is committed to perform each job in a safe and healthy manner, and are strict about work related injuries or illnesses. The rule is that everyone is in charge of their own safety at work. It ensures this by: Governance. It provides Health functions, protection and governance as part of an incorporated framework that includes; environment, community relations and security. It has established a committee which includes representatives from different handy groups. It manages programs and monitors performance, and elevates issues to the next level as required. The board committee provides oversight that focuses on vital trends and issues that improves the company performance. The corporate responsibility committee ensures integration and global alignment, assesses main sustainability risks and offers leadership on policy and tactical issues. On the other hand, the regional committee conducts incidents reviews, implements programs, develops yearly improvements plans and implements activities to meet corporate strategies. As joy described (2004) the site committee is responsible in managing stewardship of programs and sites, manages site – specific issues and raises issues that require regional and corporate attention. Barrick applies a few elements that ensure a smooth running of safety and health management system. 1. Leadership and personal experience Leaders must live and lead by example, acting as role models to junior workers and other staff members. Barrick recognizes only its leaders must take action in promoting and creating a safe work place. This is achieved through evident felt leadership. Safety and health accountability includes; training and appraisal of workers, management and supervisors. Leadership and personal experience is practiced through: Management and leader participation Executive member plays a role in issuing and promoting communications that relates to sa fety and health to each worker. They also carry out safety and health tours of their places of liability and implement a program that recognizes each individual safety performance and safety leadership. The Barrick leaders also hold discussions about safety and health as a way of being role model and providing mentorship through personal behavior. Site, general and project managers openly practices safety and health headship for themselves and their supervisors by enacting personal observance with all safety and health related values.

Good and Evil of Internet Essay Example for Free

Good and Evil of Internet Essay The onset of computers on the general population has given a boost to the Economy in the worlds market. People who werent much aware of the world became drawn to computers, which in turn brought about the Internet, connecting the world all over. The Internet has played a major role in the lives of people all over the world. Now, it is not limited to just important organizations or governments. Everyone who owns a computer is logged on to the Internet; and this has made the world seem smaller. No one has to wait for the postman to deliver the mail, but instead one can just connect to the Internet and right away, you got mail. The Internet has been a boon, yet there are its darker aspects, which has caused much harm. The world is now so dependent on the Internet that it seems unthinkable of living without it. The computer industry got a boost when the people discovered that the world was progressing in leaps and bounds, and should any country be left out would be considered a backward country. Developing countries caught on to the progress. Learning about computers in school was made compulsory. To enhance the knowledge, everyone, young and old had to learn about computers and that was the first step. From computers to the Internet is but just a step ahead. Families who have migrated to different parts of the world have the link of Internet to connect to their relatives and friends, in the fastest and cheapest way. Internet has brought families, friends and businesses closer than they actually are. Communications via the Internet is so fast and cheap that there is no hold to its progress. The Internet brought about a lot of developments around the world, which otherwise would have taken much longer. Employers could buy the best talent around the world at a cheaper price than they would have to pay for hiring local workers. The young and aspiring workers left their homes and found better employment abroad, by searching for jobs on the Internet. Businesses flourished, as they could be in touch with whom they were dealing with, fast and quick on the Internet. The Internet brought prosperity all around and every small and big business caught on to the fear of being left behind. Big and small schools opened up for teaching computers and the Internet. Cyber cafes flourished to the assistance of those who did not possess a computer. Various Internet service providers propped up offering a variety of discounts and benefits for Internet services. Industries prospered, employees and employers also prospered, and to say the least there is just no stopping to the growth of the Internet. Information is at your fingertips, there is no need for the newspaper; all you need to do is switch on the computer and go to the web page to read the news. The Internet certainly is responsible for the development of the world, but it also has its negativity, which has brought about considerable disruptions and problems in its wake. Bad characters had limitations before, but now with the Internet, their limitations have gained a spot over. Countries know the secrets of each other and are always trying to harm one another in some way. Recent September eleven attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, in which thousands perished and landmarks reduced to rubble, are living proofs of what the Internet is capable of. Hacking, junk mail, obscene mail, porn mail and viruses are all done via the Internet. There is much damage done via the Internet to the minds of young adolescent children and these are just a few examples. The world is full of good and bad people, and having the Internet at your fingertips leaves something to your imagination of where the world is progressing today. The discovery of Internet is definitely a boon to the world and the development and betterment it has done for countries and people throughout the world. The progress that the world has made is beyond imagination, thanks to the Internet. The Internet has its advantages and disadvantages too. Those who want the betterment of the world spread enlightment and those that are bad create trouble and Internet is just the media through which they have access to the minds of people fast and results are equally fast and damaging. Now it is the responsibility of each and every family, parents, teachers, and the well wisher of the world to educate their young impressionable children, to differentiate between the good and evil. We hope this awareness should eliminate the negative aspect of the Internet.

Supply Chain Management The Bullwhip Effect Commerce Essay

Supply Chain Management The Bullwhip Effect Commerce Essay In recent years in the supply chain management theory there has been done a lot of research over the phenomenon called the Bullwhip effect In brief, this negative effect occurs when the demand order variabilities in the supply chain are amplified as they moved up the supply chain (Lee et. al, 1997a) and can lead to such big inefficiencies as lost revenues and poor customer service. Many of the authors in their scientific papers contributed a lot to the development of the topic by describing the Bullwhip effect, explaining and evaluating its reasons, its implications and possible ways of its reduction, using higher mathematics (Chen et. al, 1999; Dejonckheere et. al, 2001; Warburton, 2004; Croson Donohue, 2003) and specialized software (like SISCO) (Chatfield et al., 2004) to create simulation models. In our brief overview, however, we will not consider all of these particularized mathematical studies in detail, we will just try to focus on the more theoretical explanation of the neg ative implications of the Bullwhip effect, the possible reasons of its existence, and on the ways of its reduction. In this respect, we think that among all of the respected scientists that devoted their efforts to the Bullwhip effect research, the authors Hau L. Lee, V. Padmanabhan, and Seungjin Whang in their articles The Bullwhip Effect in Supply Chains (1997) and Information Distortion in a Supply Chain: The Bullwhip effect (1997) have not only most profoundly described and explained the notion of the phenomenon of the Bullwhip effect and the reasons of its existence, but also introduced the most valuable and applicable ways of how to diminish its negative consequences. The essay consists of 3 main chapters: the first chapter describes the notion and the implications of the Bullwhip effect, in the second chapter the reasons for its existence are discussed, and the third chapter refers to the ways how to reduce the Bullwhip effect. 1. Implications of the Bullwhip effect There are some different definitions and ways of understanding of so called Bullwhip effect (it can also be referred to as Whiplash effect or Whipsaw effect in some sources). This phenomenon was first established by Forrester (1961). The Bullwhip effect can appear in every industry and in every supply chain. The Bullwhip effect is a consequence of one or a combination of the following four important aspects related to supply chain management, which are, according to Lee et al., demand forecast updating by supply chain partners; order batching; price fluctuation; rationing and shortage gaming. Small order variability on a customer level amplifies the orders for upstream players, such as wholesales and manufacturers, as the orders move up along a supply chain (Paik et al., 2007). As shown in the Figure 1, when consumer sales have really small fluctuations, the retailers demand fluctuates more, the wholesalers demand fluctuates more than the retailers demand and manufacturers demand fluctuates even more than wholesalers demand. (Lee et al., 1997a). According to Forrester, variability of customer orders is usually less than variability of manufacturing orders. To his opinion the main reason for this situation is the irrational behavior of participants involved in a supply chain (Paik et al., 2007). The Bullwhip effect can be observed on different levels: on macro level it shows up in inefficiency in production, scheduling, sourcing, distribution, revenue generalization and its realization (Ravichandran, 2008). on operation level, it reflects in generation of more inventory and keeping it in inappropriate place, to meet a specified service level (Ravichandran, 2008). on performance level, it can reduce the velocity of cash, destroy potential revenue and erode revenue realization (Ravichandran, 2008). These are just some negative consequences of the Bullwhip effect (Carlsson Fuller, 2001): excessive inventory investments poor customer service lost revenues the productivity capital in operations becomes substandard as revenues are lost increasing in transportation costs and sub-optimal transportation pattern demand variability may cause missed production schedule The Bullwhip Effect is a result of behavior of supply chain members and is created by themselves as a result of their rational decision making in situation of short or not full information about real end-customer demand. The Bullwhip Effect is an internal effect. Companies can ignore the Bullwhip effect and suffer from it extra losses or can try to reduce it. 2. The reasons for existence of the Bullwhip effect The good illustration of the Bullwhip effect is the beer game. In this experiment (it first took place in 1980s) participants play four different roles: customers, managers, wholesales and supplies of one of the popular beer brand. It is not allowed to communicate with each other, so participants make decisions about ordering only based on orders from the next downstream player. The results of this experiment are variability and volatility of upstream levels that always exceed variability and volatility of downstream levels. The interpretation of this result can be different. On one hand it can be effect of irrational decision making on each level (Lee et al., 1997a). But on the other hand, if the Bullwhip effect is a summary of rational decision making, we can indentify different main causes, and then the Bullwhip effect appears because of problems in the supply chain structure. These are the main causes of the Bullwhip Effect: 1. Demand forecasting updating (Lee et al., 1997a). Every company on each level of supply chain makes forecasting for production, capacity, inventory, material requirements and demand levels. Demand forecasting is usually based on the order history from the companys immediate customers, i.e. on what the company actually observes (Lee et al., 1997a). By using simply forecasting methods, for example exponential smoothing (forecasting of future demand based on new daily demand and it updating when new data is received) the order that is sent to the suppliers is a reflection of safety stock plus amount that is needed to satisfy future demand. The result is that the variability of amount of orders will increase during going on supply chain from the end-customer to the end supplier. 2. Order batching (in two forms periodic ordering and push ordering) (Lee et al., 1997a). There often appears a situation when companies order once a week, once in two weeks, once a month, instead of ordering every day or every few days. This situation appear because sometimes suppliers cannot satisfy frequent ordering or transportation costs are too high (there is a big difference between full load and less than truckload rate, suppliers may even provide customers with discounts for full-truck loads) or time for processing orders is too long. Companies want to make advantages on economies of scale but amount of ordering varies during the time (people order more on the end of the week, end of the months, holidays etc.) The Bullwhip effect decreases when order cycles decrease. 3. Price fluctuations (Lee et al., 1997a). The bullwhip effect also appears when quantity of goods that customers buy doesnt reflect their current needs. This is a result of customers buying in advance more than they need and stock some quantity because of attractive prices (it can be periodic discounts or promotions events when product prices are low). When level of prices becomes normal, customers stop buying products until they have it in stock. In this case buying structure doesnt reflect the consuming structure, as a result the fluctuation of buying amount is more tremendous than the variation of consuming amount (Lee et al., 1997a). Such discounts and promotions influence negatively the supply chain. It seems like manufactures and distributors create these price fluctuations themselves, and it means that they set up a bullwhip effect themselves. 4. Rationing and shortage gaming (Lee et al., 1997a). There are situations when demand is bigger than supply. In this case customer needs can be satisfied only partly. So customers order bigger amounts than they actually need, and when the situation becomes stable (demand is equal to supply) orders suddenly get cancelled. This means that customers give wrong information about their real demands to the suppliers, and this effect is referred to as gaming (Lee et al., 1997a). This is a common situation for a market. 5. Material and information delays (Paik et al., 2007). According to Towill and his co-authors, material and information delays might be a major contributing factor to the Bullwhip effect (Paik et al., 2007). 6. Supply variability (Paik et al., 2007). According to Taylor, supply variability (machine reliability problems and quality problems) is one of the possible causes of the Bullwhip effect. Output of the unreliable machines fluctuates and it pushes the variability of demands of the upstream members. Variability in production level is thus the initial trigger of demand variability, which in turn triggers the Bullwhip effect (Paik et al., 2007). 7. Number of echelons (Paik et al., 2007). According to Towill and his co-authors and to Ackere, reducing number of one or more intermediates lead to significant reducing of the Bullwhip effect (Paik et al., 2007). 3. The ways to reduce the Bullwhip effect In the previous chapter we described the reasons for existence of the Bullwhip effect. Understanding of these reasons gives a very good base to understanding of how to counteract the negative consequences of the Bullwhip effect. Many companies developed their own successful mechanisms of fighting the outcomes of this effect, and Hau L. Lee, V. Padmanabhan, and Seungjin Whang suggest to divide these various initiatives into three categories: Information sharing, Channel alignment, and Operational efficiency (see Table 1). Table 1 (Lee et al., 1997a) Causes of Bullwhip effect Information sharing Channel alignment Operational efficiency Demand forecast update understanding system dynamics use POS data electronic data interchange Internet computer-assisted ordering (CAO) vendor-managed inventory discount for information sharing consumer direct lead-time reduction echelon-based inventory control Order batching EDI Internet-ordering discount for truck-load assortment delivery appointments consolidation logistics outsourcing reduction in fixed cost of ordering by EDI or electronic commerce CAO Price fluctuations Continuous replenishment program (CRP) Everyday low cost (EDLC) Everyday low price (EDLP) Activity-based costing (ABC) The above mentioned categories imply the following: Information sharing: the information about actual customers demand is transmitted from the downstream site to the upstream; Channel alignment is about coordination of different business activities (as pricing, transportation, planning etc.) between the upstream and the downstream sites in the supply chain, and Operational efficiency implies the set of activities that help to improve performance, such as to reduce the lead-time. Lee et al. introduced a set of efficient countermeasures that were designed to minimize the negative effects of the Bullwhip effect (Lee et al., 1997a, b): Avoid multiple demand forecast updates Since the main reason of existence of the Bullwhip effect is the fact, that every member of the supply chain makes its own demand forecasting based on the data provided to it by its immediate downstream member, the one evident way to avoid this repetitive processing of demand data in a supply chain is to make the real consumption data (that is known at a downstream site) available at all of the upstream sites. This would allow all of the enterprises in a supply chain (from downstream to upstream) to make and update their forecasts based on the same raw data. Data sharing can be implemented, for instance, by the use of the electronic data interchange (EDI) systems. But the practice shows that in some cases even though all of the organizations in a supply chain use the same demand data to make their forecasts, the differences in forecasting methods and/or buying practices may still lead to fluctuations in the orders placed with the upstream sites. Break order batches The main idea here is to avoid another reason of appearance of the Bullwhip effect order batching by developing the strategies that lead to smaller batches and thus more frequent supply. One of the reasons of large order batches and low order frequencies is the high cost of processing the orders, which can be avoided, for example, by the use of electronic document circulation instead of paper-based. The other reason of large order batches is the transportation costs: the differences in the costs of full truckloads and less-than-truckloads are very high, and this makes companies to wait for the full truckloads and thus stretch the replenishment times, which also creates order batching. This problem can also be avoided by inducing by the manufacturers their distributors to order assortments of different products at a time (a truckload from the same producer may contain different products instead of full load of the same product) and thus significantly increase the order frequency. This can be stimulated by offering discounts by manufacturers to their distributors if they order mixed loads. The other effective way to solve the problem of order batching is the use of third-party logistics companies: these companies allow economies of scale by combining loads from different suppliers situated near each other and delivering these loads to different companies, what is especially very u seful for small companies, for which full truckload replenishment times are very long. Stabilize prices A very straightforward way of eliminating the Bullwhip effect caused by forward buying is for the manufacturers to reduce the levels and frequencies of wholesale discounts. One of the most effective ways of doing it is implementing the everyday low price (EDLP) pricing strategy. The practice shows that this strategy is effective both for the suppliers and for the customers since it helps to decrease costs of inventory, storage, transportation etc. for every participant. Though with use of the conventional accounting systems the benefits of the EDLP strategy compared to wholesale price discounting strategy are not evident for the buyer, ABC systems in most cases explicitly show the advantages of EDLP strategy. Eliminate gaming in shortage The aim of this measure is to deprive buyers of the incentives to exaggerate their orders in hope of the partial satisfaction of these orders by the suppliers. One of the simple ways to get rid of this reason of Bullwhip effect appearance is as following: in case of shortage the supplier can allocate products to the customers not based on their orders, but in proportion to past sales records. Also the buyers desire for gaming may be lessened if the supplier shares its capacity and inventory information with them. The other way of fighting with buyers gaming desire is to use strict supply contracts that restrict buyers flexibility in ordering unlimited quantities of goods and free cancelling of orders. However, we have to admit that the above mentioned measures of reduction of the Bullwhip effect are not exhaustive and cannot fully eliminate the existence of this effect. A number of scientific papers mathematically prove that the Bullwhip effect still exists even when demand information is shared by all stages of the supply chain and all stages use the same forecasting technique and inventory policy (Chen et al., 2000), and even if almost all of the above described causes (like batching, price fluctuations etc.) are removed (Croson Donohue, 2003). This gives us the understanding that the Bullwhip effect problem still needs to be closely scrutinized and other ways of reducing this effect are still need to be developed. Conclusion In our concise but, we hope, substantial overview we tried to reflect different approaches to the understanding of the phenomenon called The Bullwhip effect and the negative effects that it brings to the members of a supply chain, and to describe the most sound, to our opinion, ways of reducing this effect, that were introduced by the researchers during the past two decades. We also found that though during the last years to the investigation of this matter a lot of scientists devoted a lot of their efforts, the problem of getting rid of the Bullwhip effect in a supply chain has not yet been solved completely: a number of scientific papers mathematically prove that the Bullwhip effect still exists even when almost all of the discovered (so far) causes of its appearance (like batching, price fluctuations etc.) are removed. This means that the Bullwhip effect problem still needs to be closely scrutinized and other ways of reducing this effect are still need to be developed.