Saturday, November 30, 2019

Red Cross Involvement In Wwii Essays - Military History By Country

Red Cross Involvement In Wwii Red Cross Involvement In WWII The Red Cross is a group organization, which consists mostly of volunteers that help the needy and the hurt. In the beginning of World War II, when it was just announced that we were at war with the Japanese the doors of the Red Cross opened to thousands of new volunteers that wanted to help the American soldiers. To ease the discomfort of civilians being drafted, the Red Cr0oss decide to turn towards social workers and recreational specialists. (Compton's Interactive Encyl.) The Red Cross helped keep Americans calm during this war but soon, the Cold War Era began and made it difficult to work with. The American Red Cross successfully met the challenges of war and peace as it established a blood program. (Compton's Interactive Encyl.) This blood program was requested by the U.S. Army and Navy. During the four-year period, starting at 1941 in New York City, 6.6 million donors gave blood to help their soldiers. As the blood donors increased during the war, new centers opened and Army and Navy asked the Red Cross for greater amounts of blood. (Compton's Interactive Encyl.) The Red Cross also helped refugees reunite with their family's already living in the U.S. by setting up posts where you could look for names of the loved ones you are missing and see if they have made it back to the U.S. Many youths were in need of clothes and food so the Red Cross supplied what they could from the donations they received to the young people in need. The Nurses Aide Corps was an only volunteer organization to help meet the ?emergency needs of the civilian population.? It played a significant role in building up community health defense during a time when there was a shortage of nurses and medical personnel. (Compton's Interactive Encyl.) Before the attack on Pearl Harbor the Red Cross practiced emergency calls so the nurses and first aid teams can set up station soon after the calls for help are made. Within minute of the first attack Red Cross members were on the scene using techniques they had learned during war drills. (redcross.org) That helped them save many lives and start on the right foot. The Red Cross made an Americans Junior Red Cross that helped many kids stay healthy and active during the war. By doing this they set up centers under the supervision of teachers, produce articles for men in the war. Boys in carpentry classes made games for the sick soldiers or clothes hooks and magazine stands for naval hospitals. Girls in sewing class knitted and sewed items for soldiers. (redcross.org) The children of America made boxes of gifts for the children in Europe helping to promote international friendliness. The Red Cross was obviously the organization that helped us keep healthy and win the war. Although many people died, the Red Cross helped save more than anyone could think. Without the Red Cross and the Millions of donors and volunteers I don't think we would have won that war. Bibliography Compton's Interactive Encyclopedia www.redcross.org History Reports

Tuesday, November 26, 2019

ESL Conversation Lesson Points of View

ESL Conversation Lesson Points of View Points of view is an intermediate to advanced level discussion lesson that asks students to rate their opinions from one to ten (1 - strongly agree/10 - strongly disagree) on a number of controversial issues. The worksheet can be used in a number of ways, and for a number of purposes during any course. Below is a suggestion for integrating this discussion plan into your lesson. Aim: Helping students express their opinions and explain their reasoningActivity: A classroom survey on a number of controversial subjects.Level: Intermediate to advanced Outline Points of View Discussion Distribute Points of View sheet. Ask students to rate their opinions from one to ten: 1 - strongly agree/10 - strongly disagree.Divide students into small groups and ask them to discuss their responses to the statements.Listen in on the various groups and take notes on common language mistakes while students are presenting their various points of view.At the end of the group discussions, write a number of the most common mistakes on the board and ask other students to correct the mistakes.Make sure to suggest standard formulas for stating ones opinion if these formulas do not come up during the correction process (i.e. in my opinion, Do you really think that, As far as Im concerned, etc.)As a class, go through each point asking for someone who (relatively) strongly agrees to explain his or her point of view. Do the same for someone who (relatively) strongly disagrees with the statement.As a follow-up activity, ask students to write a short composition on one of the statements. Points of View Worksheet Rate your opinion from one to ten on the following statements. 1 strongly agree/10 strongly disagree Making mistakes in English is OK as long as people understand you.My friends should come from the same social background as I do.It is impossible to have a happy family life and a successful career.War is not an option for solving international disputes.Multinational global corporations are to blame for most problems in the world today.Women will never be equal to men in the workplace.Marriage is outdated. There is no need for state or church approval or recognition of a partnership.Gay marriage is wrong.The death penalty is acceptable in some cases.Celebrities earn too much money.Foreigners should not be allowed to vote.The government is responsible for making sure that all citizens of a country have at least a minimum living wage job.Quality of life will greatly improve in the future.Teachers give too much homework.Military service should be obligatory.

Friday, November 22, 2019

Verificar estatus de caso migratorio con el USCIS

Verificar estatus de caso migratorio con el USCIS Verificar el estatus del caso de inmigracià ³n en Estados Unidos es un derecho de todas las personas con un caso ante el Servicio de Inmigracià ³n y Ciudadanà ­a (USCIS, por sus siglas en inglà ©s). En ocasiones la demora puede ser tan grande que uno acaba preguntndose si es que algo va mal o comienza a tener nervios imaginando lo peor y que su caso no va a ser aprobado. Lo cierto es que casi siempre lo que sucede es que las demoras son muy grandes, particularmente para cierto tipo de trmites. Por ello, en este artà ­culo se explica cà ³mo se puede conocer quà © est pasando con la solicitud migratoria por medio de Internet, por telà ©fono o en persona. Adems, hacia el final del artà ­culo hay un enlace para averiguar los tiempos promedio que se estn tardando para tramitar peticiones de familia, naturalizaciones, casos en corte e incluso peticiones de visas no inmigrantes.   Opciones para verificar estatus migratorio con USCIS Internet: Por medio de la pgina oficial USICS https:egov.uscis.gov/casestatus. Se necesita el nà ºmero de identificacià ³n del caso, el cual consta de 13 caracteres (3 letras seguidas por 10 nà ºmeros).Por telà ©fono: 1-800-375-5283. Las personas con problemas de audicià ³n pueden marcar al 1-800-767-1833.En persona: Puede presentarse en cualquier oficina migratoria (solo migrantes con estatus legal). Utilice el sistema InfoPass para concertar una cita previamente.  ¿Cà ³mo verificar el estatus del caso con el USCIS? La pgina de Internet del Servicio de Inmigracià ³n y Ciudadanà ­a (USCIS, por sus siglas en inglà ©s) ofrece un servicio en inglà ©s y en espaà ±ol para revisar cà ³mo se va procesando el caso migratorio de cada inmigrante. Debe introducirse en la casilla apropiada el nà ºmero de recibo del caso que se quiere verificar y est compuesto por 13 caracteres. Esto es, tres letras seguido por diez nà ºmeros. Las letras pueden ser cualquiera de las siguientes: EAC, WAC, LIN, SRC. Es muy importante que al introducir no se escriba ningà ºn sà ­mbolo de guion (-). Sin embargo, si el nà ºmero incluye otros sà ­mbolos, como por ejemplo asteriscos (*), sà ­ deben incluirse. El nà ºmero que pide la pgina del USCIS es el que corresponde a un determinado caso migratorio. Se encuentra en el recibo de confirmacià ³n que envà ­a a cada inmigrante que realiza una peticià ³n o solicitud antes las autoridades migratorias. En el caso de peticiones de tarjeta de residencia para un familiar o de visa de prometido (novio o fiancà ©), ese nà ºmero est en el documento conocido como NOA1. Despuà ©s de introducir el nà ºmero de recibo, presionar la tecla de verifique estatus. Se abrir una pantalla en la que se pueden comprobar los pasos por los que ya ha pasado la solicitud del inmigrante y cules estn todavà ­a pendientes.  ¿Cà ³mo recibir actualizaciones de estatus de caso electrà ³nico? Cada inmigrante que tiene un caso pendiente con el USCIS puede solicitar que se le mantenga al dà ­a sobre cà ³mo se va procesando su solicitud mediante correo electrà ³nico. Para este caso es preciso crear previamente una cuenta en la pgina del Servicio de Inmigracià ³n presionando en inscribirse como cliente solicitante. A continuacià ³n, debe aceptar los tà ©rminos y condiciones de uso de este servicio y ya se puede darse de alta en este servicio. Informacià ³n electrà ³nica para planillas N-400 e I-90 Solo para los casos de los formularios N-400, para solicitar la ciudadanà ­a estadounidense por naturalizacià ³n, o I-90, la solicitud para reemplazar la tarjeta de residente permanente o green card, es posible verificar el estatus del caso mediante el denominado e-request. Para poder utilizar este servicio es necesario que ya haya transcurrido el tiempo normal de procesamiento de estos documentos y no se tenga respuesta. Por ejemplo, en la actualidad para el N-400 est entre 12 y 20 meses, variando enormemente segà ºn la oficina encargada para su procesamiento. Por otro lado, para el I-90, de 4 meses a 10 meses y medio. Si pasado este tiempo no tiene noticias, puede plantear su pregunta. Si sigue sin obtener respuesta, debe dejar pasar 30 dà ­as antes de volver a pedir una explicacià ³n. Solicitud de informacià ³n sobre el estatus del caso en persona Los inmigrantes con estatus migratorio legal pueden verificar el estatus del caso presentndose en las oficinas del USCIS y, tras esperar en fila a que llegue su turno, preguntar por su caso. O tambià ©n es posible concertar una cita para un dà ­a y una hora en concreto mediante el servicio InfoPass. Es muy importante que los migrantes indocumentados no se presenten voluntariamente en persona en las oficinas del USCIS ya que pueden ser detenidos. Sin embargo, en los casos en los que han sido previamente citados sà ­ deben presentarse, pero es altamente recomendable que vayan acompaà ±ados de abogados migratorios. Solicitud por telà ©fono de informacià ³n sobre estatus de caso Los migrantes tambià ©n pueden comunicarse con el Servicio de Inmigracià ³n por telà ©fono, marcando al 1-800-375-5283 o al 1-800-767-1833, si se sufre de algà ºn problema de audicià ³n. Se brinda servicio en inglà ©s y en espaà ±ol. Se puede llamar a cualquier otra para recibir informacià ³n automatizada, es decir, ofrecida por una computadora. Para hablar con una persona es preciso realizar la llamada en horas de oficina (8am a 6 pm) de lunes a viernes, si el inmigrante se encuentra en cualquiera de los estados de EUA excepto Hawaii (8am-4pm) o Alaska (8am-5pm). Recuerde tener a mano toda la informacià ³n necesaria, como el nà ºmero de caso, el Alien Registration Number, si se tiene, el pasaporte o cualquier otro documento que contenga informacià ³n importante sobre su situacià ³n de inmigracià ³n en USA. Verificar estatus de caso con el CENTRO NACIONAL DE VISAS Despuà ©s de que el USCIS apruebe una peticià ³n de visa no inmigrante, si la tramitacià ³n debe seguir un procesamiento consular (cuando la persona pedida est fuera de EEUU o, si est aquà ­, no puede ajustar su estatus) la solicitud pasa al Centro Nacional de Visas (NVC, por sus siglas en inglà ©s). Y aquà ­ se va a recibir un nuevo nà ºmero de caso, que es el que se debe utilizar para comunicarse con el NVC. Es muy importante entender, adems, que en los siguientes casos la tramitacià ³n va a quedar dormida por un tiempo: peticià ³n de ciudadano de green card para hijos casados, hijos solteros mayores de 21 aà ±os y hermanospeticià ³n de residentes para cà ³nyuges e hijos solteros (menores y mayores de 21 aà ±os)peticiones de green card patrocinadas por empleador Esto se debe a que es necesario que haya tarjetas de residencia disponibles para la categorà ­a por la que se aplica. Asà ­, es posible obtener la aprobacià ³n en unos meses pero tener que esperar incluso aà ±os por la green card. Una vez que hay nà ºmero de visa disponible, comienza la fase final de la tramitacià ³n. La disponibilidad de tarjetas de residencia o determinadas categorà ­as de visas se puede verificar en el à ºltimo boletà ­n de visas  del Departamento de Estado, para ello hay que tener a mano la fecha de prioridad que aparece en la carta que se conoce como NOA2, y que envià ³ el USCIS. Por el contrario, las peticiones de ciudadano para cà ³nyuge, hijos solteros menores de 21 aà ±os y padres no tienen que esperar, por lo que una vez que lleguen al NVC se proceder a su tramitacià ³n sin demora. Tiempos de demora en tramitacià ³n y quà © hacer con retrasos. Es posible informarse de cunto aproximadamente se estn demorando los casos similares ante el USCIS dependiendo de la oficina de tramitacià ³n, visas no inmigrantes, migrantes, NVC e incluso en  Corte etc. Adems, en casos de demoras ms all de lo habitual para el mismo tipo de casos, se puede demandar mediante lo que se conoce como un writ of mandamus. Para ellos, consultar antes con un abogado. De interà ©s para obtener confiable informacià ³n para resolver inquietudes Para obtener ms informacià ³n sobre telà ©fonos o pginas webs en los que acudir para encontrar informacià ³n oficial, denunciar fraudes migratorios o encontrar asesorà ­a legal a buen precio y reputada se puede consultar esta lista importante de recursos para migrantes. Este es un artà ­culo meramente informativo. No es asesorà ­a legal.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

School Exclusion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

School Exclusion - Essay Example The topic under consideration is school exclusion. In many years the choice of this topic is motivated by a number of good reasons which includes among other things: My experience working directly with young people excluded by schools, on alternative education provision programs puts me in a good position to bring in first hand account into the research work being carried out. In addition, I have worked on projects that are related to social problems such as joblessness, alcohol and substance abuse and its attendant increased crime proliferation. A common trend that was observed among the majority of people that I came into contact with during this period exhibited interesting features that boarded on the subject matter of this research. Almost all the people had a visible form of low level of formal education; they also had a history of unpleasant experiences in the school setting. Finally, it is important to state that current social and political policy places education at the centre for personal and social development, thus making the topic increasingly relevant to our day and age. It is against this background that Mr. Tony Blair former British Prime Minister was quoted as saying "The best defence against social exclusion is having a job, and the best way to get a job is to have a good education' (SEU 1999, Pp6). The Labour Government therefore committed itself to addressing the challenges posed by social inequalities. Consequently, in carrying out research on a topic which is of personal interest to me it is my desire to contribute to the body of existing knowledge in my research sphere and also as a reference point for future research work (Bell 1999 Pg2). Indeed, the question of social exclusion and its attendant ills on the wellbeing of society is of paramount importance to stakeholders and interest groups. Many have therefore called for a well conserted approach to studying and addressing it. Suffice to cite a few statistical data from the 1999 report of the Social Exclusion Unit (SEU) on Truancy and School Exclusion: In the 1995/96 academic year there were 12,500 permanent exclusions; Schools have to report to LEAs fixed-term exclusions (defined as exclusions of between five and a maximum 15 days per term) but the information is not collated. OFSTED estimates there are around 100,000 a year. Some of these may be repeat exclusions of the same child; Most excluded pupils are white, male young teenagers. But a number of groups are disproportionately likely to be excluded; children with special needs are six times more likely than others to be excluded; African-Caribbean children are more than six times more likely to be excluded from the school system; Children in care are ten times more likely; 83 per cent of excluded pupils are boys. 80 per cent are between 12 and 15 and half are 14 or 15; Recent evidence however proves that exclusions at primary ages are rising fast - by 18 per cent as captured in the report; Exclusion rates vary greatly from school to school, but tend to be higher in areas of deprivation; Statistics from the SEU's report Preventing Social Exclusion (2001) sights: Of all rough sleepers only 38% have any educational qualifications; Young runaways are twice as likely to have been excluded from school compared to those who do not

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

Benefits of Online Library Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Benefits of Online Library - Essay Example Statistics are often manipulated to convince people of a certain point of view, or to falsely frighten the public. Statistics might be hardly manipulated by presenting misleading representations, exploiting the tendency to assume that a correlation demonstrates causation, representing irrelevant facts based on what people belief not on what is true, providing anecdotes often emotional in nature and appealing emotion rather than logic. Statistics can mislead if it is not peer-reviewed. It is like a quality control. Without peer review, a report full of erroneous and misleading statistics can be passed off to the public as a scientific report. An example can be the anti-smoking movement these days that try to convince people through the statistics. Although smoking is hazardous to health but proving it by the means of statistics is not always correct. For instance, Japan has the world's highest smoking population having 67% or so of the population being smokers. It is also the world's healthiest nation. China has the second highest smoking rate and it is the second highest healthiest too. Some countries still consider statistics as confidential information that should not be disclosed because their enemies could use it to undermine the security and order in the country. We think that this is legitimate but this should not be used as an excuse to hide the statistics that have nothing to do with national security and we think that this matter should be discussed more thoroughly.

Saturday, November 16, 2019

Difference between functional and dysfunctional conflict Essay Example for Free

Difference between functional and dysfunctional conflict Essay Functional Conflict Susie Steel is a vice president in a real estate development firm called Hearts Development. She has spent enormous amounts of energy cultivating a relationship with a local town regarding an available plot of land. Susie would like to purchase the land to build townhomes for sale. She has developed an excellent relationship with the town politicians and community members. An issue has developed over the planned usage of the land, though. The town will sell the land to Susies company but feels that townhomes would be bad for the overall community. Theyre concerned with the additional cost and burden of kids that the townhomes would bring into the community. Susie understands the communitys concern and wants a win-win situation to occur. She feels that this issue will be a functional conflict due to the fact that the disagreement will bring a positive end result to both parties. Positive results of functional conflict include: Awareness of both sides of issues Improvement of working conditions due to accomplishing solutions together Solving issues together to improve overall morale Making innovations and improvements within an organization In Susies case, constructive criticism and discussion resulted in a compromise and a solution between the parties. Susie understood the towns concern but needed to find something to build that would bring revenue for the company. Through their joint meetings, the end solution was for Hearts Development to build a retirement community, which would only have citizens 55 and over living in the town. This would eliminate the issue of having more young people come into town and burden the school system.

Thursday, November 14, 2019

Existing Global Institutions and their problems :: Essays Papers

Existing Global Institutions and their problems In an increasingly connected and interdependent world, global institutions play an important role in promoting stability and guiding developing countries towards becoming market economies. This process and the importance of this role was never more clear than during the 1990s. In Eastern Europe, a host of new countries appeared on the world map franticly began running towards capitalism and prosperity. The premier international institution, the International Monetary Fund, was given the difficult task of crediting emerging economies and providing the western know-how to build strong market economies. Alas, in many cases, it failed. Possibly, the most tragic example was that of Russia. Some argue that the fund had modest desings and was fundamentally uncapable of this great project. This essay will explore why the fund failed, how its decisions were made, and what must be done in an ideal institution that would be able to accomplish the task. Currently, or over the last decade, the fund was in a peculiar situation. It essentially gave loans to countries that were politically important to the west, such as Russia and Brazil, repeatedly bailing them out of crises which their poor policies led it to. The fund also prescribed certain reforms and policies that should improve the economy over the long tuerm. Unfortunately, these recommendations were all too often either incorrect, as in Asia, or were ignored altogether, as in Russia. The reason is the simple moral hazard. There was no real reason to comply and change inside, when a state knew that they will be given the loan anyway, for the west had political reasons such as the fear that the country will renounce democracy and the like. It is important to refute the illusion early on that the IMF was truly international or independent body. It was, and is massively underfunded ant the result is that its directors have to ask the US treasury department for funds, giving the bosses of the treasury such as Robert Rubin and Larry Summers immense influence over the fund's policies. Therefore, while the fund essentially promoted policies of the American government, or the "Washington concensus", it was often used as a scapegoat. Whenever something was wrong, such as a crisis precipitating due to poor and not peer-accepted recommendations, as was the case in Asia in 1998, few blamed the department of the Treasury of the Clinton administration. Problems were attributed to the fund, which is labeled as international, and to such mysterious and ill-understood phenomena such as globalization.

Monday, November 11, 2019

Bandwagon and Snob Effect

Write an essay on topic â€Å"Bandwagon and Snob Effect†. Find an example for both effects, describe situation and explain reasons for such effects. In The Theory of Consumers’ Demand, there are three importants and different items: the Bandwagon , Snob and Veblen Effects. Today we will discuss just about the Bandwagon and Snob Effect. Faced with a new need, the consumer is confronted with a choice: to purchase or not this good or service, depending on its value, its usefulness, its attributes and operation consequences.But consumer choice will also be affected by his social environment. Specifically, scarce products are generally deemed valuable, independent of the utility that their attributes deliver. This effect has been found in several studies, and we can identify two distinct routes through which scarcity can increase product choice. A person’s demand may be affected by the number of other people who have purchased the good. If this is the case, a network externality exists and can be positive or negatives.A positive network externality exists if the quantity of a good demanded by a consumer increases in response to an increase in purchases by other consumers. And negative network are just the opposite. * The first way examines scarcity due to high demand. Consumers see that others have bought the product, and this may induce them to follow that behavior. Consumers may also extract information about the value of a product from the buying behavior of others. When consumers are unsure about the value of products, information on the valuation of others can help refine their own valuations.Therefore, scarcity due to excess demand increases inferences of product popularity and quality. This is the bandwagon effect, the desire to be in style, to have a good because almost everyone else has it, or to indulge in a fad. This is the major objective of marketing and advertising campaigns ( cf toys, clothes .. ) For example, the influence of foo tball players on the young men ( shoes, haircut, attitude ). * If the network externality is negative, a snob effects exists. The econd route concerns scarcity due to insufficient supply, where product exclusiveness leads to generalization of product quality. Consumers value the exclusivity of possessing rare products, and may see these products as a means to emphasize their uniqueness. Being one of the few who own a particular product may increase the product utility. It refers to the desire to own exclusive or unique goods. The quantity demanded of a â€Å"snob† good is higher the fewer the people who own it. For instance, the luxury goods as Rolex watches and long lines at the ski lift.To finish, we can say that the bandwagon and snob effects are two opposites cases , the first refer to the extent to which the demand for a commodity is increased due to the fact that others are also consuming the same commodity. In this case, we appear to be â€Å"one of the boys. † This is some form of integration and sociability And the second effect refer to the extent to which the demand for a consumers' good is decreased owing to the fact that others are also consuming the same commodity, so this represents the desire of people to be exclusive, but it can be dangerous to the person, since it is a kind of isolation.

Saturday, November 9, 2019

Competency, Alliance Building, and Character

â€Å"Competency† is technically defined as â€Å"the behaviors that employees must possess or must obtain to input into a situation to be able to complete high levels of performance† (Le Deist et. al., 2005). â€Å"Alliance Building†, on the other hand, is technically defined as â€Å"the ability to work with other members of the workforce† (Competency.., n.d.). Explaining further, an employee should be able to: 1) exhibit capabilities within the group; 2) respect or value other co-employees or co-workers in spite of cultural and individual differences; 3) assume multiplicity of tasks and functions while working with other people; 4) listen, contribute ideas, show inventiveness, acknowledge other peoples’ inputs/involvement/contribution; 5) identify and describe group responsibilities; 6) accept constructive criticisms; 7) distinguish conflict;8) utilize â€Å"conflict management skills† including: identification of conflict, knowing the iss ues, taking into consideration other employees’ points of view, thinking of solutions, brainstorming the results, explaining the resolution process appropriate to the job, justification of the option selected, application of the choice picked, as well as, reflecting on the result/effect; 9) etc (Competency.., n.d.). â€Å"Character†, however, technically refers to â€Å"the positive characteristics that an employee should possess to be able to carry out his or her task and functions excellently† (Competency.., n.d.). These positive characteristics include the following: 1) confidence; 2) willingness to accept responsibilities; 3) capability of working realistically; 4) ability to develop great beliefs consequently reflecting an excellent character; 5) capacity to relate with other employees who â€Å"show signs of character†; 6) honesty; 7) tolerance; 8) wisdom; 9) â€Å"selfless service†; 10) hardworking; 11) concerned with others and not just him self or herself (Tartaglia, 1999).â€Å"Competency†, â€Å"alliance building†, as well as, â€Å"character† contribute largely to success (Tartaglia, 1999). All the aforementioned are needed in order for a person to succeed in any given endeavor (Tartaglia, 1999). Let us take for instance, in the workplace, specifically in a restaurant, an employee should possess competency so that he or she will be able to perform at his or her best (Tartaglia, 1999). He or she should always strive to cook and serve the best dishes (Tartaglia, 1999). Furthermore, alliance building should also be included in his vocabulary, because if for instance, he or she feels that he or she is always right or blames/resents others, he or she is impatient or intolerant, he or she is a fault-finder, then he or she does not have the capability to work with others (Tartaglia, 1999).In addition to that, if he or she has excuse for every mistake or failure he or she commits, then he or she does n ot have the â€Å"character† to make it or to succeed in his or her chosen endeavor (Tartaglia, 1999). Similarly, if he or she is dishonest, as well as, if he or she is unwilling to go the extra mile to serve others, for instance, he is only willing to work during his or her schedule and does not voluntarily help others especially if he or she feels that his or her work is already done for the day, then he or she does not have the â€Å"character† needed to succeed in his or her chosen career (Tartaglia, 1999).Another field where â€Å"competency†, â€Å"alliance building†, and â€Å"character† is necessitated is in the â€Å"Research Consultancy Firm† (Tartaglia, 1999). Here researchers should have competency to perform very well; this in not only to keep their jobs but to be promoted as well (Tartaglia, 1999). They should be able to satisfy their clients with their research works, thus competency is really required (Tartaglia, 1999). Allia nce building is also important in the Research Consultancy Firm, for instance, the researchers need statisticians to do statistical analysis for them to be able to complete their research works so they really need to be flexible enough to work with others (Tartaglia, 1999). Last but not least, doing research takes a lot of time, energy, and patience, thus â€Å"character† is needed in order to succeed in it (Tartaglia, 1999). Also, since satisfaction of clients is very important in this field, it is important that researchers learn to accept constructive criticisms, negative feedback, and great understanding to be able to improve, if not perfect, their work (Tartaglia, 1999).ReferencesCIPD. (2007). Competency and Competency Frameworks. Retrieved September 1, 2007 fromhttp://www.cipd.co.uk/subjects/perfmangmt/competnces/comptfrmwk.htmCompetency-Based Performance Standard for Ability to Work with Others. (n.d.). RetrievedSeptember 1, 2007 fromhttp://www.ed.state.nh.us/education /doe/organization/adultlearning/Guidance/rubrics/work-others.htmLE DEIST, F.D. and WINTERTON, J. (2005). What is competency? Human ResourceDevelopment International, 8(1), 27-46.Tartaglia, L.A. (1999).   The Seven Marks of Character. Retrieved September 1, 2007 fromhttp://home.earthlink.net/~denmartin/fla.html

Thursday, November 7, 2019

Aes Case Solution Essays

Aes Case Solution Essays Aes Case Solution Paper Aes Case Solution Paper 1. How would you evaluate the capital budgeting method used historically by AES? What’s good and bad about it? â€Å"When AES undertook primarily domestic contract generation projects where the risk of changes to input and output prices was minimal, a project finance framework was employed. † Usually, project finance framework is used when the project has predictable cash flows, which can easily represent operating targets through explicit contract. When cash flows are certainty, the company can have higher level of leverage and it is easier to separate project assets from the parent company. Advantages and Disadvantages: ) Advantages a. Maximize Leverage b. Off-Balance Sheet Treatment c. Agency Cost d. Multilateral Financial Institutions 2) Disadvantages a. Projects V/S Division b. Complexity c. Macroeconomic Risk d. Political Risk: 2. If Venerus implements the suggested methodology, what would be the range of discount rates that AES would use around the world? If Vene rus and AES implement the suggested methodology, the projects would change while WACC changes. To find WACC we must first calculate the leveraged bets for each the US Red Oak and Lal Plr Pakistan projects, using the equation unleveled beta/(1-D/V). It is easy to find debt to capital ratios, which are 39. 5% for U. S and 35. 1% for Pakistan, and the unleveled beta, which are both 0. 25, in Exhibit 7a and 7b. Then we can obtain a leveraged beta for the U. S. , 0. 41, and for Pakistan, 0. 3852. Second we should find the risk free and risk premium rates. Because all debts are finance in U. S. dollar, we use the risk free rate, which is equal to U. S. T-bill, and risk premium rate, which is equal to U. S. risk premium, to calculate the cost of capital for all countries. Using equation cost of capital = Risk Free Rate + levered beta * Risk Premium, we can get the cost of capital for U. S. project, 7. 27%, and for Pakistan project, 7. 2%. After that we should find the cost of debt. Using the formula risk free rate + default spread, we can get the cost of debt for both U. S. project and Pakistan project are 8. 07% (4. 5%+3. 47%), in which both U. S. project and Pakistan project have a same spread, 3. 47%. To adjust we add the sovereign risk into calculation. In Exhibit 7a, the sovereign risk for the U. S. is 0% but for Pakistan is 9. 9%. We thereby get the new evaluation of the cost of capital and cost of debt, which are constant for U. S. and rise to 17. 1% and 17. 97% for Pakistan. Finally we calculate the WACC. The formula is leveraged beta * (cost of capital) + Debt to capital * (cost of debt) * (1-tax rate). Then we get for the U. S. WACC= 6. 48% and for Pakistan WACC= 15. 93%. Finally, we should adjust the WACC with its risk score. Because everything is calculated in U. S. dollar, the U. S. risk score is 0. So the U. S. projects WACC is constant. The Pakistan risk premium is 1. 425. So the change is 1. 25 * 500= 705bp = 7. 05%. Therefore, we get the final Pakistan WACC, which is 23. 08% (15. 93%+7. 05%). In conclusion, the difference between the U. S. and Pakistan projects is 16. 60%. Obviously, the U. S. project looks much more favorable. 3. Does this make sense as a way to do capital budgeting? The financial strategy employed by AES was historically based on project finance. The model worked well in the domes tic market and in the international operations. However, when AES started its diversification of business, it had to face to increasing symmetrical risks, such as business risk. In addition, project finance did not include the risk of devaluation of currency in developing economies which resulted in significant losses due to the inability of the company to survive its international debt obligations. And AES should also pay attention to political risk. Hence we see that the geographical diversification of business made project financing less recommendable as a symmetrical risk becomes more manifest. 4. What is the value of the Pakistan project using the cost of capital derived from the new methodology? If this project was located in the U. S. what would its value be? In order to calculate the value of project for the Lal Pir project in Pakistan, we first need to calculate the Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC) using the new proposed methodology. The first step is to calculate the value of levered ?. The value of the levered ? comes out to be 38. 52%, which essentially means that our project is not very highly correlated to the market return. Using this v alue of ? we now calculate the cost of Equity. We have used the return on U. S. Treasury Bond, which is 4. 5%, as the risk free return. The cost of equity comes out to be 7. % and similarly, using the risk free return and the default spread we calculate the cost of debt which comes out to be 8. 07%. It is important to note that the cost of debt and the cost of equity also need to be adjusted for the sovereign spread. Once we have the adjusted costs of equity and capital, the WACC comes out to be 15. 93%. However, now we need to adjust this WACC for the risks associated with doing the project in Pakistan. As mentioned in part 2, we get final WACC 23. 08%, which lead us to calculate NPV from the year 2004 to 2023. And it is -$234. 34 million. For U. S. , first we see the sovereign spread is equal to zero. Secondly, in this case we would need to calculate the business risk using the information given in Exhibit 7a. This score comes out to be 0. 64 and using this score, our business risk comes out to be 3. 23% and adding it to calculated value of WACC, we get our final WACC of 9. 64%. Using this we calculate our NPV for USA which comes out to be -$35. 92 million. 5. How does the adjusted cost of capital for the Pakistan project reflect the probabilities of real events? What does the discount rate adjustment imply about expectations for the project because it is located in Pakistan and not the U. S.? To calculate the adjusted cost of capital, we should adjust six common types of risks: Operational, Counterparty, Regulatory, Construction, Commodity, Currency and Legal. In Pakistan, it is possible to meet all these risks except construction. Additionally, the highest probability is the legal risk. When we calculate the WACC for Pakistan through traditional formula it comes out to be 15. 93%, however in order to incorporate the risk factor associated with Pakistan we need to adjust it for the Total Risk Score, which in this case is 1. 425. So we need to adjust our WACC 23. 08%. As mentioned earlier the discount rate is adjusted based on the total risk score of the country. This total risk score is compiled from 6 main types of risks, the probability of which varies from country to country. While currency, regulatory and legal risks are significantly high in Pakistan, the operational, counterparty and commodity risks are higher in U. S.. Similarly when come to the adjusted WACC for Pakistan (23. 08%) and WACC for U. S. (6. 48%), we can conclude that Pakistan is much riskier to invest than the U. S..

Tuesday, November 5, 2019

Armageddon & Physics Essay Example for Free

Armageddon & Physics Essay In 2007, the September 1st issue of The New Scientist alleges that the film Armageddon is shown by the management training programs of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). A 1998 Jerry Bruckheimer-produced disaster thriller directed by Michael Bay in which deep core drillers attempt to avert an asteroid’s collision with the planet Earth, The New Scientist contends that NASA’s screening of a razzle-dazzle blockbuster claiming ground in science, is purely for entertainment purposes. â€Å"†¦the screenings are just a game for NASA’s space geeks: who can find the highest number of impossible things in the movie? † Regarding the scientific fallaciousness of Armageddon, astronomer Philip Plait has many contentions. Plait notes that the introductory premise of the film, in which an asteroid of the same size which humanity faces was a â€Å"dinosaur killer† that possesses the same destructive capacity of â€Å"10,000 nuclear weapons. † However, he asserts that this is a severe underestimation, for the fictional asteroid would actually release at the very least, eight hundred thousand nuclear weapons, based on conservative estimates. Plait implicitly infers that the writers were going for a dramatic figure, but one whose complete lack of scientific basis leads to a severe underestimate. It is also preposterous for it to be impossible to communicate the drilling experience of an oil rig crew to astronauts or engineers, former engineer turned writer Tom Rogers notes. However, this is how the movie rationalizes the oil rig crew’s participation in Earth’s salvation despite their complete lack of astronautical experience. But even excusing such a premise, Rogers notes that the film stretches credulity when the Mir space station rotates at high velocities to induce artificial gravity. Amazingly enough, it rotates so fast that it can create gravitonic conditions in under half a minute, despite the fact that the Mir station’s mass exceeds a hundred tons. Rogers’ contention in this scenario is that the planetary gravity conditions could not be possibly simulated unless the human’s height is a small percentage of the rotational radius. As such, the astronauts would only experience gravitonic force on both ends of their bodies, which would feel â€Å"disorienting and probably cause [them] to stumble and vomit. † The Jupiter Scientific Organization also asserts that NASA’s plan of inserting a hydrogen bomb eight hundred feet deep into an asteroid that is three hundred miles wide – essentially a Texas-sized asteroid, which is exactly what it is called at one point in the film – does not actually scale very well. The film’s core (all pun intended) premise is actually absurd: attempting to split an asteroid with two pieces by exploding it with a hydrogen from within would be like hypothesizing that a single hydrogen bomb could fracture the state of Texas. It’s â€Å"like a pin-sized hole no deeper than a scratch in a ten-foot rock. † Such a hydrogen bomb â€Å"would roughly be like lighting a match. Can the ignition of such a match split a ten-foot rock? † Rogers also observes that a flaming shuttle crash site contradicts what the astronauts are told earlier about the gravity being about a tenth of that on the planet Earth. Such a low gravity cannot support an atmosphere – which is why they wear space suits in the first place: the asteroid surface does not and could not hold oxygen – yet for some reason, flames burn in the absence of oxygen. Lastly, a successfully halved asteroid would still be disaster, as the gravitonic forces they exert would cause catastrophic tidal changes that would eradicate most of the Earth’s population. â€Å"Sometimes there’s just no way to have a happy ending,† Rogers notes. â€Å"Feedback. † The New Scientist, Issue 2619. 01 September 2007.Plait, Phil. â€Å"The Astronomy of Armageddon. † Phil Plait’s Bad Astronomy. 08 August 2007. Retrieved June 6, 2008 from: http://www. badastronomy. com/bad/movies/armpitageddon. html â€Å"Movie Review of Armageddon (and Deep Impact) from a Scientific Viewpoint. † Jupiter Scientific Information. July 1998. Retrieved June 6, 2008 from: http://www. jupiterscientific. org/sciinfo/armageddon. html Rogers, Tom. Insultingly Stupid Movie Physics: Hollywood’s Best Mistakes, Goofs and Flat-Out Destructions of the Basic Laws of the Universe. Connecticut: Sourcebooks Hysteria, 2007. Armageddon & Physics. (2017, Jan 08).

Saturday, November 2, 2019

Effect of Length on the Survival Rate of Woodlice Essay

Effect of Length on the Survival Rate of Woodlice - Essay Example Conspicuous variation existed in some of the traits such as weight and sprint time. The length of the woodlice was slightly similar but within the required range, the dorsal plate number was same among the woodlice. With regards to the experiment, the length was chosen as the preferred variable. The length of these woodlice was related with sprint time in the presence of spider as the predator (forceps were used as simulator). The aim was to see how the change of length can affect the survival of these woodlice and in biological perspective when related to evolution for example, the length varied or changed in order for these woodlice to be able to evade there predators. The design of this experiment was to see how the woodlice with different lengths could respond to the spider which was the predator. The experiment hypothesis was, the higher the woodlouse length the higher the possibility that it will die. Hence the null hypothesis was, woodlice are not able to respond to predators. Method In the experiment, the basis on how to control a woodlice population was fundamental. With regards to this, forty woodlice were put on a tray with soil. Then the spider as the predator was included on the tray. The forceps were used to simulate the spider. After all these were set, it was left for some time to enable the woodlice to interact with the spiders. Later after sometime, observations were made on the tray; the number of dead and survived woodlice was recorded with their corresponding length. Woodlice were first killed in order to obtain their length. 20 individuals of the woodlice population were measured without performing any replications, and were taken as an experimental control. The other 20 was measured as well. Basically, these processes... In the experiment, the basis on how to control a woodlice population was fundamental. With regards to this, forty woodlice were put on a tray with soil. Then the spider as the predator was included on the tray. The forceps were used to simulate the spider. After all these were set, it was left for some time to enable the woodlice to interact with the spiders. Later after sometime, observations were made on the tray; the number of dead and survived woodlice was recorded with their corresponding length. Woodlice were first killed in order to obtain their length. 20 individuals of the woodlice population were measured without performing any replications, and were taken as an experimental control. The other 20 was measured as well. Basically, these processes were done in order to ascertain whether the length has a significant effect to the survival. The experiment was ran alongside the control, whereby the forceps were used as a simulator to the spider. The control results indicated free ly that almost 100% of the woodlice never died. Therefore the experiment was valid at 95% confident. ResultsBasing on the 20 samples selected randomly from the population, the average values of the four traits was calculated and recorded as shown in the table 1.The standard deviation which indicated the amount of variation among the proportions was also calculated. Besides standard error was as well calculated to determine the accuracy related to average values that represent the whole population.