Monday, September 30, 2019

Fauquier Gas Company Essay

Fauquier Gas Company, is one of the nation’s 440 gas companies, served an area where land use was changing from agricultural to residential and commercial. The company is beginning a new project that consist of having 3  ½ miles of lines ready to be hooked up by September. This is another one of the demands that Fauquier have on their hands not including the additional 10 lines that they plan on starting for next project. It takes great deal of engineers and contractors and constructions workers to meet this deadline, not to include precise planning. Mr. Clive Byers is the construction project manager, Mr. Charlie Buck is the design superintendent, Pat Wilson is design engineer, Sam Law is project engineer, and Mr. Bill Murphy is the manager of supply management. All of these individuals are under management of the vice president of operations for the company. These individuals play a huge role in meeting all requirements and specifications for this project. In order to meet all the deadlines into building this project all parties involved have to communicate effectively. Mr. Murphy is responsible for ensuring all the supplies that goes into ordering is placed and delivered in a timely manner. Mr. Murphy has ran into a road block, he is unable to retrieve the purchase request for the pipeline. Pat Wilson, the design engineer who is in charge of going through all the specifications has change the diameter of the pipe to 24 inches. Mr. Murphy asked why they change in the wall thickness and length. Wilson informed him that the operation of the line would be governed by less stringent specifications, making the wall thickness  ¾ inches and the length would be 57 feet. Pat was considering cost as a role in the project based on her design and that lead to the change in the specifications. As the specifications is getting sorted out by Pat Wilson, Mr. Murphy was getting concerned about the economic consequences and the schedule impact of the proposed changes in wall thickness and length of the pipe. Mr. Murphy is being faced with many logistical and supply problems due to not having the purchase request. Mr. Murphy has done projects before and understands the lead time that he needs to place orders in order to get supplies delivered. There is already a time line to break ground and start construction in June. Mr. Murphy last communication with Pat Wilson was on April 14 and without the specifications being worked out accordingly Mr. Murphy is unsuccessful with meeting his deadline with the companies who supply the pipeline and  wrappers. Mr. Murphy should just contact Mr. Buck the superintendent for the design department and try to figure out how the process can be expedited. If customers are expecting their gas pipelines to be hookup by a certain deadline then I feel that since Fauquier is trying to branch off and do commercial property then they need to meet all deadlines in order to have a good review. It seems although the team of people are not communicating and instead of keeping each other informed of the process that leaves Mr. Murphy reaching out to figure out what is the hold up with the design specifications. To fix this issue I feel like the superintendent should have put deadlines on all the departments so that everyone would have adequate enough time to prepare and plan. Mr. Murphy has been asking for purchase request since over hearing a conversation at lunch that took place in January. There is no reason why he should still not have what he needs after speaking with Pat Wilson in April about the specifications. If deadlines are in place and meetings are being made every two weeks with updates then I feel like they would be able to break ground in June and the supplies would have already been on order and delivered in a timely manner. 1.What are the key facts? Mr. Murphy is responsible for the purchase of materials used in the gas distribution process such as fittings, pipes and meters. Mr. Murphy is also responsible for the procurement of furniture, stores management, materials forecasting and control, systems and forms. Fauquier Gas company has a deadline to have 3  ½ miles of lines ready for hookup by September. Mr. Murphy is concerned about being able to find a supplier who could deliver 3  ½ miles of large diameter pipe. 2.What is the problem? Mr. Murphy is unable to process the order for the project to receive the supplies in a timely manner for the construction to begin in June due to the design team and the superintendent Mr. Buck. 3.List and discuss three alternative solutions. Mr. Buck needs to have meetings in relation to the status of the project and  the specifications. He needs to set deadlines, due to a large number of workers that are involved in this project to ensure that everyone is meeting the requirements for the project to begin in June and be finish by September. 4.What is your recommended solution? To fix this issue I feel like the superintendent should have put deadlines on all the departments so that everyone would have adequate enough time to prepare and plan. Mr. Murphy has been asking for purchase request since over hearing a conversation at lunch that took place in January. There is no reason why he should still not have what he needs after speaking with Pat Wilson in April about the specifications. If deadlines are in place and meetings are being made every two weeks with updates then I feel like they would be able to break ground in June and the supplies would have already been on order and delivered in a timely manner.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Emerging Economies

Business Development in Emerging Economies Business Development in Emerging Economies Coursework Coursework Contents A. In your opinion, what is the future of emerging economies? Support your answer with relevant evidence. (2000 words)3 Introduction4 What are emerging economies4 Future of emerging economies5 Microeconomic approach6 Long-term economic perspectives7 The â€Å"Euro† perspective8 Facts about the future9 Forecast11 Opinion12 Risks for emerging markets12 B. Critically discuss the factors driving the growth of emerging MNEs. Use relevant company and country examples. 500 words)14 What are MNEs (Multinational Enterprises)15 Facts about MNEs15 C. How formidable is the competition posed by emerging markets MNE's to the â€Å"Western† companies? Could it be country- or/and sector-specific? (500 words)18 References21 Business Development in Emerging Economies Coursework Submission A. In your opinion, what is the future of emerging economies? Support your answer wit h relevant evidence. (2000 words) B. Critically discuss the factors driving the growth of emerging MNEs. Use relevant company and country examples. (500 words) C.How formidable is the competition posed by emerging markets MNE's to the â€Å"Western† companies? Could it be country- or/and sector-specific? (500 words) A. In your opinion, what is the future of emerging economies? Support your answer with relevant evidence. (2000 words) Introduction What are emerging economies The emerging markets story began almost thirty years ago. In the mid-1980s, developed economies started on a debt-fueled consumer spending binge that lasted more than two decades. This provided an incredible opportunity for developing economies.So, emerging markets or emerging economies are nations with social or business activity in the process of rapid growth and industrialization. The seven largest emerging and developing economies by either nominal Gross Domestic Product or GDP (Purchasing Power Parity) are China, Brazil, Russia, India, Mexico, Indonesia, and Turkey. Some characteristics that define an economy as emerging are the following: * Intermediate income: its PPP per capital income is comprised between 10 % and 75 % of the average EU per capital income. Catching-up growth: during at least the last decade, it has experienced a brisk economic growth that has narrowed the income gap with advanced economies. * Institutional transformations and economic opening: during the same period, it has undertaken profound institutional transformations which contributed to integrate it more deeply into the world economy. Hence, emerging economies appears to be a by-product of the current globalization. Emerging markets are sought by investors for the prospect of high returns, as they often experience faster economic growth as measured by GDP.Investments in emerging markets come with much greater risk due to political instability, domestic infrastructure problems, currency volatility and l imited equity opportunities (many large companies may still be â€Å"state-run† or private). Also, local stock exchanges may not offer liquid markets for outside investors. These countries do not share any common agenda, so there are various lists of emerging markets, developed by various analysts such as The Economist, the International Monetary Fund, Dow Jones etc.. If we had to make a summary list it would be the following:Afghanistan|   Estonia|   Lithuania|   Qatar|   Sudan|   Argentina|   Hong Kong|   Malaysia|   Romania|   Taiwan|   Bahrain|   Hungary|   Mauritius|   Russia|   Thailand|   Bangladesh|   India|   Mexico|   Saudi Arabia|   Turkey|   Brazil|   Indonesia|   Morocco|   Singapore|   Tunisia|   Bulgaria|   Iran|   Nigeria|   Slovakia|   UAE| Chile|   Israel|   Oman|   Slovenia|   Ukraine| China|   Jordan|   Pakistan|   South Africa|   Venezuela|   Colombia|   Kuwait|   Peru|   Sr i Lanka|   Vietnam| Czech Republic|   Latvia|   Philippines|   South Korea|   Sudan|   Egypt|   Estonia|   Poland|   Qatar|   Taiwan| Future of emerging economiesIn the past decade emerging markets have established themselves as the world’s best sprinters. As serial crises tripped up America and then Europe, China barely broke stride. Other big developing nations paused for breath only briefly. Investors bet that rapid growth in emerging markets was the new normal, while leaders from Beijing to Brazil lectured the world on the virtues of their state-centric economic models. More than 80% of the world’s population lives in countries with emerging economies. As we can see in Figure 1, the share of emerging markets in global output has increased from below 20% in the early 90’s, to more than 30% today.Considering the cost of living differences, the share of emerging economies in world GDP already exceeds 45%, which is 13 percentage points higher than in the early 90’s. According to the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF), World Economic Outlook, this share will exceed 50% in 2013. Figure [ 1 ]: Share of emerging economies in world GDP in recent periods While these economies are already large, they keep growing strongly. Growth in emerging economies and increased resistance to economic and financial shocks mean good news for the global economy, which can definitely rely on the dynamism of emerging economies more than it did in the past.The residents of emerging economies’ countries benefited a lot from this rapid growth, as it led to rising living standards. During the period 2000-2009, the per capita GDP in these countries increased by more than 70%. The integration of emerging economies in world markets for goods and services happened smoothly. Regarding global exports of goods and services, the share of emerging economies almost doubled between the early 90’s and 2010, reaching 35%. Microecono mic approach The most important role of the emerging economies and reflected at the micro level.Specifically, six of the 25 largest companies in the world, for example, in terms of market value come from emerging markets. These companies are listed below, according to Global 2000 list for 2012, an annual ranking of the top 2000 public companies in the world by Forbes magazine. The ranking is based on a mix of four metrics: sales, profit, assets and market value. Rank| Company| Headquarters| Industry| Profits (billion $)| Assets (billion $)| Market Value (billion $)| 05| Industrial and Commercial Bank of China|   China| Banking| 25. 1| 2,039. 1| 237. 4| 07| PetroChina|   China| Oil and gas| 20. | 304. 7| 294. 7| 10| Petrobras|   Brazil| Oil and gas| 20. 1| 319. 4| 180| 13| China Construction Bank|   China| Banking| 20. 5| 1,637. 8| 201. 9| 15| Gazprom|   Russia| Oil and gas| 31. 7| 302. 6| 159. 8| 19| Agricultural Bank of China|   China| Banking| 14. 4| 1,563. 9| 154. 8| Long-term economic perspectives The present of emerging economies seems promising, but the future seems even better. According to forecasts for long-term growth based on demographic trends and models of capital accumulation and productivity, it seems that the role of emerging economies in the global economy will be even larger.More specifically, according to various surveys, the growth prospects of these economies are striking. The share of Brazil, Russia, India and China, if considered together, could by 2025 correspond to a rate of more than 50% share of the current six largest industrialized economies and to overcome it in less than 40 years. The â€Å"Euro† perspective From the perspective of the euro, the growing role of emerging economies provides various opportunities. More specifically, the dynamic growth of emerging economies is increasing demand for certain goods and tradable services where the euro zone has a comparative advantage.Also, competition from emerging ma rkets increases motivation for further progress in structural reforms in the euro zone, which are either way necessary. In addition, the Eurozone is capable of seizing new opportunities created by emerging economies. Exports and imports of goods and services of the euro zone represent a significant share of the GDP. Considering this, it is remarkable that the share of the euro zone exports (excluding trade within the euro zone) to Asia increased from 19% in 2000 to 22% in 2009, while exports to the United States decreased from 17% to 12% over the same period.China's share in total exports of the euro zone increased from 2% in 2000 to 5. 3% in 2009. Exports to Russia more than doubled over the same period from 1. 8% to 3. 9%, thus exceeding the exports to Japan, although the share of Russia was higher in 2008 (5. 0%), before the global trade collapsed. A similar trend was observed in India, though on a much smaller scale, as India’s share was 1. 7% of euro zone exports in 2009 . The crisis When the global financial crisis struck, emerging economies responded energetically: China launched a huge stimulus, Brazil’s state-owned banks avished credit, interest rates were slashed. They succeeded so well that by 2010 they were forced to reverse course. To squash price pressures they raised interest rates, curbed speculation and allowed their currencies to appreciate. With a lag, that tightening has had the predicted result. Still, the slowdown has proved much sharper than expected. Europe’s sovereign-debt crisis is partly to blame. It has sapped demand for the developing world’s manufactured exports and restrained prices of their commodities; South Africa is a notable casualty.European banks had been conduits for foreign money flowing into emerging markets. Now they are pulling back as they grapple with the problems at home. The issues of slowing growth, high government debts, rising unemployment, and aging populations within developed econo mies such as the United States presented headwinds for emerging market countries, which in the past had been much more reliant on the health of developed markets. However, because of earlier fiscal discipline, countries such as China, Brazil and Indonesia were able to stimulate economies on their own with low interest rates and massive stimulus packages.The central banks were recourse to those who needed to borrow money, in order to avoid a major crisis. In December 2011 and February 2012, the European Central Bank announced long-term refunding, while European banks borrowed about 1 trillion euros. The U. S. Federal Bank, along with many central banks from developed countries went on with liquidity injections. That move resulted to massive relief, as the markets stabilized and industrial production increased again. The question then was if this would last, allowing the global economy to keep on growing.This was more of concern for emerging economies, which were considered to be safe r than economically advanced countries. Many of them faced difficulties when they actually started developing, as they had to deal with massive poverty. Facts about the future Sadly, many emerging-world governments have interpreted the crisis in rich-world finance as a reason to preserve a more muscular role for the state. China has reserved some sectors for state-owned enterprises. In Brazil the big state-controlled oil company, Petrobras, and the tate-controlled banks have become virtual appendages of government policy. Having so much leverage over the economy is indeed helpful during a crisis, but in the long run it will stifle competition, starve the private sector of capital, deter foreign investment and know-how, and breed corruption. When the dust settles, emerging markets will still be growing faster than they did before 2003. But getting back up to the speed of the past decade will mean maintaining the macroeconomic discipline and returning to the microeconomic reforms that made it possible in the first place.A strong infrastructure has significant long-term benefits, such as a growing manufacturing base, an educated workforce and more mobile, and therefore more easily employable, societies. The build-out of fixed asset infrastructure in China, which has been strong over the past 15 years, continues today, particularly as the population becomes more urbanized. Brazil also continues to invest in infrastructure, with estimates in excess of $800 billion in infrastructure spending as the country prepares to host the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympic Games. For example, the case of India.Since 2009, India has deliberately inflated its deficit in order to offset the economic slowdown. Fiscal expansion was very efficient in promoting growth of demand and supply after several years’ restriction. However, now the expansion is limited. Unlike developed countries, most developing economies are under inflationary pressure, which can be worse than additional expensed. Thus, the short-term future seems to be reserving various dangers. Nevertheless, medium and long-term perspectives about emerging economies are positive. Countries that save money, invest in human capital and provide good governance can achieve rapid growth again.India, for example, saves and invests more than 30% of its GDP, devoting a significant percentage of these sources to infrastructure. Thus, the possibility of India expanding its business increases. Investors seem to take seriously into account this perspective. They seem to be very hesitant towards investments in private equity funds. Nonetheless, they provided India with 43,8 billion dollars in long-term direct investments during 2011-2012. Despite the current crisis, the outlook seems encouraging for other emerging economies too, such as Brazil, China and Indonesia.It’s obvious that during the second half of 2011, developing economies that have faced the economic crisis kind of well, star ted to feel pressure as the euro zone crisis was getting worse. Growth in Brazil, India, China and other countries noted a remarkable slow down. Global economy seems to be focusing on fast-growing markets that are outside BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) as there is the perception that they are capable of integrating faster than the BRIC countries into the global economy due to a number of trade, investment, technological and cultural criteria.These markets achieve constantly high rates of economic growth at the same level with the BRIC countries. Turkey, Indonesia and Mexico come just after China and India in terms of GDP growth between 2000 and 2015. Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, Malaysia and Vietnam, along with some countries and regions of Africa are ready to be included in the list with the most dynamic countries in the world, regarding investments. It’s becoming more and more admissible that these countries are the most significant sources of income for the future ye ars.Same prospects seem to appear for South Africa, Indonesia, Mexico and Turkey, which are considered to be the most competitive ones. Executives from all around the economy world claim that they are planning to raise their investments in these markets. As goods’ and services’ trade goes back to the levels it was before the financial crisis and the flow of funds appears to steadily increase, technology and cross-border exchange of ideas will continue forcing growth and promoting globalization. Forecast Forecasts concerning the period of time from now and by 2015 don’t seem really encouraging for Europe and emerging economies.The last year’s liquidity injection was deemed to be an efficient policy, but it was certainly not a radical solution. No crisis looms, but serious concern is justified, for the emerging world faces two distinct risks: a cyclical slowdown and a longer-term erosion of potential growth. The first should be reasonably easy to deal with. The second will not. Fiscal discipline and investment has delivered for emerging economies up to this point. This can significantly contribute to future growth. If Europe can succeed in promoting large fiscal and banking reforms and put its economy in order, the crisis will probably subside.Otherwise it will remain until the end of 2014 and then Europe will be before high risk once again. Regarding the developing countries, they will definitely be influenced by the U. S. and Europe – the two largest economies in the world. Their slowdown will directly affect all developing countries. The analyst, Jean Louis Martin claims though, that emerging economies will account for 52% of the global economy. His forecast is based on current prices and exchange rates-compared with 38. 9% in 2011. Opinion Looking through the past as thoroughly as I can, and considering the risks, my opinion about a potential recovery tends to be negative.A slump in these countries thus looks unlikely; so, however, does a return to the past decade’s growth rates. China, for one, doesn’t want it. Its economy has become over-reliant on investment; its leaders want to usher in a phase of more sustainable but slower growth, led by consumers. Beyond China, it is increasingly clear that many emerging economies have been growing beyond their underlying potential. Optimists once thought India could sustain Chinese-style growth of over 9% a year; but that led to stubborn inflation and current-account deficits, suggesting that India’s potential growth may be more like 6-7%.There is no guarantee that emerging markets will experience stable, sustainable development, since numerous economic and political risks are lurking. Emerging countries are still vulnerable to economic changes that occur in developed countries. Risks for emerging markets There’s a number of potential sources of macroeconomic and political instability such as high fiscal deficits, over-dependence on oil revenues and gas, increasing disparities in income leading to social tensions and acroeconomic and financial instability. Many reports also highlight the pressures on natural resources from the rapid growth in emerging economies, including the increasing difficulty of keeping global warming within the maximum limit of two degrees Celsius. While new unconventional sources like shale gas have reduced fears of depletion of fossil fuels, the risks associated with the most unstable global climate patterns are expected, to follow a steady upward trend.Issues such as taxation of executive compensation, the proper scope of financial regulation, and international M;A have come to the foreground in the wake of the crisis, and stark international differences in opinions and policies on these matters are already evident. The differences will only become more pronounced as discussions about the appropriate near-term policy response to the crisis give way to debates about who should pay and how much.The multinational firms best able to anticipate and manage the related risks and opportunities will have the strongest competitive edge. B. Critically discuss the factors driving the growth of emerging MNEs. Use relevant company and country examples. (500 words) What are MNEs (Multinational Enterprises) As the name implies, a multinational corporation is a business concern with operations in more than one country. These operations outside the company's home country may be linked to the parent by merger, operated as subsidiaries, or have considerable autonomy.Firms tend to locate where barriers are easier to overcome. For firms in emerging countries, this initially meant locating in nearby countries with regional, cultural or language ties (so-called South-South FDI). This trend seems to be changing, however, as firms from emerging economies gain prominence. Facts about MNEs There are over 40,000 multinational corporations currently operating in the global economy, in additi on to approximately 250,000 overseas affiliates running cross-continental businesses.The top multinational corporations are headquartered in the United States, Western Europe, and Japan; they have the capacity to shape global trade, production, and financial transactions. Multinational corporations are viewed by many as favoring their home operations when making difficult economic decisions, but this tendency is declining as companies are forced to respond to increasing global competition. Multinational corporations follow three general procedures when seeking to access new markets: * merger with or direct acquisition of existing concerns * sequential market entry and joint ventures Here’s an example of sequential market entry, which often includes foreign direct investment, which involves the establishment or acquisition of concerns operating in niche markets related to the parent company's product lines in the new country of operation. Japan's Sony Corporation made use of s equential market entry in the United States, beginning with the establishment of a small television assembly plant in San Diego, California, in 1972. For the next two years, Sony's U. S. perations remained confined to the manufacture of televisions, the parent company's leading product line. Sony branched out in 1974 with the creation of a magnetic tape plant in Dothan, Alabama, and expanded further by opening an audio equipment plant in Delano, Pennsylvania, in 1977. After a period of consolidation brought on by an unfavorable exchange rate between the yen and dollar, Sony continued to expand and diversify its U. S. operations, adding facilities for the production of computer displays and data storage systems during the 1980s.In the 1990s, Sony further diversified it U. S. facilities and now also produces semiconductors and personal telecommunications products in the United States. Sony's example is a classic case of a multinational using its core product line to defeat indigenous competition and lay the foundation for the sequential expansion of corporate activities into related areas. Multinational corporations are thus able to penetrate new markets in a variety of ways, which allow existing concerns in the market to be accessed a varying degree of autonomy and control over operations.Multinationals today are viewed with increased suspicion given their perceived lack of concern for the economic well-being of particular geographic regions and the public impression that multinationals are gaining power in relation to national government agencies, international trade federations and organizations, and local, national, and international labor organizations. Despite such concerns, multinational corporations appear poised to expand their power and influence as barriers to international trade continue to be removed.They share many common traits, including the methods they use to penetrate new markets, the manner in which their overseas subsidiaries are tied to the ir headquarters operations, and their interaction with national governmental agencies and national and international labor organizations. In particular, factors that benefit MNEs growth are: * labor is relatively cheap * Ownership advantages encompass the development and ownership of proprietary technology or widely recognized brands that other competitors cannot use.Empirical analysis shows that multinationals are often technological leaders that invest heavily in developing new products, processes and brands, which are then kept confidential and are protected by intellectual property rights * technology being adopted is leapfrogging much of the legacy IT infrastructure that is still in use in developed countries * Localization advantages refer to the benefits that come from locating near the final buyers or closer to more abundant and cheaper production factors, such as expert engineering or raw materials multinationals internalize the benefits from owning a particular technology, brand, expertise or patent that they find too risky or unprofitable to rent or license to other firms due to the difficulties of enforcing international contracts * management and production expertise from the parent concern Other concerns raised by respondents included government regulation, established competition, and the availability of communications and digital infrastructure. C. How formidable is the competition posed by emerging markets MNE's to the â€Å"Western† companies? Could it be country- or/and sector-specific? 500 words) Right now more than 20,000 multinationals are operating in emerging economies. According to the Economist, Western multinationals expect to find 70% of their future growth there—40% of it in China and India alone. But if the opportunity is huge, so are the obstacles to seizing it. On its 2010 Ease of Doing Business Index, the World Bank ranked China 89th, Brazil 129th, and India 133rd out of 183 countries. Summarizing the bank’ s conclusions, the Economist wrote, â€Å"The only way that companies can prosper in these markets is to cut costs relentlessly and accept profit margins close to zero. Western companies have had many difficulties entering emerging markets to date, as they seemed to apply a wrong entering strategies, which were due to lack of knowledge and experience. Many companies have already been lured by the promise of profits from selling low-end products and services in high volume to the very poor in emerging markets. And high-end products and services are widely available in these markets for the very few who can afford them: You can buy a Mercedes or a washing machine, or stay at a nice hotel, almost anywhere in the world.Our experience suggests a far more promising place to begin: between these two extremes, in the vast middle market. Consumers there are defined not so much by any particular income band as by a common circumstance: Their needs are being met very poorly by existing low-en d solutions, because they cannot afford even the cheapest of the high-end alternatives. Companies that devise new business models and offerings to better meet those consumers’ needs affordably will discover enormous opportunities for growth.Take, for example, the Indian consumer durables company Godrej & Boyce. Founded in 1897 to sell locks, Godrej is today a diversified manufacturer of everything from safes to hair dye to refrigerators and washing machines. In workshops we conducted with key managers in the appliances division, refrigerators emerged as a high-potential area: Because of the cost both to buy and to operate them, traditional compressor-driven refrigerators had penetrated only 18% of the market. The markets and operating environments in India are radically different fromMNCs’ home markets, making it possible a wide range of competitive encounters and outcomes. For example, there are several layers of product and customer segments that reward different app roaches from competitors, making it possible for both local challengers and patient MNCs to find different starting places and, over time, compete more directly. Competition appears to be formidable for â€Å"Western† companies, since they are not really qualified to deal with MNEs of emerging markets, which keep on developing.Furthermore, it seems that the competition could definitely be both country and sector specific, as, regardless of the difference in trends perceived as important and the reported level of preparedness, companies, both Western and emerging multinationals, take a similar approach to the critical actions needed to address emerging countries’ consumer market trends. These include developing new products and services, adapting the brand strategy, conducting market research, and adapting the marketing communication strategy.References * Contessi S. , El-Ghazaly H.. (2010). Multinationals from Emerging Economies Growing but Little Understood. Available :http://research. stlouisfed. org/publications/regional/10/07/multinational. pdf. * Matthew J. Eyring, Mark W. Johnson, and Hari Nair. (2011). New Business Models in Emerging Markets. Available: http://hbr. org/2011/01/new-business-models-in-emerging-markets/ar/1 * Ernst & Young. (2013). Focusing on emerging markets. Available: http://www. net. gr/? i=news. el. article&id=338400 * Jean Louis Martin. (2012). Emerging Economies in 2020. Available: http://www. capital. gr/news. asp? id=1497484 * Unknown author. (2013). Challenges in development of emerging economies. Available: http://www. stockwatch. com. cy/nqcontent. cfm? a_name=news_view&ann_id=165565 * K. Ghosh and L. Yu. (2012). The future of emerging markets. Allianz Global Investors. 12 (1), 1-4 * AmCham and Booz & Company.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Actus Reus and Mens Rea Essay

The elements that constitue mens rea, namely: 1. The accused knew what they were doing 2. They knew what they were doing was wrong (legally) 3. They were in sound mind to choose whether or not to do it 4. They chose to do it anyway. If any of these 4 are not present, then mens rea is not complete, and the person can be found not guilty (including pleading insanity). Furthermore, there is a category of offences known as â€Å"strict liability offences†, for which there need not be any evidence of mens rea i.e. you can be found guilty of commiting a crime even without knowing it. This includes offences such as dog fouling, breaking the highway code etc. Essentially, it says that ignorance of the law is no defence, you’re guilty through the actus reus alone. On the other hand, often the opposite is true, mens rea in itself can lead to conviction i.e. if it was proved that a person was planning/intending to commit a crime, they can be convicted without actually having â€Å"done† anything. Usually, this takes the form of fulfilling an offence in itself e.g conspircay to commit murder. This has a great deal of importance today; if someone purchases a load of chemicals and mixes them to create explosives in their home, the law doesn’t have to wait for tem to blow something up before they can be convicted of terrorism. If you’ve seen the film â€Å"Minority Report†, you’ll know the dangers of taking this to the extreme. Broadly speaking, in criminal law, it must be proved beyond reasonable doubt that a person pposessed the relevant mens rea and committed the actus reus on order to be convicted of a crime. However, to cope with the variety of offences, to encourage awareness of the law and to ensure that the law has a moral element in its operation, then the two doctrine can stand on their own to lead to a conviction.

Friday, September 27, 2019

Criminology journal article critical evaluation Essay

Criminology journal article critical evaluation - Essay Example Therefore, qualitative analysis will allow any researcher to document and bring out relationships between the research question and data sources , develop patterns and trends, themes and categories, which best helps a researcher to understand the data and make meanings from the trends established. This makes qualitative analysis through surveys the best research approach to employ in any social phenomena. Yang & Wayckoff (2010) in their research Perceptions of safety and victimization: does survey construction affect perceptions? Clearly indicate the appropriateness of a survey in establishing trends, themes, and relationships between collected data sets and the subjects to better understand a social issue. The research seeks to establish whether question order in surveys involving victimization have any effect on the answers provided by respondents, in establishing the respondent’s characteristics, and question order effects in understanding the best way to arrange questions in a survey involving victims of criminology. This study aims at establishing social relationships between crime victims and survey questions to measure how such victims would respond to questions related to victimization; this implies the research question just like any other social research questions aims at establishing patterns and trends to make a hypothesis regarding the behavior of such victims in answering survey questions. As Livesey (2006) explains, such a study would apply a positivists approach in methodology which makes it possible to establish social behavioral patterns. Therefore, the survey methodology as used in this research is appropriate and ideal in bringing out behaviors of such crime victims in a survey. The main motivation in justifying the use of surveys in qualitative research in the study above is that such an approach will enable the researchers to develop various explanations of both social and cultural phenomena as would be observed from the data set co llected (Zakaria, 2004). Such a survey would lead to a naturalistic way of exploring the data in a qualitative –descriptive approach, an approach which is ideal in understanding and interpreting data collected and observed in the best objective way possible (DeLyser, 2008). Through such research methodology, the aims of the research which are investigating the effects of question ordering in surveys for crime victims will be effectively realized. Wilmot (2009) explains that in qualitative research, the use of non-probability approach is critical and a researcher has to have a complete sample with no statistical representative. Therefore, the best approach in such a survey would be to use purposive sampling. The characteristic of individuals have to be reflected in the selection process to reflect both diversity and breadth of any sample population. Consequently, the researchers settled on carrying out the research in a university due to the high prevalence of victimization in universities, high rates of campus crimes, and growing concerns as a result of the high crime rates among parents (Jenning et al, 2007). Though such a sample could be considered to limit the generalization of such findings, the researchers explained that the university in which the research was carried out comprises of diverse student population with a random sample of student populatio

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Women and Film Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Women and Film - Essay Example In her revised ‘incarnation’ as Madonna, the average American must be enjoying a hearty laugh to look at the badgered hair, unclean strapless taffeta outfits and dotted black leather. It also indicates Madonna’s influence in the fashion world of America in that period. Fashion of the 80s is not just the symbol of change in lifestyles, financial and social status. Rather than the external embellishments, it refers to the inner world of the personalities and gives lessons for the spectators. The director has chosen the utilities like dress, acting mode, talk, interaction and behavior to make the audience understand, what happens when a mask is identified with a real face. The story relates to the psyche of housewives like Roberta who are fed-up with the routine of the middle class with nothing exciting and challenging happening in their lives. In this specific case, Roberta’s hot tub-selling husband ignores her. She desperately wants to come out of the cob-web of life of a stereotype housewife and achieve something sterling in life. She finds excitement in the relationship of Jim and Susan and their style of communication. Destiny plays its part and when Roberta is mistaken for Madonna, she is in a peculiar predicament as she has to survive with Madonna, Jim and her husband and the mob—desperate to know what the truth is! The message of the movie is profound. It highlights the level of desperation and the moves the housewife makes to breathe the air of freedom, when she has to live with her feelings suppressed and where she does not even have the freedom to choose the haircut that she wants. There is a reason why the director chooses the â€Å"free spirit† of Madonna in the movie. In the 80s culture, Madonna has great impact on the world of entertainment in America and her style is most copied, majority of women revere her as the role model. In the culture of the 80s, she is

Why Evolution is True Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Why Evolution is True - Research Paper Example Discussion over truth of man’s existence and origin of life, evolutionism versus intelligent design, has long been held. Professor Jerry Coyne from the University of Chicago is on one side arguing and proving that evolution is true. Evidence is found in plants and animals and every living thing found in nature. This essay is about truth or falsity of evolution theory. Coyne has thoroughly dissected Darwin’s theory of evolution and the concept of natural selection. This will examine Coyne’s support of the evolution theory, provide a critique and apply philosophical, theological, and sociological reflections on Coyne’s views. Coyne summarized the modern theory of evolution and this is: â€Å"Life on Earth evolved gradually beginning with one primitive species – perhaps a self-replicating molecule – that lived more than 3.5 billion years ago† (Coyne, 2009, p. 3). Coyne further said that this molecular â€Å"thing† started to spread, giving various life forms and performing the acts of evolutionary change, guided by the principle of natural selection. Coyne’s summary of the evolution theory consists of 6 elements: â€Å"evolution, gradualism, speciation, common ancestry, natural selection, and nonselective mechanisms of evolutionary change† (Coyne, p. 3). His proposition that evolution is true simply means that the six elements are all true. ... Coyne (2009) adds: â€Å"Humans †¦ evolved from a creature that is ape-like, but not identical to modern apes† (p. 4). The various species evolved at different rate and for a long period of time, a matter of millions of years. Whales and humans evolved rapidly but not other living animals since some of them looked almost the same hundreds of millions of years ago. Some scientists believe that the whale’s flippers were used to be walking legs. Whether that is true, it is a theory, or part of the theory. The concept of gradualism, as one element of evolution, states that evolution takes place for many generations. Birds and reptiles evolved from something different before. The evolution of the teeth and jaws that distinguish mammals from reptiles occurred for hundreds or thousands, or millions, of generations. But there are some that undergo evolution for very short generations, or very short period of time. The microbes undergo a lot of evolution in just a few minut es. A considerable change due to evolution occurs for thousands of years. Different species evolve differently and requires different time interval. It depends on the evolutionary pressure. But when a species becomes well adapted to a permanent habitat, evolution mellows down. All of us, meaning all life forms, evolved from a single species but there have been over ten million species living on Earth today. The diversity of species seemed mysterious as we all evolve from one ancestral form. But from this one ancestral form evolved millions of species. This part of evolution is known as splitting. Creatures with recent common ancestors share many traits, while those whose common ancestors lay in the distant past are

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 7

Business - Essay Example The decision of the body will be rested in the hands of the owner and the government or the legislative body of the state. However, many companies fail to follow interests of the last two components of the corporate law which are the citizens and the nation as a whole, its integrity, environment and culture. The trend of globalization has further intensified the competition in the business world, where each company tries to overpower other by whatever means available. Thus, in this race for power and money, it is the local people who become the victim of lies, cruelty and cunningness of companies’ money oriented intentions and plans (McFarland, 2004). This paper is an attempt to illustrate the real essence of Corporate Social Responsibilities (CSR) and how and which companies have violated it for their self interests. For the paper argument, the Canadian documentary film â€Å"The Corporation† by Joel Bakan is made the prime source (Bakan, 2012). Example of Companies 1. Johnson & Johnson J&J is a renowned brand of cosmetics, shampoo and skin lotions. The company is one of the trend setters in the cosmetics world hiding which hides the danger behind their â€Å"good for skin† products due to the brand reputation (CBS NEWS, 2012). The products of the J&J Company have been found to contain a diluted amount of Carcinogen Formaldehyde in their baby shampoos. In their effort to create a brand new image of a baby shampoo, they came up with an idea of â€Å"No More Tears† to attract their customers. From a customer point, it can be regarded as a great innovation in baby shampoo, but on the cost of healthcare issues (Mercola, 2011). Carcinogen Formaldehyde is one of the materials that can risk to Cancer in the later stages of life. This chemical is also present in their adult products and raises the question of whether their products are actually made for the benefit of people or just for their own benefits (NCI, 2011). However, after been fo und guilty by the Health and Environment Group, the company announced to remove those materials from its products by 2015. These factors leaves the questions that if products of the most famous company which are launched after great research are not safe, can the other products be trusted? (CBS NEWS, 2012) 2. Hershey Hershey is the largest chocolate producing company with worldwide recognition and consumers. It is evident that sales of the company is incomparable to sales of an average company, but still the greed for money cannot be ever satisfied (Hsu, 2012). Hershey Company has been recently indicted by utilizing child labor of Africa, for their cocoa harvesting and refining. The corporate government laws and those of International Labor Organization clearly states that child labor is an act of injustice and should be practiced anywhere in the world (Huff Post Business, 2012). Practices of child labor in the underdeveloped regions show their poverty and strive to earn their livel ihood. However, if the same practice is supported by giant business personnel and organizations like Hershey then it is a clear sign of immorality and easy measure to get low cost labor (Hsu, 2012). 3. KFC KFC is another big name when talking of corporate giants. It is the world’s leading fast food chain with its specialty in fried chickens. It is suspicious that how they fulfill the growing demand of chicken food items throughout the world, with the limited number of farming

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Responses from DQ1 andDQ@ CC and AAw2d2 1 and 2 Assignment

Responses from DQ1 andDQ@ CC and AAw2d2 1 and 2 - Assignment Example It does also not protect junior employees from manipulation by their seniors. The act is therefore more concerned with accurate financial reporting of corporations to the Securities and Exchange Commission. A spot check on the act shows that it only affects external auditors, boards of directors, corporate roles, and the PCAOB in a move to heighten investor confidence in the organizations (Halbert, 2010). It is exceptionally true that corporate employees fear losing their jobs if they decided to talk about illegal activities in their organizations. However, employees have of late been enlightened of their rights incase of unjustified work termination. According to Cox (2009), the Sarbanes-Oxley act (2002) is exceptionally clear on the responsibilities of senior executives regarding their roles in their respective organizations. Of importance to the executive is giving truthful financial information to the Securities and Exchange Commission and this is his or her duty to loyalty towards the organization, and to some extent, duty to care (Harris, 2003). The Sarbanes-Oxley act also protects the corporations from executive malpractices; therefore, external auditors and PCAOB are mandated to check any irregularities that may arise from senior corporate executives. It is therefore very much agreeable that the Sarbanes-Oxley act has helped streamline corporations that are prone to

Monday, September 23, 2019

Magazine Content Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Magazine Content Analysis - Essay Example Some magazines target the minority while others target the majority. Indeed, we have minority-targeted magazine like the Black Enterprise magazine and mainstream-targeted magazines like BusinessWeek magazine. This paper presents a content analysis of minority and mainstream magazines. In doing so, the paper will explain how advertisement in minority-targeted magazines and mainstream-targeted magazine by establishing the similarities and differences there in. Ideally, advertising produces magazines that target diverse audience. A mainstream-targeted magazine refers to a magazine with a huge readership and demographic categories while minority-targeted magazine relates to a magazine with limited readership and few demographic categories. In the recent times, the number of minority-targeted magazines have been increasing subject to the appreciation, increase, and buying power of the minority. Indeed, advertisers have realized the potential in the minority and have since tailored different advertisements targeting their needs, perception, and potential. The frequency and quantity of minority-targeted magazines have led to an intrusive and consistent mode of advertising that the minority cannot afford to disregard. Some of the minority-targeted magazines include the Black Enterprise magazine, African American Golfers Digest, Black Collegian Magazine, and Black Men Magazine. With respect to the Black Enterprise magazine, we can establish that the magazine is more prominent in black neighborhoods. The magazine has a capacity to reach about 6 million people and hence the need to analyze the content of the adverts contained in the magazine. The content in Black Enterprise magazine seems to target Black Americans and their needs. Notably, the magazine contains adverts of cigarettes and alcoholic drinks that suit the social needs and purchasing power of the blacks. Most notable is the fact that adverts in the Black Enterprise magazine

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Eveline By James Joyce and Samphire by Patrick OBrian Essay Example for Free

Eveline By James Joyce and Samphire by Patrick OBrian Essay Both of these stories tell of women wanting to break away from dominating male influences in their lives. Eveline is fed up of working at home and of looking after her father where as Molly wants a life away from Lacy. But at the end of each story, neither woman is nearer to her goal of a new life. The start of Eveline is very descriptive and gives the reader the impression of her life so far. Although Eveline works around the house, in her nostrils was the odour of dusty cretonne. She was tired and these three words set the tone of the story for the reader. In contrast, Samphire opens with the uplifting white cliffs and the vicious sea. The wind brought the salt tang of the spray on their lips. This opening is also very descriptive but in a different way to Eveline the sheer power of nature and the quiet and simple home. But both of these openings are effective in setting the scene for the story. Eveline lives at home with her father as her brothers and sisters were all grown up, her mother was dead. This last fact obviously had a huge effect on Eveline and her father, possibly making her father become violent, she sometimes felt herself in danger of her fathers violence. And now Eveline wants to go away like the others, to leave her home. Mollys problems or intentions about what she wants to do are not known about until near to the end. It is possible though to guess at what she is irritated about her husband Lacey. He had a high, rather unmasculine voice, and he emphasized his words. He is very persistent, three times he pointed it out; patronising, how he had even to be a little firm; childish, wagging his finger; trying to be humorous, made a joke about the shop being a house of ill-fume; but the tobacconist did not understand; not attractive, the thin, fluffy hair that covered his baldness, and extremely image conscious, and how the people would stare when they brought it back. But it wasnt all easy for Eveline either. She had to put up with her father who said that she used to squander the money and that she had no head. She had hard work to keep the house together and overall it was a hard life. But Frank was a totally different person, very kind, manly, open hearted compared to her violent father. Her relationship with Frank was going fine until her father found out the affair and had forbidden her to have anything to say to him. This is because he relies on her and that he doesnt want to lose. There is also the possibility that he is quite a stubborn man and that Frank is intruding on his relationship with his daughter. Throughout the whole story, there is the doubt or guilt factor that is preventing Eveline from leaving and going off to Buenos Aires with Frank. Now she was about to leave it (her life) she did not find it a wholly undesirable life; her time was running out, and that her father was becoming old lately, she noticed; he would miss her. Then near to the bottom of the second page come the crucial facts about why she does not want to leave home: the promise to her dying mother, her promise to keep the home together as long as she could. The plot of Samphire is that Lacey sees a clump of samphire on the edge of a cliff and is determined for Molly to see it. Once she has seen it, there is a great satisfaction from Lacey as he knows that Molly is scared of heights, heights terrified her, always had, but he still forces her to look at the plant. The next day Molly said she would like to see the samphire again much to the joy of Lacy. She obviously does this to keep him happy and possibly to keep him quiet for a little while. As they reach the top of the cliff and turn the path, Lacey cries out, it is still there. Oh jolly good. It is still there. As he stretched over the cliff to try and reach the plant, Molly stepped forward and tried to push him off the cliff, but as she pushed him she felt her arms weak like jelly. It is almost as if in her heart she doesnt want to push him off. For a second the wind bore his body and the stick scrabbled furiously for a purchase on the cliff. He gets up, screaming at her, you pushed me Molly, you pushed me, you pushed me. Lacey is in complete shock as he realises what Molly was trying to do. Still she stood, stone still not listening to him. She marches off down the path, with Lacey following after her. Before he was leading the way, but now she is the dominant figure in their relationship. And still he is trying to believe that it was an accident but he was lucky that she didnt push him all the way off. The end of Eveline results in her doing what her heart feels is best as well, just like Molly as she leaves Frank to stay with her father. All the seas of the world tumbled about her heart. It was a difficult decision but one that she had to make.

Saturday, September 21, 2019

A Review Of The Novel Alias Grace English Literature Essay

A Review Of The Novel Alias Grace English Literature Essay Grace Marks is one of the two accused for the murders of her employer, Mr. Kinnear and his housewife, Nancy. She was sentenced to life imprisonment. Initially she claims that she does not remember what happened at the scene of the crime. Grace is introverted and carefully chooses what she says so that she does not reveal much information about herself. After Dr. Jordan comes, she opens up a little and tells him her tough childhood and what she remembers about the murders. By the end of the novel, Grace is pardoned, marries her lover, Jamie Dr. Simon Jordan is the physician that is to analyze Grace. He is interested in her circumstances and wants to use what he knows about psychology to pry as much information from her as possible so that it can be determined whether or not she really is suffering from amnesia. After entering in a relationship with Mrs. Humphrey, his landlady, and the results of Graces hypnotism, Dr. Jordan becomes disillusioned. He is unable to come to a conclusion and in the end just returns to Europe. Mary Whitney is a girl about Graces age who also worked for Mrs. Parkinson. Mary is more experienced with worldly matters and thus becomes sort of like a mentor to Grace. It is through Mary that Grace is able to find family. They are like sisters and become close to each other. She has an affair with Mr. George that ends up in a pregnancy and a failed abortion that takes away her life. Grace seems to care more for Mary than her own mother because when her mom died, she thought twice about using the sheet to cover her. On the other hand, Grace uses her money to provide the best possible funeral for her friend. Supposedly, the spirit of Mary resides in Grace and will come out during hypnotism. Nancy Montgomery is the housemaid of Mr. Thomas Kinnear. When she is first introduced, she is looking for extra help. She is not as welcoming or friendly as Graces last employer, Mrs. Parkinson. She feels as though she is superior to Grace. Nancy has an affair with Kinnear and gets jealous of Kinnear when he starts lusting for Grace. She is later found in the cellar, strangled and her throat cut. 4. Conflicts: One major conflict in the novel is determining Graces innocence and also her identity. Much of the book is concerned about Grace giving the readers background information about herself and her version of what happened during the time of the murders The conflict never gets resolved because Dr. Jordan never comes to a conclusion and just abandons his all of his findings. He does not know what to think after he witnesses the spirit of Mary Whitney possess Graces body. Atwood gives you all of many small pieces and it is up to readers to put everything together and then decide whether or not Grace is guilty or not 5. Opening chapter or scene: Alias Grace opens with a dream about Nancy, a dream that also occurs again later on in the novel. The year is 1851 and Grace is twenty-four years old. She has been in prison ever since she was sixteen. She tries to be the model prisoner even though life in the penitentiary is described as tough. She tells this dream to Dr. Jordan when they arrive at the part of the story. In the next section is a little poem that gives a quick but somewhat inaccurate summary of what has already happened before the novel started. The opening gives some background information about Graces life and also foreshadows many events. 6. Plot: Grace has been kept at the Kingston Penitentiary when Dr. Jordan comes and performs his project with Grace, the inciting incident After Graces initial reluctance to participate with Dr. Jordan ends, the rising action occurs when Grace relates her past to him. She is an immigrant from Ireland to Canada and suffers from a dysfunctional and poverty-stricken family. Life was hard for her because her father was worthless. She was able to find a job as a housekeeper. While working, she befriends Mary Whitney. She is traumatized when Mary dies because of an unsuccessful abortion and quits her job. She takes up another job with Nancy Montgomery, who works at the Kinnear estate She also meets James McDermott, another worker under Mr. Kinnear. Nancy and Mr. Kinnear seem to have a relationship together but now Kinnear is paying more attention to Grace. James thinks that Nancy and Kinnear should be killed. Grace then tells Dr. Jordan that James kills them both and then faints when James threatens her. When she awakens, James says that she must keep her part of the deal which implied that she was to go to bed with him. Grace tries to put him off and persuades him to escape to Toronto but they soon get captured. In the climax, Dr. Dupont hypnotizes Graces but instead a spirit comes out saying that she is not Grace but Mary Whitney. When the trance is broken, Grace comes back but does not remember what happened during the hypnosis. 7. Conclusion: In the novels falling action and conclusion, a disoriented and confused Dr. Jordan ceases his investigations and returns back to Europe Grace is pardoned and released from the penitentiary at the age of forty-five. She ends up marrying her childhood lover, Jaime Walsh and soon gets pregnant. The novel ends with a passage about how Grace will quilt the Tree of Paradise. She will interweave Marys petticoat, her prison nightdress, and Nancys dress altogether. The ending was only somewhat appropriate because it did not really feel as if he flowed with the rest of the story, that it did not belong there. It just seems attached on. 8. Themes: One theme of the novel is gender and feminism in the nineteenth century. Women back then were supposed to act a certain way. They were to be submissive and modest with the men dominating. Women were also thought to be more petite and moral. This may be a reason why James was executed and why Grace was only sent to prison. Another theme of the novel is that of sexuality. This theme seems to be a big driving force in the story. Mary Whitney gets involved in a sexual affair that has big repercussions. While in prison Grace must deal with the verbal abuse and sexual advances of the guards. Grace is accused of having a sexual encounter with Jamie in the orchard. Also when Mrs. Humphreys husband leaves her, she turns to a sexual relationship with Dr. Jordan for comfort. Dr. Jordan, on the other hand has fantasies of Miss Lydia and even Grace. Both Mr. Kinnear and James lust after Grace. Kinnear and Nancy have an affair too. Either way, sexuality plays an important role in the novel. 9. Symbols/Archetypes: One big symbol is that of the quilt. There is both a physical quilt, the one that Grace is working on, and a mental quilt. Each time Dr. Jordan examines Grace, it seems if as though another piece of Graces life and identity are sewed onto a quilt. All of the little intricate bits and memories are stitched together make up the whole quilt and there are also different ways to look at and interpret quilts. In addition, the title of each chapter is a name of a real quilting design. Another symbol may be that apples. They could symbolize the truth and knowledge. It could also represent the apple in the Garden of Eden. Grace could symbolize Eve, who was manipulated by something evil and then was punished for it. 10. Parallel events/parallel works: Alias Grace is similar to the story of the Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Gillman. Both works of literature were about psychiatric care. Women were the protagonist in both stories. Also both women were isolated from other people, one in an asylum, another in a lonely room. The dream that Grace describes in the opening chapter makes another appearance in the middle of the novel. In it, Grace sees Nancy with blood all over her face. Alias Grace is the retelling of the real story of Grace Marks. It is a historical fiction novel though, so some aspects such as the character of Dr. Simon Jordan are made up. 11. Style: Atwood rarely uses quotations in this novel. This makes the text more confusing as to who is talking and thinking which thoughts. This does emphasize the ambiguity of Graces life and her account of the murders In addition to the lack of punctuation, Grace also uses the word could very often. This makes it seems like she is making up some of the details, that what she says is conditional The story is presented from the point of view of Graces At the beginning of each chapter, Atwood uses a real historical article and/or a quote that describes something about Grace to introduce the next section. To highlight the quilt theme, Atwood also names each chapter after a genuine quilting pattern and even provides a small picture of the design. 12. Significant lines: I would rather be a murderess than a murderer, if those are the only choices (23) showing feminist attitudes like passing through the gates of Hell and into Paradise (447) when she left the penitentiary and went off into the real world and that is the same with all quilts, you can see them two different ways, by looking at the dark pieces, or else the light (162) there are always more than one way to look at things in life and everything has a dark and light side Murderess is a strong word to have attached to you (27) she has a label attached to her and it makes her think a certain way And so we will all be together (460) the last line of the novel, Grace will all of the remnants of her past onto one quilt so that she can look at it and move on

Friday, September 20, 2019

Essay --

African-Americans, who only comprised 13% of regular drug users, made up for 35% of drug arrests, 55% of convictions, and 74% of people sent to prison for drug possession crimes. Also, three-fourths of all people incarcerated for drug offenses are either Black or Latino, the majority of illegal drug users are white. There is obviously something gone ridiculously wrong. Many African Americans that lived in the South were unable to vote, and even if they tried to, they had to pass literacy tests or even pay poll taxes. Also, places of employment were segregated as well; â€Å"White southerners refused to work under black supervisors and most white craftsmen strenuously opposed the hiring of African Americans in the skill trades† (Remembering 206). Kennedy states in his book that people of color were always â€Å"the last to get hired and the first to get fired† (Kennedy 113), so because of this it was extremely hard for African Americans to find employment or even keep a steady job due to discrimination they faced. This form of discrimination made it hard for African Americans to make a living for themselves during this time and is similar to how criminals are treated in today’s society. The practice of the Jim Crow Laws back during the 1870’s to the mid 1960’s is similar to how criminals are discriminated against today. Throughout America, prison inmates in 48 states, paroles in 33 states, and probationers in 29 states are not allowed to vote (Karjick). This is about 4.7 million Americans that are denied this right (Karjick). One may argue that the poor choices that these 4.7 million Americans have made make them untrustworthy to help make decisions for the country but labeling these people as criminals should not define ... ...ent opportunities, these children are forced to be raised in severe poverty. A theory that has been done by a researcher, who has been funded by the National Institutes of health, claims that the stresses of poverty can lead to impaired learning abilities in children (Stresses). The stress that is triggered by poverty is dangerous and can really affect our children’s future. The New Jim Crow system that has been redesigned in America leaves a lot of people with criminal backgrounds jobless and stuck in a second-class status. Discriminating against the criminals is morally wrong and it not only affects them but others such as their loved ones as well. â€Å"All men are created equal† is a famous phrase from The Declaration of Independence that America would like to believe, but it is clear that today’s society is unequal just based on how criminals are treated.

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Behind the Scenes: The Effects of Acting on Personal Identity Essay

Scientists have found it most valuable to study the cases of twins in order to determine the relative contribution of genetics or environmental factors to intelligence. First off, it is important to have an understanding of the genetic distribution between the different groups. Identical twins share the exact same genetic material, giving them 100% genetic overlap. Secondly, all other first degree family members such as fraternal twins, siblings, and biological parents and children share 50% genetic overlap. Cousins have 15% overlap, and all other relationships share 0% genetic overlap. In twin studies, psychologists study a variety of different cases; identical twins raised together, identical twins raised separately, and fraternal twins raised together and separately. The reason for including these groups is to examine the correlation they have for intelligence. These studies have shown the intelligence correlation in identical twins is higher than in fraternal twins, even when the identical twins are raised apart. Examining these different groups helps to determine the influence both genetics and environmental factors have on intelligence. Other groups that have been included in these studies are: siblings raised together, siblings raised apart, biological parent and child that lived together, biological parent and child that lived apart, adoptive parent and child that lived together, and cousins that lived apart. These groups were included because comparing identical versus fraternal twins is not the only method to help determine the influence of genetics on intelligence. Because these other groups have varying degrees of genetic overlap with each other, they provide information that can contribute to understandi... ... person possesses is irrelevant. A person that is skilled in mathematics is intelligent, as is a person that has the ability to choreograph a Broadway dance routine. Everyone has a degree of intelligence in every subject; however, some people have a very high amount of intelligence in some particular areas compared to other areas. Both nature (genetics) and nurture (environment) make definite contributions to intelligence. The most accurate way to put the contributions together is to say that genetics allows for intellectual capacity and it is the role of nurturing to bring that capacity (â€Å"intelligence†) to its fullest capabilities. Without an enriched environment, a lot of intelligence may be put to no use at all. If a person has no outlet to channel the intelligence he or she has there is intellectual potential simply sitting there, but not being exercised.

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

True Freedom in Lawrences Aaron’s Rod Essay -- essays research papers

â€Å"They had got outside the castle of so-called human life. Outside the horrible, stinking castle of human life. A bit of true, limpid freedom.† ~ Florence, Aaron's Rod) 'Aaron’s Rod' concludes the central theme that D. H. Lawrence took up in 'The White Peacock', 'The Trespasser', 'The Lost Girl', and 'Mr. Noon': the idea of true human freedom. What makes Aaron’s Rod exceptional is the way it transforms the notion of love, regarded as the savior of human soul from the tyranny of social obligations. In his previous novels, Lawrence depicted characters that are fed up with their forced ways of social life. They are helplessly seeking a relationship that offers spontaneity, in harmony with their inner self, the depth of their soul. There is always only one answer to the question ‘How?’ and that is love. They break the existing social bonds and make new love relationships with varying results from a satisfied marriage (The Lost Girl) to suicide (The Trespasser). Contrarily, Aaron’s Rod takes a line that is overtly slanted against love as the true path of human freedom. It challenges the very notion of love as something c onsistent with the needs of the human soul. It even poses the question ‘what is true love?’ The first three chapters clearly poise 'Aaron’s Rod' against the mechanical mode of life in an increasingly industrialized society. Aaron Sisson is the Secretary at a colliery. He has to work till late in the evening and has an unsatisfactory marriage. His reaction to his suffocating emotional life is seen on Christmas Eve when he goes to bring his daughters some candles. Instead of returning home, Aaron spends the night at the Bricknells. He tells Josephine, â€Å"My wife has made up her mind she loves me, and she’s not going ... ...he way one of them becomes an eagle and the other its prey. Secondly, does the inner, deeper self of the man, one that enables him to become himself, survive the chains of social bondage? Lawrence is optimistic here just as he has been in The Lost Girl and The Rainbow. The reader sees Aaron shocked at the splitting of his flute in a bomb blast made by the anarchists. On Lilly’s asking, he throws the broken rod into a stream. Lawrence speaks through Lilly the most precious words: â€Å"It’ll grow again. It’s a reed, a water-plant. You can’t kill it.† Man’s soul is always living, breathing, and waiting for the vital ecdysis that gives it the power to come out and rule itself. In Lilly’s words, â€Å"We must either love or rule. And once the love-mode changes, as change it must, for we are worn out and becoming evil in its persistence, then the other mode will take place in us.†

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Battle of Passchendaele Essay

On November 6th, 1917 our Canadian soldiers captured the Passchendaele ridge. They had to face many obstacles but they made it. Canadians take Passchendaele successfully. On November 6th, 1917 our Canadian soldiers captured the Passchendaele ridge. They had to face many obstacles but they made it. Reporter Reporter Canadian Wounded at the Battle of Passchendaele More than 15,000 Canadians died or were wounded during the Battle of Passchendaele. Many of them drowned in the mud and shell holes. Canadian Wounded at the Battle of Passchendaele More than 15,000 Canadians died or were wounded during the Battle of Passchendaele. Many of them drowned in the mud and shell holes. The mud, flat terrain, and relative lack of preparation time and artillery support would make Passchendaele a far different battlefield than the one the Canadians encountered at Vimy Ridge. Currie took the time to carefully prepare as much as possible and on October 26, the Canadian offensive began. Advancing through the mud and enemy fire was slow and there were heavy losses. Despite the challenges, the Canadians reached the outskirts of Passchendaele by the end of a second attack on October 30 during a rainstorm. On November 6, the Canadians and British launched the assault to capture the village of Passchendaele itself. In excessive fighting, the attack went according to plan. After fierce enemy counterattacks, the last part of the battle saw the Canadians attack on November 10 and take out the Germans from the eastern edge of Passchendaele Ridge. Our Canadian soldiers won the Battle of Passchendaele. They faced many challenges and obstacles but they fought through and succeeded. The mud, flat terrain, and relative lack of preparation time and artillery support would make Passchendaele a far different battlefield than the one the Canadians encountered at Vimy Ridge.   Currie took the time to carefully prepare as much as possible and on October 26, the Canadian offensive began. Advancing through the mud and enemy fire was slow and there were heavy losses. Despite the challenges, the Canadians reached the outskirts of Passchendaele by the end of a second attack on October 30 during a rainstorm. On November 6, the Canadians and British launched the assault to capture the village of Passchendaele itself. In excessive fighting, the attack went according to plan. After fierce enemy counterattacks, the last part of the battle saw the Canadians attack on November 10 and take out the Germans from the eastern edge of Passchendaele Ridge. Our Canadian soldiers won the Battle of Passchendaele. They faced many challenges and obstacles but they fought through and succeeded. The Canadian plan in capturing Passchendaele was simple: they would attack in a series of battles, each with a small objective. Step by step, they would take the village, the overall objective being to secure a defensible position on the Passchendaele Ridge. If they succeeded, they would make a small gap in German positions, leaving them exposed to enemy fire from all directions. Before the Canadian entered the battle on the Passchendaele Ridge, the British and Australian soldiers had fought there for more than three months. They were defeated with 100,000 casualties.   Our Canadian Commander Sir Arthur Currie had begged the Commander-in-Chief to spare the Canadians the ordeal of Passchendaele, his plea had been refused because pressure on the enemy must be maintained. The Ypres Salient was in utter disarray. The continuous damaged that had been caused to it destroyed the drainage system. The heavy rains that lasted for days had the terrain turn into an oozing quagmire of yellow mud. It was impossible to dig trenches. Men would be swallowed and killed in that mud. The Canadian plan in capturing Passchendaele was simple: they would attack in a series of battles, each with a small objective. Step by step, they would take the village, the overall objective being to secure a defensible position on the Passchendaele Ridge. If they succeeded, they would make a small gap in German positions, leaving them exposed to enemy fire from all directions. Before the Canadian entered the battle on the Passchendaele Ridge, the British and Australian soldiers had fought there for more than three months. They were defeated with 100,000 casualties.   Our Canadian Commander Sir Arthur Currie had begged the Commander-in-Chief to spare the Canadians the ordeal of Passchendaele, his plea had been refused because pressure on the enemy must be maintained. The Ypres Salient was in utter disarray. The continuous damaged that had been caused to it destroyed the drainage system. The heavy rains that lasted for days had the terrain turn into an oozing quagmire of yellow mud. It was impossible to dig trenches. Men would be swallowed and killed in that mud. General Sir Arthur Currie Quote: â€Å"I am a good enough Canadian to believe, if my experience justifies me in believing, that Canadians are best served by Canadians.† General Sir Arthur Currie Quote: â€Å"I am a good enough Canadian to believe, if my experience justifies me in believing, that Canadians are best served by Canadians.†

Monday, September 16, 2019

The Biography of Andrew Johnson

Andrew Johnson was born on December 1808. He was the 17th president of the United States. Johnson had been born into extreme poverty and had no formal education. Yet with determination and hard work, he had risen rapidly through politics, to state government and on to national office. He married Eliza McCardle, who was a school-teacher and was a big part of Johnson†s education, she helped him learn how to write and do arithmetic. He had three sons and two daughters. Andrew Johnson was a democratic and had served in the Senate from 1857- 1862. In the early months of the Civil War, Johnson was forced to flee his own state to avoid arrest. When federal troops conquered Nashville, he resigned his Senate seat in March 1862 to accept President Lincoln†s appointment as military governor of Tennessee. He served as vice president for a month in 1865, and as president for the balance of Lincoln†s terms. In January 1875, Johnson won back his former Senate seat after a struggle that forced the Tennessee legislature through 56 separate ballots. Johnson took his Senate deposition before the same body that only seven years earlier had failed by a single vote to remove him from the White House on March 5, 1875. During the 19 day Senate special session, he delivered a political turmoil in Louisiana and then returned to Tennessee, where he died four months later on July 31, 1875. He suffered from a stroke. Johnson was buried on a hilltop in Greenville, wrapped in a 37 star flag with a copy of the Constitution under his head.

Sunday, September 15, 2019

Air pollution economic case for enviromental regulation

IntroductionEconomic development and prosperity takes place, several times, coupled with contamination of the urban environment. This situation is defined in economics as an externality, which is an effect from one activity which has consequences for another activity but is not reflected in market prices. When these consequences are the generation of external costs they are defined as negatives. This is the particular case of air pollution. For example, â€Å"Pollution represents an external cost because damages associated with it are borne by society as a whole and are not reflected in market transactions.†(Koomey and Krause, 1997)  Despite the fact that stricter controls were put into practice in the last years, and the observed reductions in pollution, air pollution remains as a common concern among countries.Externalities correctionsThere are four major measurable examples to correct this problem which are: Property Rights, Regulation, Taxes and subsidies, Marketable Per mits.  Although it works in few cases, small groups, if property rights are correctly defined it may avoid the problem, e.g. if a firm owns the right to clean air and can charge people for using it.  Air pollution regulations were strengthened by enactment of the Air Quality Act in 1967, which introduced a regional approach to air pollution control; and has been has been increasing in the last years, E.g., limits on vehicle emissions, controls on allowable factory emissions, smoking bans. The problem on this measure is that does not encourage change in technology uses or new technology developments.Taxes and subsidies, for example differential taxes on carbon emissions, has the benefit that the company that produces contamination â€Å"pays†, thus encouraging technology change and being more efficient.  At last, marketable permits are a number of permits issued according to a total limit of output pollution. They may be auctioned to the highest bidder, going to companie s that can not reduce pollution easily. The Clean Air Act is a well-known example of the application of the marketable permits technique.ConclusionControlling air pollution is a difficult task, plenty of trade-off decisions. Many measures have been taken to stop the problem, but many of them have proven to be inefficient. It seems that taxes and subsidies are the best measures but this might be introduced slowly into the market, thus giving time to firms to adjust their production methods. Hence is that marketable permits are a validate instrument to go together with taxes in the meanwhile.ReferencesNorberg, Johan. â€Å"In Defense of Global Capitalism†. Publisher: Cato Institute. Place of Publication: Washington, DC. Publication Year: 2003. Page Number: 229.Cherni, Judith A. â€Å"Economic Growth versus the Environment: The Politics of Wealth, Health and Air Pollution†. Publisher: Palgrave. Place of Publication: New York. Publication Year: 2002. Page Number: 1.Colls, Jeremy. â€Å"Air Pollution†. Publisher: Spon Press. Place of Publication: New York. Publication Year: 2002. Page Number: 21.Arya, S. Pal. â€Å"Air Pollution, Meteorology and Dispersion†. Publisher: Oxford University Press. Place of Publication: New York. Publication Year: 1999. Page Number: 15.Koomey, Jonathan and Krause, Florentin. â€Å"Introduction to Environmental Externality Costs†. Year: 1997. Published in the CRC Handbook on Energy Efficiency. Energy Analysis Program. Applied Science Division. Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory.   

Saturday, September 14, 2019

Evaporationin Our Daily Life Essay

In a society based only on materialistic possessions, sometimes we overlook even the simplest of things, and the most valuable to our survival as a human race and as a planet. Everywhere around us people envy great architects and artists because of their remarkable creations. Though, we, as a human race disregard the importance of less tangible commodities, developed by the greatest artist ever, Mother Nature. She has given us the most magnificent and staggering artwork imaginable, our environment. But only through the most convoluted processes have these masterpieces been created. From humans to flowers and everything in between, a thorough process is behind everything. Before birth, for example, human must grow and develop through their three trimesters. Also before a plant is full-grown, it must first mature and survive as a seedling. Because although living creatures may be the most evident of Mother Nature’s creations, there may be more to it. Life is only possible in a suitable environment. On earth, that environment is created by our weather dynamics. Weather dynamics is the study of how the motion of water and air cause weather patterns. Our Global weather systems are reflections of our atmosphere and its make up. Weather systems react to the temperature, humidity, and atmospheric pressure. These three control systems are affected by one simple process, evaporation. Evaporation is the conversion of liquid water directly into its vapor or gaseousstate. Through evaporation, water from the surface is transferred straight into the atmosphere. Worldwide, evaporation is usually seen as the moderator of weather. Evaporation controls cloud cover, surface temperature, humidity, and atmospheric pressure. All of these factors depend on the rate of evaporation and the differentiation in the rate of evaporation allows for the diverse climate conditions, which we see around the world each day. This leads us to the question that must be answered, to know and understand the factors that affect the rate of evaporation. Through extensive thought and calibration we have found that the six factors, which effect evaporation are temperature, surface area, humidity, presence of foreign particles, atmospheric pressure, and wind speed. The first and most important factor that affects evaporation is temperature. Temperature is the measure of the average amount of energy in the particles of a particular substance. Many people are probably already aware that when water boils, it will evaporate into the air as a vapor or gas until there is no liquid left in that particular container. This is true, because liquids achieve the peak level of evaporation when heated to their boiling point. What few realize though, is that as temperature decreases, there is still evaporation, the amount occurring at any given time though, does decrease with the temperature. The reason why temperature affects evaporation is fairly simple to understand when referring to the collision model. In the collision model, it states that in order to increase the rate of any reaction you must either increase the number of collisions, or increase the fraction of collisions that are effective. Increasing the temperature allows the rate of evaporation to increase through two methods. First of all, in a true, constant environment, temperature of the water, and temperature of the surrounding air usually is fairly similar, so variations of surrounding temperatures do not often change the temperature of the water. But, by increasing the temperature of the water, it gives molecules more kinetic energy. This allows more molecules to break through or escape into the atmosphere by increasing the number of collisions with air particles. This raise in the temperature also increases the effectiveness of each collision by granting more molecules the activation energy required to escape into the surrounding air, therefore increasing the rate of evaporation significantly. Temperature is most likely the number one factor when looking at evaporation in relation to rainfall around the world. But aside from Temperature, many other factors are recognized as affecting the rate of evaporation. The second factor, which we believe, plays a role in the rate at which evaporation occurs is surface area. Surface area of a liquid could be defined as the area or amount of water which in constant contact with the atmosphere. Surface area plays a large role in our weather systems, as shown  by our oceans. Our oceans our widely exposed to the atmosphere and have a large surface area. This in turn allows them to produce most of the moisture in the air through evaporation. The change in the rate of evaporation by surface area is evident for all eyes in the proceeding experiments later in this report. The effect that surface area has on evaporation can be explained using the example from the understanding concepts question #1 on page 535. In this question it states that one litre of water is placed into each a pie plate and a jar. They were both placed into the same room and were given time to evaporate. Our prediction is that the water in the pie plate would evaporate quicker, assuming its opening was wider than the jar. This would be because of the difference in surface area. In this case as in every other increase in evaporation due to surface area increase, it can be explained by one simple fact. Allowing the two reactants (air and water) to contact more of each other will increase the rate of reaction. This occurs because of the increase in the number of collisions occurring between the two substances, according to the collision model, will increase the rate of reaction. The third instance where we believe the evaporation rate would change is with the fluctuation of relative humidity. Humidity is defined as the amount of water vapor in a defined space relative to the amount of air present. Humidity can be used to explain question #5 on page 235, why people who are in Arizona at 33 degrees Celsius feel more comfortable than people at the same temperature in Toronto do. The general population usually does not like the heavy feeling of moisture in the air and in Toronto, humidity is much higher than in the dry state of Arizona, which explains the comfort variation. Also, in reference to question #3 on the same page, humidity would affect the evaporation of these lakes. And in all instances, humidity strongly affects the rate of evaporation of any body of water. Unfortunately, although we, as a group, were not able to test our hypothesis because of lack of materials, we feel that we can strongly support it with scientific  fact. Directly, humidity fills the space in between air particles with water vapor. Because these spaces are filled, now there is less room in the surrounding environment for water molecules escaping from the water. In turn, the increase in humidity will decrease the rate of evaporation by â€Å"raising the bar† for the amount of activation energy that any given particle needs to escape into the atmosphere. This decreases the effectiveness of collisions in the physical change of evaporation occurring here. On the other hand though, a decrease in the amount of moisture in the air will increase the rate of evaporation by increasing the effectiveness of collisions in particles trying to escape into the atmosphere. In short, humidity plays an important role in evaporation worldwide. The next factor that affects evaporation is the presence of foreign particles, and the most predominant, salt. Water, as we know, is rarely found pure which is why we conducted this experiment. As presented by question #4 on page 535, we pondered whether salt water or fresh water would evaporate faster. Our conclusion that we reached is that fresh water would evaporate quicker. First of all, salt water is not a chemical combination; therefore, no properties, such as, the boiling point would change by a great amount. Salt water though, does have a slower rate of evaporation because it reduces the amount of water particles that have access to the air. With less water molecules able to reach the air, fewer particles have a chance of escaping. This is true and is supported by the collision model, because in the model, as in this example, the reduction in the collisions between particles causes the rate of evaporation to recess. But, salt content is not the only factor that has an affect on the rate of evaporation of water. Also, Atmospheric pressure has a great affect on the rate of evaporation. Atmospheric pressure is the pressure that air exerts upon objects as it is pulled, by gravity, towards the center of the earth. And although, due to lack of material limitations we could not conduct this experiment, we believe atmospheric pressure has an affect on evaporation similar to that of humidity. With a greater pressure, air molecules are packed closer together and there is less space between them. Then, like humidity, a greater atmospheric pressure â€Å"raises the bar† and activation energy needed for water  molecules to escape into the atmosphere and surrounding air. This â€Å"raise† reduces the effectiveness of collisions with the air and therefore, reduces the rate of evaporation when atmospheric pressure is greater. Generally, this explains why high-pressure systems are associated with no or little cloud cover. There is little moisture in the air to form clouds and provide our nic e clear day. The sixth and final factor that affects the rate of evaporation is wind speed or the presence of wind. Wind is generally associated with the horizontal movement of air, as a type of advection. As asked in question #2 on page 535, increase in the speed or amount of wind, increases the evaporation of a liquid. These can be explained by using our experiment with the vacuum hood. As water evaporates, the humidity of the air increases because the spaces between air particles are becoming filled with water molecules. As we have learned, leaving these particles in the air increases humidity and subsequently reduce the rate of evaporation, the opposite affect of which we want. What wind does, is it blows the water particles away from the surface of the water allowing more room for particles to evaporate into the atmosphere. The second way that wind helps to increase the rate of evaporation is it lowers the atmospheric pressure exerted on the water. According to Bernoulli’s principle, when the speed of the air is high, the pressure is low, and when the speed of the air is low, the pressure is high. Wind increase the speed of the air, and in turn, lowers the pressure on the surface of the water. This, combined with the significant drop in humidity â€Å"lowers the bar† of activation energy required by water molecules to escape into the atmosphere and increases the rate of evaporation by increasing the effectiveness of the particles that are trying to escape into the vapor in the air. All in all, weather makes life possible, but one of the most predominant forces in the complexity of weather is the process of evaporation. And  although, this process is overlooked by many, it is valued and recognized as an important process in sustaining life by all members of our group. With 80% of all water coming from saltwater oceans, factors that affect evaporation must be studied in order to utilize this natural purifying process to our advantage. By studying temperature, surface area, humidity, presence of foreign particles, atmospheric pressure, and wind speed, we may some day do what Mother Nature has been doing for centuries, use evaporation to our advantage. And as a group, individuals in a worldwide community, I could only imagine the possibilities if everyone was informed about our weather. Because what some take for granted now, may not be there when we need it, in the end, necessary for survival.

Friday, September 13, 2019

Simulation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Simulation - Essay Example Now the application of cost accounting system came into practices for the fact that that the firm had to come up with a decision i.e. whether to accept this order or otherwise, since bulk orders go for discounted prices, but the exceptional quantity makes the fixed cost distribute over larger volumes. Number cracking leads to the conclusion that the contribution margin and operating profits from lemon cookies are lesser when compared to the real mint ones. So the suggestion came out was to reduce the volume of lemon ones and increase those of real mint, as it would also accommodate the order. In realistic terms, the application should be otherwise, since the unit contribution margin for lemon cookies is on the higher side. At the same time, any order cannot be accepted at a point in time when production capacity is already on maximum utilization point, since it implies the inability of the firm to cater to the order. Along the similar line, the order should not also be considered because the selling price per unit for the bulk order is the one at which contribution margin is less than the fixed costs incurred so it makes less sense to accept the order under such a circumstance despite the fact that the contribution margin would yet be greater than zero, but would result in a loss for the business. Subsequently, it doesn't turn out to be worth for fulfilling the order. Some more facts reveal that the break-even point for the lemon cookies is around 563,000 packs. The current manufacturing is around 600,000 packs, which turns the cycle into a profitable one, as it goes beyond the breakeven, and this manufacturing is around the same marks as the production requirements and monthly targets. However, increasing the break-even volume to 650,000, would not be profitable, despite the firm bring in operating profits. Though in doing this, the existing unit may be forced to reduce its volumes for lemon cookies, as the variable cost per unit for lemon is on the higher side. These were some outcome from the simulation conducted, however, the three major learning points were the taking up of key figures of fixed costs, variable costs and breakeven point. These are the major constituents of cost for running a business. Majority of the costs are easily observable and thus, can be quantified to ensure that their relationship with the level of output can be determined in direct form or otherwise (Costs, 2005, para. 1 and 2). Fixed and Variable costs are the basic bifurcation or classification of costs in a business, while break-even point determines the zero profit/loss levels and beyond this point, is all the profit a firm earns from its operations. Fixed costs remain same irrespective of the volume of output, while variable costs vary with the level of output produced (Marshall, McManus and Viele, 2004, pg. 417). There is another category of costing referred to as mixed cost, and this is a form that contains elements of both fixed and variable costs. The most classical examples are bills that contain a line rent (fixed part) and a unit based rental (variable part). The analyses of all these costs are done