Authority Judicial Review Jurisdiction Case Study

Authority Judicial Review Jurisdiction - Case Study Example The Panel took the form of an entirely non-statutory, self-regulating association, setup by persons having a common interest, which had devised and operated a code of conduct to be observed in the take-overs and mergers of public companies. The court held that, bearing in mind that the panel did have governmental backing and was exercising its duties in the public interest, it should be subject to the control of public law. As Sir John Donaldson put it: "We have reached the position where the ambit of certiorari can be said to cover every case in which a body of persons of a public as opposed to a purely private of domestic character has to determine matters affecting subjects. Looked at in this way, the board in my judgment comes fairly and squarely within the jurisdiction of this court It is clearly performing public duties." This introduces the functions test of affects doctrine, that is if the body has the public functions or its decisions produce public law consequences then, in principle, the courts might intervene. In the case of the IRA, neither it has public functions nor do the decisions of the IRA produce public law consequences hence, the courts may not intervene in the given situation. Specifically, the IRA has no statutory or prerogative basis. One of its main functions

Analysis of the Operations at Woolworths

Analysis of the Operations at Woolworths This essay is based on the analysis of the operations of the super market retail branch WOOLWORTHS, which is located in the heart of the Sydney CBD. Woolworths is a renowned chain of retail store in Australia and various other countries of the world. Woolworths have build up their standards of quality product and service for its customers. Current scenario of the Woolworths branch is that is having the problems with the personal performance of the branch staff, which has resulted in to decline of the quality of service leading to decline in the business for the branch. The purpose of this essay is to determine the various factors that determine the quality of service and identify the factors leading to the problem of poor personal performance of the staff. The further part of the essay describes about the various strategies applied and various steps taken in order to maintain the effective running of the operations and the improving the quality of service up to the Woolworths standard. At last Essay provides the overall conclusion of the Woolworths operations ineffectiveness and also the lack of various strategies required for effective and smooth operation system. Main body Today in the era of global competition Woolworths have set their standards of operation and quality services to its customers. At Woolworths store they are conscious of their responsibilities- serving the millions of the customers in each and every community across Australia and New Zealand. With this profile comes not only a responsibility to understand and manage our impact and also manage the long lasting benefits in the retail sector. Woolworths operations have set standards, which affect the share holders, customers and supply chain. This essay claims to give an insight into how the Woolworths perform well in the retail operations against their commitment and targets, Woolworths operations are known for its quality goods and services around the various different locations. Woolworths has been at or near the top of that list since early this decade. Known affectionately as Woolies in Australia, the company has ramped up the refurbishment of supermarkets in an effort to retain and bring in new customers. Woolworths (2010). A recent review of the branch has highlighted that branch is not performing its operations effectively and efficiently. The reason behind this scenario is that, the staffs seem to have taken the standard of their personal performance for granted. As such, it is important to carefully examine and study the present situation of the branch and plan ways on how to improve and re-establish the status of the Sydney branch in terms of process, capacity design and customer satisfaction Issues affecting the performance of staff Under the perspective of operational management, the various critical issues identified for the decline in the personal performance and ultimately resulting in the decline of the service quality and the business for the branch are the capacity; demand forecasting, supply chain, design process and human resources and job design. Service process design Woolworths retail the product combination of the good and services, goods are tangible and whereas the services are intangible. Service referred as an act that is done to or for customers. Chwen Sheu, Roger McHaney, Sunil Babbar, (2003) support that service processes require the participation of the customer without the customer, service processes cannot take place. Service at Woolworths are produced and consumed simultaneously at the point when the customers are shopping at Woolworths. Woolworths have established the standards from the manufacturing to the retail outlet, the quality services which are provided by the Woolworths staff. Which are inventory handling, displaying goods on shelves and helping customers for the customers within the outlet, with low customer interaction. The various varieties of tangible products are available at Woolworths which requires the least customer service delivery. As the customers select the goods and bring it to the counter for purchase. The self checkouts counters are also available at the various other outlets of Woolworths, for the ease of the customers to cut down the need of the service from the Woolworths staff, though they have a staff available for the help of the customers at the self checkout counters and this cannot be considered as the pure form of service. So, organizations those are dependent on customer participation causes difficulties in managing effective service process design. Service is provided by a service delivery system which includes facilities, processes and skills needed to provide the service (Stevenson 2009). In the case of Woolworths retail outlet there is inadequacy found in measuring service quality performance based on discussed criteria which leads to poor service quality and declining customer satisfaction. Forecasting issues Forecasting is considered to be the most important function in the retail organisation, as it enables the mangers to foresee the future needs and perform the related functions accordingly. Such as ordering of the next supply, managing the inventories, staffing is also equally linked with the forecasting functions. The quality of this business can only be good on the basis of its forecast. In todays economy where business condition is unstable forecasting is a bit difficult. (Aviv.Y, 2001). The Woolworths branch at Sydney CBD is also struggling with the forecasting issues, due to lack of countable performance of the Grocery manager. Retail organizations today must strive to satisfy the unique demand for each of their customers. Gone are the days of the mass market where a single assortment, standard pricing and a single average location forecast would satisfy consumer demand in all stores. To be effective, forecasts today must account for demand differences across all stores, geograph ies and product lines. The store manager is also incapable in providing the commendable performance due to the lack of interest and the availability of the old procedures. The resources available to them are not adequate and lack the evidence. The manger is completely dependable on the quantitative approach which includes the past historical data or the casual variables to forecast demand whereas the forecasting of the demand of the goods sold also requires the qualitative approach that is the incorporation of the factors such as the decision makers emotions, personal experience and value system. Demand and Capacity management Heizer and Render (2003) suggested that in the view of service industry scheduling customer is demand management and scheduling workforce is capacity management. Heizer and Render (2003) also support that the demand management is attempting to influence when customer attend the service and capacity management is ensuring the organization capability to meet the demand. In the operation of retail industry such as the Woolworths store, demand management is the management of the demand created for the goods and services at the store by the customer intended to purchase the goods and service according to their taste and preferences. Planning and providing the customers goods and services they desire at the time of their shopping is the capacity management. Various customers visit the store on daily basis and purchase the goods and consume the services according to their ease, the staff at the Woolworths is unable to handle the demand and deliver the goods and service according to their capacity. Understanding the demand is not sufficient to manage the demand fluctuation. It also involves the organizations capacity to fulfill the demand. Therefore, it is imperative for an organization to understand its capacity constraints in terms of time, labor, equipment, and facilities. The major challenge faced by outlet is the short of the capacity to minimize the waiting time of the customers at the purchasing counter. The lack of equipment and staffing during the peak hours has created a gap between the demand and the capacity of fulfilling the demand. Klassen K.J Rohleder T.R. 2002. Supply Chain management Supply chain management is considered to be the oversight of the materials, information and finances as they move in to a process from supplier to manufacturers to wholesalers and from retailer to consumers at the end. Supply chain management is said to be the integration of the activities that procure materials and services transform them into intermediate goods and final products and deliver them to the customers Effective Supply Chain Management can offer customers high quality products and services with low prices (Waller L.D 2003). Supply chain management involves the coordinating and integrating these flows with in and among the companies. The ultimate goal of the effective supply chain management is said to reduce the inventory and with the assumptions that products are available when needed, (Render.B, Heizer.J 2003). Supply chain management includes determining the following for the effective running of the operations. Transportation vendors, Credit and cash transfers, Suppliers, Ware housing and inventory Woolworths being a growing super market store in Australia, they have large number of suppliers supplying the various goods in store. However this store of Woolworths faces many challenges with the supply chain management, Such as the bulk order delivery of the goods at the receiving dock and lack of storage space for the certain products. Also the inappropriate tracking system of receiving and ordering of goods, they also suffer from Bullwhip effect, staffs of Woolworths branch stand helpless for the insufficient delivery of the goods and services by the suppliers. Due to the management problems the staffs of the Woolworths fails to provide the quality of goods and services to its customer due to the ineffective inventory management systems and control. Also due to the poor handling of the stock, store also suffer from the various product in to dump due to their expiry date and out of demand. Human resource issues Human resource foremost objective is to manage labour and design jobs so people are effectively and efficiently utilized and also they have the quality of work life in an atmosphere of mutual commitment and trust for instance the job which is not reasonably safe also for which the pay is equitable and also achieves the physical and physiological requirements. Various following issues which have lead to the performance of the staff to decline and ultimately loss to business. Memmott Growers (2002) Job design Job design refers to the way tasks are combined to form complete jobs (Robbins and Stuart-Kotze). Using job design principles results in clear job descriptions, a motivated workforce and successful completion of tasks. People are assigned to a job because they are perceived to be able to fill its requirements. . A proper job design makes jobs meaningful, interesting and challenging. Individual needs, task attributes and work setting lead to performance and satisfaction (Wood et al. 2006). According to Stevenson (2009) job design is one of the oldest aspects of operations management. Work design refers to specifies the tasks of each individuals in terms of working environment and methods of doing job is called job designing. The job design helps in smooth running of the operations; the Woolworths human resources department recruit the individual for the specific job role centrally and appoint it to the various stores. Staffs at the CBD store are appointed but there is no further induction programme to guide their duties and to use it skills for serving the customers and gaining the customer satisfaction. The store manager should have the various programmes to develop their staff according to their skills and the environmental conditions. They should more specifically distribute the staff according to the need and requirement of the task with the proper planning; this will help the store in attaining the proper utilisation of the labour and time for the specific job. The staffs at Woolworths get exhausted or losses interest by repeatedly performing the same task again on daily basis. The branch management due to lack of coordination between the store and lack of supply management system fails in designing the job for the better utilisation o the labor force. The staff also lack in control or quick decisions required at the time of operations. Although the standard work schedule in Australia is still five days and 8- hours a day and which includes the half hour break. The Woolworths store at CBD largely experiences the no show and the absenteeism of permanent staff, which results in loss of customer satisfaction and reduces business. The reason of no show and the absenteeism is the unsuitable working hours for the staff and also the long working hours lead to the no show of staff on the day of work. The above discussion of the psychological components of job design provides the insight into the factors that contribute to the job satisfaction and motivation. Motivation is a key factor in the smooth and effective running of any business. It influences the quality and the productivity of the employees working in the organisation. Monetary satisfied employee is more likely to perform well comparative to the less satisfied staff. Employees are more likely to continue their employment at a company where they can communicate openly and freely with all aspects of management, up and down chain of the command. This benefits not only the employees also the organisation (Slack et al, 2004). Work life balance from employee apparent is described as the maintenance of a balance between work life (the time spent for working at job) and life at home (that is different roles and responsibilities at home) whereby it is further been described as participation in one role has made difficult to be hundred percent in another role (Barodel, Tharenou, Moss, 1998). Due to lack of staff at the Woolworths the current staff is made to perform long hours and given limited off, which has currently resulted in the poor performance standard by them, as they are not been able to maintain balance between their professional and personal life. In order to solve the various issues with the Woolworths branch following strategies will be drawn in the further part of Essay. A well functioning process delivers the proper service. In addition Schroeder (2008) draw two key issues in service designs are the degree of variation in service requirements and the degree of customer involvement and customer contact in delivery process. These issues have an influence on determining the degree to which service can be standardized. That is every customer gets more or less the same service or highly customized to customer requests, and exactly the same service is virtually never repeated for the another customer. Woolworths Management facing challenges in designing service process to match with the requirement of the customer. The important tools that can be applied to the designing process of the service are Service matrix and Customer contact matrix. Teasley. C. E. III Ready. R. K. (1991). In case of Forecasting, Forecasts drive a businesss production, capacity and scheduling system which can directly affect the operation in finance, marketing, and personnel planning department. To maximise use of resources, capacity planning should be carried out. Klassen and Rohleder 2001) recommend four general strategies for demand forecast and capacity planning. Firstly, match that states matching capacity exactly to demand. Secondly, provide that maintains capacity at a certain level that can afford maximum demand. Thirdly, control that control demand to be at average level and fourthly, influence which influence in reducing magnitude of peaks and valleys of demand and match capacity to the resulting pattern. It is an important tool for the Woolworths management to overcome the forecasting issues as it will help in gaining the knowledge about the customer taste preferences and demand for the various goods and services at Woolworth store. Retail-oriented operations management research has focused on a variety of issues, including forecasting techniques, the use of vendor-managed inventory (VMI), and the operational antecedents of service quality and profitability. Organization having well operation system delivers the proper service. (Andrews and Parsons, 1989). The two key issues which are considered in service design is are the degree of variation in service in service requirement and the degree of customer involvement and the customer contact in delivery process these issue have raised the concerned for the determining the degree to which and what standards the degree can be standardized. According to the Hayes (1996) another strategy that can be effective is the customer contact matrix. In this system the customer contact is eliminated for the better efficiency such as the self checkout counters which help customers in purchasing the goods at the counters of their own, the Woolworths management needs the self chec kout counters also the staff which help them in guiding the customers from the selection to the purchasing goods, other system are costly but they require high interaction of the staff with the guests, with the low involvement of staff for the service and customers full involvement in purchase increases the rate of high satisfaction among the customers. Demand and capacity management strategies To determine the capacity of resources and maximizing the use of the resource, also to achieve profitability in the operations Break even analysis is the efficient tool for evaluating the capacity (Waller L.D 2003). With the help of this tool branch management can analysis the status of the store, as it provides the clear picture of the number of the goods produced and sold. This advance tool is appropriate to measure the large investments involved. This approach will help in gaining the clear picture of the branch goods produced and sold. Another tool for the total quality management is the six sigma. Six Sigma is the comprehensive system for achieving and attaining the business system. By implementing the Six Sigma improvement model which first defines the critical output and identifies the gaps for improvement, secondly measures the work and collects the data for the process that can help close the gaps. Thirdly analysis the data fourthly improves the data by modifying the or redesigning the existing procedures and lastly control the new process to make sure the performance levels are maintained Implementing the Six Sigma is a big commitment is the Woolworths management implements in the operations to improve the quality of the service and the goods it will help in raising the customer satisfaction. Planning and Scheduling System: To attain the efficient operation system, that is the capacity of the outlet, customer demands. Woolworths management can use the advance planning and scheduling system. With the help of this system the Woolworths management can use the linear programming techniques and other algorithms to develop planned schedules. In this system the Woolworths can manage the future demand efficiently for instance what to order and how much to order to the various suppliers. Effective human resource Labor planning Labor planning is the means of determining the staffing policies dealing with the employment stability and work schedule. The major problem with the Woolworths CBD branch is to maintain the work schedule of the employees. In todays fast pacing environment the employees require the flexi timings at work. Flexitime allows the employees within limits to determine their own schedule, as this policy provides employees more sovereignty and independence on the part of the employee. Similarly it is effective for the management on the cost point of view as it enhance the job satisfaction. Another option is the flexible work week; this plan often calls for the fewer hours but the longer days in week With the help of the flexibility in the working hours of the employee Woolworths can gain the job satisfaction from the employees by managing the staffing according to the employees availability, as it will help them in gaining freedom to work and manage their social life. Managers in the organisations must build or rebuild loyalty and commitment, and create a positive organisational climate in which employees are motivated to achieve at high levels of work performance .To motivate the employees monetary rewards take the form of bonuses, profit and gain sharing and incentive systems. To motivate the employees the various schemes can be adopted such as the incentives system is based on personal productivity of the employee. It helps in motivation the employees to produce or give the best above the predetermined standards. Also the staff must be maintained with the different job role every week. That is variety is added to the employees prospective of job. It helps in marinating the interest of the employee at workforce Conclusion Finally concluding the essay, the issues raised in the essay due to incapable delivery of employees is affecting the operations performance standards. Various issues, such as the poor service design and selection, process inadequacy, inefficient supply chain management, improper forecasting, and inefficient human resource system. In balance capacity management is together affecting the customers satisfaction standards. Due to the nature of the retail industry in the process of customer service, the design of service for the customers should be present. Changing according to the change in the customer requirement is the basic ingredient of the retail industry; customer satisfaction can be gained by providing better delivery of goods and services to its customers. If the customers are satisfied they will not only provide repeat business but also share their personal positive experience with others. Customers with the high level of satisfaction will provide profitability to the business than those who are merely satisfied. To maintain the high standards of the employee performance it requires the employees who are flexible, smart, presentable, and adaptable. Quality control is the important factor for the retail outlet. For the better quality and minimizing the errors the Six Sigma can help in improving the quality control tool in the branch. As the part of the action plan, the major focus of the management should be in minimizing the efforts Essay raises the issues which as the efficient operation managers are assessed and various operations tools to improve the quality of the service and the personal performance of the staff. With the implementation of the strategies such as the Six Sigma, incentive system and work schedule will help in improvising the performance standard of the staff. The Sydney CBD Woolworth is currently requires the designing of the operation system that is the management communication strategies. The employee at Woolworths have suffered from the improper design system and management strategies which lead to the loss of motivation and resulting in the decrease of their own personal performance system. References Andrews, B.H. Parsons,L.L. 1989, Bean chooses a telephone agent scheduling system, Interfaces, vol 19, issue 6,pp.1-9. Aviv.Y, 2001, The Effect of Collaborative Forecasting on Supply Chain Performance, Management Science; Oct2001, Vol. 47 Issue 10, p1326-1343. Cheng,T.C.E. Gupta, M.C., 1989 Survey of scheduling research involving due date determination decisions, European Journal of Operational Research, vol 38, pp. 156-166. Bardoel, E., Tharenau, P., Moss, S. (1998), Organizational predictors of work-family practices, Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources, vol. 36, pp. 31-49. http://vs7pm8vz2k.scholar.serialssolutions.com/?sid=googleauinit=AVaulast=Hillatitle=Research+opportunities+in+service+process+designtitle=Journal+of+operations+managementvolume=20issue=2date=2002spage=189issn=0272-6963 Emerald, 2008 viwed on 1st September 2010 http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?articleid=849489show=abstract Emerald, 2008 viewed on 2nd January 2010, http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/viewContentItem.do;jsessionid=973CD37AFF9D1D81F4DD00B02EB9E7D1?contentType=ArticlehdAction=lnkhtmlcontentId=849407 Hayes, R.H. Wheelwright.S.C., 1979, The dynamics of process-product life cycles, Harvard Business Review issue 57, vol.2, pp. 127-136. Human resource motivation and flexibility viewed on 27th Dec 2009, http://postharvest.tfrec.wsu.edu/PC2002G.pdf. Heizer and Render 2003, Operation Management, Pearson Prentice Hall. 7th edition, pp 694-695. Important demand and capacity, 2008 viewed on 2nd January, 2010, http://www.icmrindia.org/courseware/Services Marketing/SM-DS8.htm Klassen K.J Rohleder T.R. 2002. Demand and capacity management decisions in services: How they impact on one another International Journal of Operations Production Management, Volume 22,ÂÂ  Number 5, pp. 527-548(22). Memmott Growers (2002), Retaining and Motivating Employees. http://postharvest.tfrec.wsu.edu/PC2002G.pdf Robbins, Stephen P. Stuart-Kotze.,R., 1986, Management: Concept and Practices, Canadian Edition. Toronto: Prentice-Hall pp. 125-140 Stevenson, 2009, Operation Management, 10th edition, Mcgraw-Hill, USA Symantec Corporation, 2008, viewed on 2nd January 2010, http://eval.symantec.com/mktginfo/enterprise/other_resources/ent-other_resources_the_capacity_to_succeed_dacm_03-2008.en-us.pdf Teasley. C. E. III Ready. R. K. 1991. Human Service Matrix: Managerial Problems and Prospects, Public Administration Review. Vol. 41, No. 2, pp. 261-267. Thompson, M, G. 1995, Improved Implicit Optimal Modeling of the Labor Shift Scheduling Problem, Management Science, Vol. 41, No. 4 pp. 595-607. Waller L.D 2003, Operation Management a Supply Chain Approach, Thomson Learning, 2nd Edition. Pp 365, 559-628.

Sexual Harassment in the Workplace :: Workplace Harassment Essays

According to the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) the definition of sexual harassment is â€Å"Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature constitute sexual harassment when this conduct explicitly or implicitly affects an individual’s employment, unreasonably interferes with an individual’s work performance, or creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment.† Regardless of position in company or type of candidate it is against the law to make passes or harass one because of their sex or gender. In order to harass a person it does not have to necessarily be physical contact but this regulation also includes any offensive verbal context that anyone may say towards a person’s sex and/or gender. Also, a lot of times sexual harassment is based on personal opinion, meaning what may come off as offensive to one person another may be fine with working. A good example is if a woman is wearing a blue dress and makes a random comment of saying â€Å"I really do love the color blue on women.† All depending how the woman wearing a blue dress perceives the comment will depend on whether or not she feel the person was looking at her and how the comment was said in her eyes. Sex and/ or Gender play absolutely no role in whether or not you can be sexually harassed any side of sexual harassment can be played by any sex and/or gender. A third party of someone that heard or saw the sexual harassment also has the right to file sexual harassment charges, so technically that person does not have to be involved in the situation directly. With sexual harassment there is a very gray area because unfortunately it does not allow teasing, general comments and minuet one on one problem. Harassment is so serious it is a criminal offense, but it also creates a terrible environment for productivity and plays a vital role many times in position movement in the company or organization. Sexual harassment is a form of sexual bigotry and is written into law with Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. To be specific this title only extends to that employer of 15 or more workers and is included for everyone from federal governments to employment agencies. Sexual harassment cases are inspected by the EEOC on a case-by-case basis usually after the victim has told or made it obvious that the harasser should stop.

How Poe Observes the Characteristics Essay

How Poe Observes the Characteristics of the American Gothic Literature Tradition in â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado† Edgar Allan Poe was destined to a life of darkness and insanity. As the son of traveling performers, Poe was abandoned to the horrors of the world at a young age. Poe is generally regarded as the father of American Gothic Literature, an example to such authors as Nathaniel Hawthorne and Herman Melville. The stories that Poe inscribed are prevalent in modern times, creating genres such as horror films and science fiction movies. â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado† is one of Poe’s most memorable short stories, that epitomizes the American Gothic Literature Tradition through the dark narrative. In this short story Montresor, the protagonist, has a vendetta against Fortunato, a man that has wronged him thousands of times. To carry out his revenge, Montresor proceeds to lure Fortunato into the catacombs of his cellar, promising him amontillado, a rare wine. In the end, Fortunato is bound to a wall, while simultaneously being entombed by Montresor. The symbolism, settings, and narrator employed by Poe in â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado† are the stereotypical elements to Southern American Gothic Literature To begin, Edgar Allan Poe utilizes his patriarchal mastery of symbolism to adhere to the characteristics of The American Gothic Literature Tradition in â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado.† Poe uses the symbol of Fortunato’s attire to describe his personality as foolhardy and gullible. He adorns â€Å"a tight fitting party-striped dress and his head was surmounted by the conical cap and bells† (Poe 1). He was dressed as a jester; this symbolic representation portrays Fortunato as a fool. Trent Lorcher touts â€Å"This is Montresor’s way of humiliating Fortunato further for the anger he has caused Montresor. Montresor wants Fortunato to die like the fool that he is â€Å"(Lorcher 1). Additionally, the amontil lado is a symbol within itself for deceit. Amontillado is a rare and delightful wine, a significant temptation to one who is a wine connoisseur such as Fortunato. The amontillado symbolizes Montresor’s deceit of Fortunato; at the mere mention of the amontillado by Montresor, Fortunato exclaims â€Å"To your vaults!† (Poe 1). Lorcher justifies this â€Å"Fortunato’s passion for good wine  leaves him susceptible to flattery, flattery which Montresor provides† (Lorcher 1). Another symbol is the way in which Montresor disposes of Fortunato, which depicts Montresor’s hatred and scorn for Fortunato. Montresor murders Fortunato in the most unusual fashion, he walls him up within a dungeon. In killing Fortunato in this humiliating method, it signifies Montresor’s true detestation for Fortunato and the want to dispatch of him in a humbling methodology. Poe describes this burial in such a manner: â€Å"I forced the last stone into position and plastered it up†¦. for the half of a century no mortal has disturbed [his bones]† (Poe 1). R.J. Russ supports this assumption by stating: â€Å"The way he a ctually killed Fortunato was torturous and cruel. This proves how angry he was at Fortunato†¦ Montresor [did] it because he wanted Fortunato to die in an [embarrassing] fashion that Montresor believed he deserved† (Russ 1). From Fortunato’s wardrobe, to the deceitful wine, to the mode that Fortunato was killed; Poe uses these symbols to observe the characteristics of the American Gothic Literature. As well as using symbolism to adhere to the elements of the American Gothic Literature tradition, Poe also delves into the twisted thoughts of a vengeful narrator. Poe uses the dynamics of a tortuous plan, an irrational storyteller, and honor of aforementioned Montresor to craft â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado† into an American Gothic classic. Montresor tells the story of his revenge against Fortunato nearly fifty years after the live burial. He is proud of his intricate plan to take vengeance. Through imagery, Poe depicts a premeditated murder as planned by a ruthless Montresor. â€Å"Throwing them aside, I soon uncovered a quantity of building stone and mortar† (Poe 7). The prior planning required to execute this intricate plan is evident, as Montresor created the ideal situation t exact his revenge. Womack states, â€Å"By the end of Poe’s story, Montresor has gotten his revenge against unsuspecting Fortunato, whose taste for wine has led him to his own death† (Womack 5). In order to continue, Montresor supplies the weakening Fortunato with alcohol to further lower the senses of the impulsive Fortunato. The lure of Amontillado is too much for the jolly Fortunato, willing to stagger to his death at the promise of a taste of the fine sherry. Montresor attacks the pride of Fortunato when mentioning that Luchresi may be a better connoisseur of wine, in fact leading Fortunato to declare that â€Å"Luchresi cannot tell Amontillado from  Sherry† (Poe 3). This moment shows not only the pride imperative to Montresor’s plan for vengeance, but also the dignity that connoisseurs of wine such as Montresor and Fortunato possess. This pride is magnified in Montresor more so than Fortunato, as shown by the narrator’s opening line, â€Å"The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult I vowed revenge† (Poe 1). The insult of Montresor is the death sentence for Fortunato, though the nature of the insult nor the consequence upon Montresor’s dignity is described. Montresor’s pride is the nature of his family as the motto upon the family crest, â€Å"Nemo me impune lacessit† (Poe 5). Simply, Poe shows that Montresor’s ancestry contains the same pride by creating a motto saying â€Å"No one assails me with impunity† (Poe 5). Poe further challenges the reliability and character of the narrator, and in fact â€Å"Poe does not intend for the reader to sympathize with Montresor because he has been wronged by Fortunato, but rather to judge him† (Womack 4). The narrator evolves throughout the story as his insanity grows, and doubt is created in the reader as to the reliability of Montresor. As the end of his deed draws near, the agonized howls of Fortunato are heard when the certainty of doom finally emerges upon the captive. The story continues, â€Å"I replied to the yells of him who clamored. I re-echoed, I aided, I surpassed them in volume and in strength. I did this, and the clamourer grew still† (Poe 8). The insane narrator is a characteristic of Poe’s American Gothic Literature tradition, a characteristic that continues in the Cask of Amontillado with Montresor, who recounts the story nearly 50 years after the murder of Fortunato. Womack expounds upon Poe’s fascination with the mad chronicler, saying, â€Å"Once again, the reader is invited to delve into the inner workings of a sinister mind† (Womack 4). Poe’s â€Å"Cask of Amontillado† is characterized as American Gothic Literature by th e story-telling of a vengeful narrator as well as the dark setting that is described. Lastly, in Edgar Allan Poe’s â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado,† dark setting is portrayed through the use of a medieval carnival to adhere to the American Gothic Literature tradition. To begin this short story, the cheerful setting of a medieval carnival is described â€Å"they walked amidst the drunken and mirth.† (Poe 1). The carnival is a profound, ironic representation of Poe’s twisted plots in which he conveys fear to his audience. Poe strays from a prototypical melancholy setting associated with  the American Gothic Literature tradition. â€Å"You would never expect a tale of sick revenge to take place at the same time as a merry making carnival† (Palmer 3). Another setting representative of evil is portrayed in Poe’s work through the isolation of the catacombs. â€Å"We passed through a range of low arches, descended, passed on, and descended, arrived at a deep crypt in which the foulness of the air caused our flame beat torches to grow the flame† (Poe 3). Poe’s use of imagery when describing the catacombs fashions a scene of isolation and despair common among short stories classified as American Gothic Literature . The use of a deep underground tomb is used to portray sinister setting and the chaos of impending death. â€Å"I busied myself among the pile of bones†¦. a succession of loud and shrill screams busted suddenly from the throat of the chained form† (Poe 6). The moment described in the quote is Fortunato’s realization that he will die as the egress to his tomb is gradually sealed. â€Å"Poe’s work in a sense puts the reader in the shoes of the victim in the tomb. As they experience fear, panic and rage in their final moments of struggle† (Moore 2). Poe’s use of setting in â€Å"The Cask of Amontialldo† is archetypal to the American Gothic Literature tradition, using the setting to further create a sense of mystique and unease. To conclude, Edgar Allan Poe is purely a master of The American Gothic Literature Tradition. He utilizes the prototypical elements of symbolism, a vengeful character, and an eerie setting to adhere to the specific protocol of The AGLT (American Gothic Literature Tradition). Poe’s exploitation of symbolism conveys underlying messages about the short story’s plot and characters. Poe’s dominance over the concept of having an unstable and vengeful protagonist entices the reader to read on. Finally, Poe’s use of a carnival as a setting is a sick twist, a place where one expects merriment is substituted with a place where revenge is taken. It is safe to presume that Poe’s life of disappointment, resilience, darkness, and mystery shaped him into an individual that properly utilizes all of the elements of The American Gothic Literature Tradition. Works Cited Lorcher, Trent. Symbolism and Irony in â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado. 17 January 2012. September 2013 . Poe, Edgar Allan. The Cask of Amontillado. 1846. September 2013 . Russ, R.J. Symbolism in Edgar Allen Poe’s The Cask of Amontillado. 28 April 2008. September 2013 . Womack, Martha. â€Å"Edgar Allan Poe’s â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado†Ã¢â‚¬  The Poe Decoder. 1997, September 2013 < http://www.poedecoder.com/essays/cask/>. Poe, Edgar A. Short Stories: The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe

The Symbiotic Relationships between Microbial Organisms and Plants

The Symbiotic Relationships between Microbial Organisms and Plants | With Concentrations in Rhizobium & A ; Mycorrhiza Introduction– There are many capturing microbic beings that spend a important part of their life rhythm shacking in the dirt profiles. These beings include roundworms, Protozoa, Fungis, bacteriums and different arthropods. Together they play critical functions in act uponing dirt features and keeping healthy dirt profiles. In our instance, we will be chiefly concentrating on Fungis and bacteriums. Fungi and bacteriums are really normally found inside the dirt and they have huge impact on dirt birthrate and works growing. It is instead challenging to analyze their interactions with workss and their single maps. The intent of this research paper is to derive a deeper comprehension of their perplexing relationship with workss ; and most significantly, to carry through my intense wonder of why such symbioses are so indispensable to the well-being of our assorted ecosystems and even for us worlds? Plant Foods– The three primary foods workss reliant to a great extent on are nitrogen, P, and K. Since we will be extensively analyzing the functions of bacteriums and Fungis, thereby we are more concerned with N and P. So so, why do workss necessitate those foods? Nitrogen is one of the indispensable chemical elements workss needed for growing and reproduction. It is a constituent of chlorophyll and thereby critical for photosynthesis. It is besides a major constituent of amino acids, the edifice blocks for proteins ; and without proteins, workss would shrivel and decease ( U.S. Department of Agriculture, 2015 ) . In add-on, some of the proteins act as structural units in works cells while others act as enzymes, doing possible many of the biochemical reactions on which life is based. Nitrogen is besides a constituent of energy-transfer compounds, such as adenosine triphosphate, known as ATP. ATP grants cells the ability to conserve and utilize energy released in metamorphosis. Nitrogen is besides a important constituent of nucleic acids such as Deoxyribonucleic Acid, known as Deoxyribonucleic acid, the familial stuff that allows cells to turn and reproduce. Phosphorous is another critical food both as portion of several cardinal works construction compounds and as a contact action in the transition of legion cardinal biochemical reactions in workss. Phosphorous is notably responsible for its function in capturing and change overing sun’s energy into utile works compounds. Like N, P is a critical constituent of DNA. It is a constituent of RNA, the compound that reads the DNA familial codification to construct proteins and other compounds indispensable for works construction, seed output and familial transportation. The construction of both DNA and RNA are linked together by P bonds. Another similar belongings that phosphorus portions with Nitrogen is that it is besides critical constituent of ATP. ATP signifiers during photosynthesis, and uses P within its construction, and it processes from the beginning of seedling growing through to the formation of grain and adulthood ( U.S Department of Agriculture, 2015 ) . Therefore, both N and phosphoric are indispensable elements needed for the general wellness and energy of all workss, they help to increase chaff and root strength, better flower formation and seed production and support plants’ development throughout their full life rhythm. Without neither N nor phosphoric, there would be no life on Earth as we know it. Nitrogen Fixing Bacteria Analysis –Rhizobium As mentioned above, N is an indispensable food for workss as it is portion of their nucleic acids and proteins. Nitrogen can be in many signifiers, such as Nitrogen Gas, Ammonia, Nitrate, Nitrite, Ammonium and Nitrous Oxide. Dinitrogen or N gas is really abundant and makes up 78 per centum of our ambiance. Unfortunately, workss are unable to utilize them straight because they lack the necessary enzymes to change over the gas into biologically utile signifiers. The job here is that N gas is non really reactive ; it will barely interact with other chemicals to make new compounds ( Brady & A ; Weil, 2010 ) . However, there is a manner to repair the unserviceable signifier through either chemical or biological procedures ; and the repair procedure itself is called nitrogen arrested development. The nitrogen arrested development procedures will interrupt down the ternary bond that held the N atoms together and liberate them up for transmutation. The atoms can so be integrated with other e lements to organize ammonium hydroxide, ammonium or N dioxides. Now we introduce the construct of biological N arrested development. It was foremost discovered by German agronomist Hermann Hellriegel and Dutch microbiologist Martinus Beijerinck. Biological N arrested development is the procedure of transition of atmospheric N into ammonium hydroxide by beings through an enzyme called nitrogenase ( Peters, Fisher & A ; Dean 1995 ) . Within the nitrogenase, there are two important protein composites that are responsible for the decrease of N gas, viz. Fe-protein & A ; MoFe-protein. The reductive reaction can be expressed by the equationN2 + 8H+ +8e- + 16 ATPi?2NH3 + H2 + 16ADP + 16Pi. Think of the Fe-protein composite as a power house and the MoFe-protein composite as a mill. A mill requires energy to bring forth merchandises, and that is when the power house stairss in to run into the demand. Fe-protein ( the power house ) receives elections ( energy ) from a flavedoxin ( an negatron reassigning protein, in this instance, think of it as a air curr ent turbine ) and transfers them further to the MoFe-protein ( the mill ) . The negatron transferring is made possible by the coincident hydrolysis of ATP to ADP & A ; Pi, where more energy is produced to back up the transit of negatrons. MoFe-protein so takes the negatrons, atmospheric N gas, and H converts them into ammonium hydroxide along with a remnant H molecule. It is of import to observe that enzymes within nitrogenase can be destroyed by free O molecules. Thereby, organisms that fix N must guarantee the enzymes do non acquire exposed to oxygen ( Brady & A ; Weil 2010 ) . The being that fix N are a type of dirt bacteriums and they are jointly called Rhizobium. In order to protect nitrogenase, they form this intricate symbiotic relationship with leguminous workss, such as soya beans. They begin by infecting the plants’ root hairs and the cortical cells ; it leads the formation of root nodules that serve as the safe oasis for nitrogen arrested development ( Long, 2004 ) . The procedure in which the nodules signifier is really absorbing. The plants’ root hairs release certain chemical signals to pull rhizobia bacteriums that are present in the dirt. Rhizobia enter the root and get down to proliferate and do an infection yarn to organize. The infection yarn will so turn into the cerebral mantle of the root. When the infection yarn has reached far plenty into the plants’ root, it will let go of bacterial cells, which become bacteroids in root cells. Nod factors from the bacteriums will do cortical cells to split and take to the eventual formation of nodules. It is curiously interesting that the plants’ immune system is digesting the infection ; alternatively of killing the bacteroids, they keep them within their cells. When Rhizobium are inside the nodules, they do non hold to cover with free O molecules and now can safely utilize nitrogenase to cut down atmospheric N to ammonium hydroxide. Through this symbiotic relationship, the host workss gain benefits from utilizing an eternal beginning of N from the ambiance that are now in a more biological useable signifier. In return, rhizobia receive saccharides generated through photosynthesis for energy ( since it takes energy to execute the transition ) , every bit good as a protected shelter in which for them to populate and turn ( Brady & A ; Weil, 2010 ) . Plants are now able to use the ammonium hydroxide ensuing from bacterial N arrested development for growing. The compound is transported into works tissues and is so incorporated into aminic acids, which are so made into works pr oteins. For cases, soya beans and peanuts produced by leguminous plant workss contain extraordinary high degrees of protein and are among the most of import agricultural beginnings of protein in the universe. The curious mutualism between legume workss and Rhizobium illustrate the manner they help to prolong each other’s lives. Consequently, it is besides assisting us worlds to prolong our lives. In fact, our well-being is to a great extent dependent upon this important and yet low-cost beginning of protein. We consume them as portion of our basic diet and we use them as animate being provenders. Farmers, they take the advantage of this mutualism and utilize it to fertilise their harvest land through harvest rotary motion – for case, they use soya beans and other leguminous plant workss in rotary motions with grass harvests such as maize or wheat to straight shoot biological useable N back to the dirt ( U.S. Department of Agriculture’s, 2015 ) . Nitrogen arrested development procedure besides at the same time contributes to dirty birthrate because the works roots leaves behind some of the biologically available N. Rhizobium is a natural and environmentally friendly ma nner to fertilise workss as oppose to chemical fertilisation that use a non-renewable resources, such as natural gas. Taken together, who would hold of all time thought that such elusive relationship between workss and bacteriums can hold such an tremendous consequence on all the species’ endurance. Alimentary Delivering Fungi Analysis – Mycorrhiza As antecedently stated, phosphoric is one the most indispensable foods for many life beings, particularly for workss. Plants must utilize phosphoric for normal growing and adulthood. The component plays a immense function in photosynthesis, energy storage and transportation, cell division and many of import procedures in workss. Without phosphoric, a works would non even be able to finish its normal production rhythm. Soil phosphoric is classified into two groups, organic and inorganic. Organic phosphoric can be found in works residues and manures. Inorganic P consists of apatite ( a group of phosphate minerals and original beginning of all phosphoric ) and composites of Fe and aluminium phosphates and P absorbed onto clay atoms. The job associated with phosphoric and its relevant compounds are their solubility. The solubility of both organic and inorganic P is highly low and merely a really little fraction of dirt P is present in solution at any one clip. To give a position, most dirts contain less than a lb per acre of soluble P and with some dirt incorporating even less ( Ingham, Trofymow, & A ; Coleman, 1985 ) . Since there will be really small P in dirt solution and most of them being stuck onto clay atoms due to molecular attractive forces, it would be rather hard for workss to seek for and intake P. However, merely because workss themselves are unable to obtain the foods they need, it does non intend they can non inquire for aid from other being ; for cases, mycorrhizal Fungis. First and first, it is of import to understand what Fungi are and how do mycorrhizal fungi differentiate themselves from their sort. Fungi are primary beings that can non synthesise their ain nutrient and are really dependent on complex organic substances for C. There are three functional groups of Fungis, decomposers, pathogens, and mutualists. First, we have decomposers or saprophytic Fungis ; they are an of import portion of our ecosystems and play a necessary function in immobilising and retaining foods in the dirt by devouring foods in organic affair. They are capable of degrading cellulose, proteins and lignin, some of which are extremely immune to breakdown ( Smith & A ; Read, 2008 ) . They can change over dead organic affair into their ain fungous organic structures, C dioxide and organic acids. They are besides indispensable for the decomposition of difficult woody organic affair. Through decomposition, they help to supply a fresh beginning of indispensable foods for new coevalss of life. Second, we have infective Fungis, such as Verticillium, Phytophthora and Pythium ; they are really rather damaging to the wellness of workss. Those beings will perforate the works and break up the life tissue, doing the works to be weakened and alimentary deficient or even decease ( Smith & A ; Read, 2008 ) . Last, we have mutualistic Fungis that form reciprocally good relationships with workss. Mycorrhizal Fungis are possibly the most well-known amongst mutualists. There are four groups of mycorrhizal Fungis, arbuscular, ectomycorrhizal, ericoid and orchid ( Smith & A ; Read, 2008 ) . Our chief focal point will be on arbuscular mycorrhizae, they are the most common signifier of mycorrhiza, particularly in agricultural works associations. This fungus has arbuscules which are growing formed inside the works root and have many little projections traveling inside the plants’ cells. Arbuscules are believed to be the major site where the C and alimentary exchange between works and fungus occurs. It is named so due to their â€Å"tree-like† construction, arbuscules are created by perennial ramification of hyphae once they enter a cell within a works root. Fungus kingdoms are heterotrophic beings, intending they must absorb their nutrient. They have the capableness of absorbing elements such as P and N which are indispensable for life. Plants are autophytic ; they produce their ain nutrient in the signifier of saccharides through the procedure of photosynthesis. It is of import to observe that plants’ roots frequently have trouble obtaining and absorbing Ps due to the element’s stationariness and unsolvability inside the dirt. However, arbuscular mycorrhizae can assist workss to widen the volume of dirt explored through their hyphae. Mycorrhizal Fungis are characterized by those really thin hyphae, which are between 1 and 10 thousandths of a millimetre in breadth. Impressively, up to 5 metres of populating hyphae can be extracted from 1 gm of dirt. These hyphae explore the dirt expansively and intercept phosphoric compounds, it would so bring forth enzymes to solubilize P from inorganic stone, absorb the food, and transpo rt them back to the host-plant ( Baum & A ; Gruda 2012 ) . The hyphae would organize webs between neighbouring dirt atoms, between roots and dirt atoms or even between roots of different workss. And since they are arbuscular mycorrhizae, they besides form webs inside the roots they colonize. These intricate webs of hyphae are normally referred to as mycelium. In this instance, both workss and fungus depend on the symbiotic relationship to develop and last. At the terminal, they both benefit from each other. Mycorrhiza fungi usage mycelium to happen phosphoric and transport it back to the host works. In exchange, the Fungis receive saccharides as a signifier of payment for assisting the workss ( Brady & A ; Weil, 2010 ) . In add-on, mycorrhizal associations may besides assist to cut down onslaught from root pathogens through the secernment of bacteriums killing enzymes and antibiotics ( Lugtenberg & A ; Bennet, 1991 ) . It is undeniable that mycorrhizae play an huge function in sustainable works productiveness and care of dirt construction. Furthermore, it is estimated that about 90 % of all vascular land workss ( land workss that have lignified tissues, the xylem, for carry oning H2O and minerals throughout the works organic structure ) live in some association with mycorrhizal Fungis. Mycorrhizal associations are besides seen in dodo rec ord and are believed to be one of the lending factors that allowed early land workss to suppress the land around 450 million old ages ago. The symbioses between workss and mycorrhizae affect our ecological procedure in many intricate and elusive ways. And knowledge refering mycorrhizal Fungi has well helped us to progress in engineering that made possible the production of microbic inoculums. Those inoculums act as bio-fertilizers which significantly improved the endurance, growing and constitution of trees and harvests ( Baum & A ; Gruda, 2012 ) . We are able to bask the shadiness of oaks, decorate Christmas trees, and eat delightful blueberries all thanks to the benefits from the concealed universe of mycorrhizal Fungis, a universe that helps to prolong the endurance of about all of the earth’s land workss. Decision– Symbiosis is a alone relationship exhibited between two beings where they live together in a close association. The two beings would work together and exchange foods to guarantee each individual’s endurance. The mutualism between legume workss and Rhizobium provide us humans a important and yet low-cost beginning of protein. The mutualism between vascular workss and mycorrhizae has a enormous impact on the well-being of many ecological procedures due to the fact it supports the endurance of the earth’s huge land workss. We are able to bask many things in our life all thanks to symbiotic relationship amongst these microbic beings. I personally feel that many of us have gotten so busy with carry throughing our wonder towards outer infinite that we have forgotten to appreciate what are concealed underneath the land. Another philosophical takeout from composing this research paper is that I have learned the value of mutuality. None of us are born perfect, a nd it might be better if we can swear and trust on one another in society for endurance and to boom as people. For case, if I’m inadequate at making certain things, I can possibly inquire my friend to assist me out, and in exchange I can assist him or her with something that she is non good at. Therefore, I believe that by working together hand in glove and collaboratively, we can optimise our consequences and accomplish astonishing things that we otherwise would non be able to accomplish by ourselves entirely. Mentions Baum C. , EL-Tohamy W. & A ; Gruda N. ( 2012 ) . Increasing the productiveness and merchandise quality of vegetable harvests utilizing arbuscular mycorrhizal Fungi.Scientia Horticulturae,187, 131 – 141. Brady N. C. & A ; Weil R. R. ( 2010 ) .Elementss of the Nature and Properties of Soils, Third Edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall. Ingham R. E. , Trofymow J.A. , Ingham E.R. & A ; Coleman D.C. ( 1985 ) . Interactions of Bacteria, Fungi, and their Nematode Grazers: Effectss on Nutrient Cycling and Plant Growth.Ecological Monographs,55,( 1 ) , 119-140. Lugtenberg J.J. B. , Weger A.L. & A ; Bennett J.W. ( 1991 ) . Microbial stimulation of works growing and protection from disease.Current Opinion in Biotechnology, 2, ( 3 ) , 457 – 464. Long R. S. ( 2004 ) . Rhizobium-legume nodulation: Life together in the resistance.Cell,56, ( 2 ) , 203-214. Peters J.W. , Fisher K. & A ; Dean D.R ( 1995 ) . Nitrogenase construction and map: a biochemical-genetic position.Annual Review of Microbiology, 49, 335-366. Smith S. E. , & A ; Read D. J ( 2008 ) .Mycorrhizal Symbiosis, Third Edition. San Diego, CA: Academic Press. U.S. Department of Agriculture’s ( 2015 ) .The Soil Phosphorous Problem. Retrieved from hypertext transfer protocol: //passel.unl.edu/pages/informationmodule.php? idinformationmodule=1130447043 & A ; topicorder=3 & A ; maxto=15 & A ; minto=1 U.S. Department of Agriculture’s ( 2015 ) .Nitrogen as a Food. Retrieved from hypertext transfer protocol: //passel.unl.edu/pages/informationmodule.php? idinformationmodule=1130447042 & A ; topicorder=2 & A ; maxto=8

Has Social Media Killed Live Blogging

Has Social Media Killed Live Blogging Hasnt Twitter and Storify – pretty much any social media – killed live blogging? Well, no. Live blogging is not dead, not exactly. The reports of its death are greatly exaggerated. Granted, live blogging has certainly changed in recent years, becoming a mix of blogging and social feeds on the blogs and websites of those who use this technique, but it is still very much alive. Why Live Blogging Still Matters Live blogging is when you create single post or page that you update continuously throughout an event. Its a powerful tool, but surprisingly, most bloggers dont use live blogging much. It seems relegated to newspapers and news organizations to cover breaking news. Live blogging used to be the go-to method for live coverage, though its popularity is in decline while interest in live tweeting is increasing. You can see that interest in live blogging has declined since 2011. Information from Google Trends. Despite the decline in interest, its a shame bloggers dont use live blogging anymore.  Even with social media, there are reasons why live blogging still has a place in any bloggers repertoire. Live blogging is easy to promote. A live blog has all the immediacy, but just one link to share. You can promote that post or page on social media, and let people know you are live blogging. With a tool like (that connects directly to your blog), you can easily send out regular social messages alerting your audience to your live blogging. You can publish the landing page or post with information on when the event will unfold ahead of time, noting that youll be live blogging there at that time. This makes it easy to promote before the event begins, giving you a single link and plenty of blog real estate to prepare your audience for what youll be live blogging. Live blogging makes it easy to promote your coverage before, during, and after an event.Live blogging can save your Twitter followers. A live blog can spare your followers a deluge of tweets. One of the biggest problems that happens when you live tweet events is that you lose followers. Every year I get carried away and live tweet the Super Bowl and by the end of the night I have lost at least 15 followers. At least. What if I were to live blog the event instead? I could share a few times on social media that I was doing so, and keep the commentary on my own blog so interested parties could join in. There are some events that your followers might not care to hear about, and even if you warn them youll be live tweeting something, some will still unfollow and take you out of their feed. Tweeting too much is a real problem. Live blogging instead of live tweeting keeps you from losing followers who arent interested.Live blogging is better for coherent information. Live blogging isnt limited to 140 characters, hashtags, searches, or any of the other limitations that Twitter sets. Just as blogging is similar to journalism, live blogging is more like a reporters notebook. Twitter is more like a succession of information blips, forcing you to end your tweets with 1/5 or something similar to carry on a longer chunk of information. Readers end up with soundbite information, snippets of content that arent placed in context and can be misunderstood. If you need to capture an event as it unfolds with more than 140 characters and have control over the order your content appears, live blogging is where its at. Social media feeds have limitations on how much you can say, the order they will publish it, and how your fans can find it. If you have important information or something you want delivered consistently in an organized manner during an event, live blogging will do that. Live blogging prevents soundbite information that happens on Twitter. It puts an event in context.Live blogging is the best draft training there is. If you are a blogger with perfectionist tendencies who dawdles and dwells on drafts for days on end, struggling to hit publish and take a post live, then live blogging is going to cure you of it quickly. Really quickly. Its blogging, remember, and not tweeting. Its blogging, but youre doing it live. Your audience is seeing it as it happens. You are going to develop a keen sense of hearing, distilling it down to the basic facts, writing, instant proofing, and publish. And then repeat. Live blogging is exciting. Live blogging puts an end to draft anxiety. You learn to blog quickly.Live blogging brings traffic to your site. When you live tweet, you drive traffic toTwitter. Live-blogging is how you drive traffic back to your own site where you may have ads or affiliate links you are using to generate revenue. With proper promotion, you can use your live coverage of an event to increase your email list or any other call to action that your blog relies on. When Live Blogging Fails Sometimes, though, live blogging doesnt cut it. Its too insulated in some situations. There are times when you want to be on social networks for an event, participating with others, instead of on your own property. Social is king for nation/world-wide events. Lets use that Super Bowl example again. If Im live blogging it instead of live tweeting it, Im doing my uninterested Twitter followers a favor, maybe, but Im missing out on a lot of camaraderie (and possible new followers). For example, the 2011 playoff game between the Bears and the Packers was dismal until a surprise near-turnaround in the final quarter. After the Bears starting quarterback and his replacement were out of the game (accompanied by much mockery), little-known third-stringer Caleb Hanie was brought in. The game suddenly got interesting. Twitter exploded. Tweets were pouring in by the thousands, and Hanies Twitter account racked up over 7,000 followers in about 20 minutes. This was when Twitter still had a live stream in Google search, and watching the Caleb Hanie tweets roll in was incredible fun. People were making jokes, predictions, frantic pleas – this looked like a classic underdog story. And even though  the Bears didnt pull it off, it was a great time to be on Twitter and watching the game. I would not have had that community experience live blogging. I picked up a few new NFL-loving followers, and followed a few myself, just from that experience. When an event is stretched across a wide swath of geography and people, social media is where you tap into it, particularly if it isnt your event and you mainly want to ride the wave along with the rest. Live tweeting national and global events makes more sense than live blogging them.Social is easier to set up and use. Social media apps are on your phone and on the go. Youre already using them, almost as second nature. Theyre easier. They are right with you when something happens. Twitter is a simple app on your phone, requiring no special plugins, immediately accessible. Traditional live blogging has been the forte of the laptop, not the simple phone. Live tweeting a breaking news event out in the field makes excellent sense. You have your phone, which is your camera and publishing tool. Live blogging is not as portable (yet). So when it comes down to which is easiest to use during an event, social media is almost always right there and ready to go. When you have a small readership, social gets attention. Be honest. You might not have a big readership on your blog. You could live blog an event and all 40 of your readers would see it, or you could live-tweet an event and have all 600+ of your followers see it. If your social feeds are more active and read than direct readership of your blog, take your coverage to social media if you want it to get seen.

2 Formats for Use in the Compare-Contrast Essay

2 Formats for Use in the Compare-Contrast Essay The compare/contrast essay is an excellent opportunity to help students develop their critical thinking and writing skills.   A compare and contrast essay examines two or more subjects by comparing their similarities and contrasting their differences.   Compare and contrast is high on Blooms Taxonomy of critical reasoning and is associated with a complexity level where students break down ideas into simpler parts in order to see how the parts relate. For example, in order to break down ideas for comparison or to contrast in an essay, students may need to categorize, classify, dissect, differentiate, distinguish, list, and simplify. Preparing to write the Essay First, students need to select pick comparable objects, people, or ideas and list their individual characteristics. A graphic organizer, like a Venn Diagram or top hat chart, is helpful in preparing to write the essay: What is the most interesting topic for comparison? Is the evidence available?What is the most interesting topic to contrast? Is the evidence available?Which characteristics highlight the most significant similarities?Which characteristics highlight the most significant differences?Which characteristics will lead to a meaningful analysis and an interesting paper? A link to 101  compare and contrast essay topics   for students provides opportunities for students to practice the similarities and differences such as Fiction vs. NonfictionRenting a home vs. Owning a homeGeneral Robert E. Lee vs General Ulysses S. Grant Writing the Block Format Essay:A, B, C points vsA, B, C points The block method for writing a compare and contrast essay can be illustrated using points A, B, and C to signify individual characteristics or critical attributes.   A. historyB. personalitiesC. commercialization This block format allows the students to compare and contrast subjects, for example, dogs vs. cats, using these same characteristics one at a time.   The student should write the introductory paragraph to signal a compare and contrast essay in order to identify  the two subjects and explain that they are very similar, very different or have many important (or interesting) similarities and differences. The thesis statement must include the two topics that will be compared and  contrasted. The body paragraph(s) after the introduction describe characteristic(s) of the first subject. Students should provide the evidence and examples that prove the similarities and/or differences exist, and not mention the second subject. Each point  could be a body paragraph. For example,   A. Dog history.  B. Dog personalitiesC. Dog commercialization. The body paragraphs dedicated to the second subject should be organized in the same method as the first body paragraphs, for  example: A. Cat history.B. Cat personalities.C. Cat commercialization. The benefit of this format is that it allows the writer to concentrate on one characteristic at a time. The drawback of this format is that there may be some imbalance in treating the subjects to the same rigor of comparing or contrasting. The conclusion is in the final paragraph, the student should provide a general summary of the most important similarities and differences.   The student could end with a personal statement, a prediction, or another snappy clincher. Point by Point Format:AA, BB, CC Just as in the block paragraph essay format, students should begin the point by point format by catching the readers interest. This might be a reason people find the topic interesting or important, or it might be a statement about something the two subjects have in common.   The thesis statement for this format must also include the two topics that will be compared and  contrasted. In the point by point format, the students can compare  and/or contrast the subjects using the same characteristics within each body paragraph. Here the characteristics labeled A, B,   and C are used to compare dogs vs. cats together,   paragraph by paragraph. A. Dog historyA Cat history B. Dog personalitiesB. Cat personalities C. Dog commercializationC. Cat commercialization This format does help students to concentrate on the characteristic(s) which may be may result in a more equitable comparison or contrast of the subjects within each body paragraph(s). Transitions to Use Regardless of the format of the essay, block or point-by-point, the student must use transition words or phrases to compare or contrast one subject to another. This will help the essay sound connected and not sound disjointed. Transitions in the essay for comparison can include: in the same way or by the same tokensimilarlyin like manner or likewisein similar fashion Transitions for contrasts can include: and yetnevertheless or nonethelessbuthowever or thoughotherwise or on the contraryin contrastnotwithstandingon the other handat the same time In the final concluding paragraph, the student should give a general summary of the most important similarities and differences.   The student could also end with a personal statement, a prediction, or another snappy clincher. Part of the ELA Common Core State Standards The text structure of compare and contrast is so critical to literacy that it is referenced in several of the English Language Arts Common Core State Standards in both reading and writing for K-12 grade levels.   For example, the reading standards ask students to participate in comparing and contrasting as a text structure in the anchor standard  R.9: Analyze how two or more texts address similar themes or topics in order to build knowledge or to compare the approaches the authors take. The reading standards are then referenced in the grade level writing standards, for example, as in W7.9   Apply  grade 7 Reading standards  to literature (e.g., Compare and contrast a fictional portrayal of a time, place, or character and a historical account of the same period as a means of understanding how authors of fiction use or alter history). Being able to identify and create compare and contrast text structures is one of the more important critical reasoning skills that students should develop, regardless of grade level.

Whens the last time you were bored Maybe its been too long.

Whens the last time you were bored Maybe its been too long. â€Å"I’m boooorrrrrrrrrrred!† Early on a Saturday evening, I admitted to a friend that I had watched a Netflix movie the night before and was likely going to watch another one that night. For many people, watching videos two nights in a row would not be a remarkable occurrence. But for me, it was an anomaly- a rare sign of boredom. â€Å"I don’t think I’ve ever heard you say that before,† said my friend. Indeed, it is not unusual for me to go a month without finding a single 2-hour block of time to sit and watch a video. What did it mean that I had two such blocks of time to fill in one weekend? Had I failed in some way by not scheduling something more â€Å"important†? In fact, I think my unexpectedly empty time meant that I had gotten enough done and was sufficiently on top of my schedule that I felt unpressured to fill that time with productive activities. A success, not a failure! Yet my inner voice was saying, â€Å"Brenda, you’re bored. You had better do something to occupy your brain.† I considered my options. Should I watch my Netflix video, The Blind Side? Or find something on my business task list to tackle on this Saturday night? Surely there must be something for me to write or edit! I let the wheels in my brain spin for a while. And, after a few minutes of â€Å"boredom,† I settled on a new idea: a blog article about this very topic. I wondered if other people had identified boredom as a positive emotion or event, and if so, what factors were at work in our bored brains? The Value of Boredom Not long ago, I heard someone complain of being bored and explained to him that I celebrate boredom despite the discomfort it may entail. I see boredom as an opportunity to rest my brain- an empty place that is necessary for the spark of creativity to take hold. I discovered quite a bit of interesting material that supported my opinion. First was a TED talk by Genevieve Bell. Ms. Bell explained that the experience of boredom is a moment when, neurochemically, the brain lights up. The bored brain is almost as active as the engaged brain! Boredom is an opportunity for the brain to reset itself, and this reset is apparently a very active process. Ms. Bell also referenced Heidegger, who argued in 1929 that being bored is a fundamental state of being human- and that we should spend less time putting it at bay and more time embracing it. The Quest for Boredom Nowadays, it’s hard to be bored. A text message or facebook update awaits us at every moment. If we don’t like one thing, we move on to the next. We are more likely to be overloaded than bored. For me, this overload shows up as the inability during most months to find time to watch the Netflix video sitting on my desk. Yet those times of disconnection, when the brain gets a rest, are often the most pleasurable times in life. As Peter Bregman stated in his Harvard Business School blog article, Why I Returned My iPad: Being bored is a precious thing, a state of mind we should pursue. Once boredom sets in, our minds begin to wander, looking for something exciting, something interesting to land on. And that’s where creativity arises. My best ideas come to me when I am  unproductive. When I am running but not listening to my iPod. When I am sitting, doing nothing, waiting for someone. When I am lying in bed as my mind wanders before falling to sleep. These â€Å"wasted† moments, moments not filled with anything in particular, are vital. They are the moments in which we, often unconsciously, organize our minds, make sense of our lives, and connect the dots. They’re the moments in which we talk to ourselves. And listen. To lose those moments, to replace them with tasks and efficiency, is a mistake. What’s worse is that we don’t just lose them. We actively throw them away. An Astonishing Feat!! Finally, I discovered a June 13, 2011   â€Å"On Point† episode with Tom Ashbrook, featuring guest Peter Toohey who wrote an entire book about boredom (Boredom: A Lively History). Callers largely agreed that boredom is the key to creativity. And neuroscientist Jonah Lehrer jumped on to share that boredom is the precursor to daydreaming, an â€Å"astonishing mental feat† wherein, he confirmed, just as much brain activity occurs as when we are focused on something. I suppose the daydreaming phenomenon occurs whether boredom comes from having â€Å"nothing† to do or from disinterest in whatever we are doing. From my cursory research, I found that there is a clear connection between boredom and the birth of new ideas. Reportedly, many of the best ideas arise when we can untether ourselves from the constant stream of information that bombards us in every minute. I’m glad I chose not to put that DVD in my computer. It’s still there when I want it, and I found a friend who asked to watch it with me. In the end, by allowing boredom to set in for just a few short minutes, I created a fascinating, brain-lit-up Saturday evening.

Fundraising for a charity Literature review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Fundraising for a charity - Literature review Example While reviewing a search in EBSCO Host turned up 297 results. Of the 297 results, 6 articles were used. The articles used cane from various different sources. All of the sources used are peer reviewed by a University Library. The articles gave an I depth explanation of popular theories and means of creating a successful charity. After narrowing the search from fundraising to charities, the search performed by EBSCO turned up 210 results. Of the 210 results found, 6 sources were used. The literature chosen to review was peer reviewed only. Many of the sources that were not used contained information that did not pertain to the topic. Other information that seemed to contain biased information was not used. I intended to only use information that strictly pertained to direct theories on fundraising for charities. The findings made for amazing research. The articles gave much insight as to how charities are able to host fundraisers and receive the money that is deeply needed. As described by Ben Goss 2005, Charities must be accountable in order form individuals to want to donate. A person willing to give to a charity wants to know that the charity is not a scam. This leads into another topic that was researched regarding whether or not the charity has positive reviews. An individual can go online and research the charity. The search is likely to find reviews by others whom have donated to the charity. As explained in the journal by Miller 2009, networking is the new way to raise money for charity. Networking allows for those giving donations to go on the charities web page to donate, volunteer and see the charity in action. Seeing accomplishments that the charity has completed is important and a means of proof that the charity is an accountable charity. Accountability can also be discovered by the age of the charity. Most charities are may struggle when first starting out. Many making donations are giving large portions of money and

(Economics major) The factors that influences our current gasoline Essay

(Economics major) The factors that influences our current gasoline price. ( crude oil, tax, etc..) - Essay Example To further explain, the following component and circumstance are explained on how they affect the price of petrol. Factors That Influences our Current Gasoline Price 1. Crude Oil Of all the factors that influenced the cost of gasoline, the cost of crude oil is the single most significant factor that influences our current gasoline price. It accounts up to 55 % of the total gasoline price. The cost of crude changes over time and varies among different regions of the country and the world. Crude oil cost, just like any commodity in the market is also determined by the law of supply and demand. As the law states, when supply cannot keep up with the demand, the price will naturally go up. This is also the case of crude oil where demand is perpetual while supply can be precarious due to a lot of factors. The price of gasoline is influenced by both the demand and the supply side. On the demand side, it is us consumers who determines it according to our consumption of energy and also genera lly the world’s economic growth or downturn. This happens when there is an economic growth where demand for energy increases and that means that the requirement for fuel will also naturally increases and that will translate for higher prices in crude. ... OPEC exerts a significant influence on the price of crude because its member countries constitute 43 % of the world’s crude supply in 2010. That is more than half of the world’s requirement for crude coming from a single entity or organization that it can literally dictate the price of crude my contracting production or by overproduction. When the nations that comprise OPEC choose to raise the price of crude oil, all it has to do is to reduce production and that will immediately in the price of crude. Because when there is scarcity of supply or a fear of future oil shortage, price of crude will inevitably go up. Classic example of this would be the incident in April 2001 when OPEC reduced its oil output by one million barrels per day which jacked up the prices of gasoline in the following month. The Role of OPEC While it is OPEC that accounts 43 % of the world’s supply of crude that it can dictate the amount of crude by merely contracting its supply, it cannot ho wever do so in a whim. It has to maintain a certain price to subsidize its future exploratory cost for oil and also to shield itself from the depreciation of the dollar of which oil contracts are denominated. OPEC doesn't want oil prices too high, or alternative fuel sources start to look good. OPEC has said its target price for oil is between $70-$80 a barrel. (See  High Oil Prices Caused by Wall Street, Not OPEC)(Article updated April 15, 2011) 2. Refining Cost Crude is the raw material of gasoline. But before crude can be made into gasoline that can be sold in gasoline stations, it has to be processed and refined first. The characteristic or type of gasoline that is made available is highly dependent on how it will be processed at the refinery where it is being produced. This

Riordan Manufacturing Supply Chain Evaluation Essay

Riordan Manufacturing Supply Chain Evaluation - Essay Example This will be fulfilled by examining outsourcing options and diminishing transportation cost. The association furthermore intends to make an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and Material Requirement Planning (MRP) framework to abatement process duration cost, enhance quality, and execute a showcasing arrangement to build up the brand. Riordans strategic targets and objectives which have impacted the new bottles supply chains contain a change of worker satisfaction and diminished operational costs and expenses from the most recent model of the container. Riordan has seen the most recent model of the plastic bottle with phenomenal style for a perfume container to improve the level of laborer fulfillment in an idealistic perspective which likewise reflects deals. On the off chance that the workers are fulfilled and content with the item, the deals will reflect that exceptionally same idealistic light which the laborers experience it. Riordan Manufacturings supply chain strategy is to spring them into the lead of the plastic material business. Their consequent goal is to beat its rivals by supplying the brief conveyance and quality plastic materials to organizations and restorative workplaces all through the nation. According to Dittmann (2013) quick response in conveyance of products and taking of item from production requires the advancement of most recent innovation and upgraded programming. Riordan Manufacturing depends on Information Technology to help them in this strategy to end up number 1. Building up a phenomenal PC program and additionally framework set up lessens the measure of work and necessities set upon the workers, thus rendering it less demanding for them to make effectively and with decreased production time lost. According to Miller & Fisher (2007) implementation of new strategies will mean contributing of more money which may not have been incorporated in the annual budget plan; however is a prerequisite to

Marketing of services Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Marketing of services - Assignment Example In today’s uncertain and competitive environment the travels whether leisure or business looks for maximization of the value they receive for the money they have paid. At the same time the service providers in the hospitality industry are looking at optimisation of working capital, faster flow of cash and increase the revenue they earn from each room (Genpact Limited, 2012). In this context the paper focuses on the marketing of their service, service guarantee and how to improve the same. Figure 1 (Source: Genpact Limited, 2012) The Strand Palace Strand Palace is the hotel that is located at London. This hotel is considered to be catering to every visitor such as visitors on a city break, foreign tour group and business travellers. The hotel consists of eleven meeting rooms and this is the major venue for organizing events and conferences. The prime locations of London that a tourist wishes to visit are all near to this hotel such as the theatres, restaurants and shops of the Covent Garden lies in the north with the Thames, Charing Cross and Waterloo Bridge on the south (Strand Palace Hotel, 2013a; 2013b; Tisdall, 2013). Thus, this makes it attractive to the visitors who have planned for partying and sightseeing. This hotel started its operations in the year 1909 and was an art deco gem of that time. The treasure and glamour of the hotel is still prevalent and is preserved in V&A museum as a memento. The hotel has got nine floors that comprises of total 758 rooms. These rooms are constructed around the inner courtyard. The hotel is quite big where the visitors can consider themselves as on another planet separated from the rest of the world. Evaluation of the services In the hotel industry service quality occupies a very important place as it has high level of contact with the customers. In order to evaluate the service quality of the hotel, five dimensions are required to be considered. They are as follows: Tangibles refer to the appearance of the perso nal who is interacting with the customer or providing services, physical facilities of the hotel and the equipments that is related to the delivery of service. Reliability: This indicates the ability of the hotel staff to perform or provide the promised service in an accurate and dependable manner. Responsiveness: This indicates the willingness of the staff to provide services to the customers and the promptness in their service delivery. Assurance: This indicates the courtesy and knowledge of the employees that provides them the confidence and trust to deliver properly. Empathy: This signifies the caring and individualised attention towards the customer’s requirement (Antony, Antony and Ghosh, 2004). Service evaluation is highly important in a hospitality industry. The main reason behind this is that it reveals the weakness and the drawbacks that are present in the services delivery of the hotel. The management of the hotel can consider these drawbacks and weakness carefully such that they can take preventive and serious measures to eradicate these problems. For a hospitality industry, the service quality directly impacts the customer’s satisfaction, which in turn impacts the profitability and the business performance. If the service quality is good, then the customers are satisfied and loyal and this loyalty is measured in form of customer retention and business performance. Therefore, in the evaluation of the s

Chemical, Biological and Nuclear Agents and Incidents Research Paper

Chemical, Biological and Nuclear Agents and Incidents - Research Paper Example There are four types of classifying various hazards using a color-coding system, which are the following: Blue (for threats to health or physical injuries), Red (flammability), Yellow (reactivity) and last, White (water reactivity). A new classification which uses the symbol of a radioactive propeller has been added to indicate a material is radioactive. This paper tackles the common chemical, biological and nuclear agents deemed to be dangerous and common incidents involving them. Most of the hazardous materials (hazmat, for short) are essentially man-made although a few of these are naturally-occurring, such as certain types of anthrax and radioactive elements. The three major categories of hazmat agents are discussed individually, and incidents involving the same materials, such as accidents during transport and spills or leaks during production. Only some 39 elements as found in the Periodic Table of Elements are actually hazardous, the rest of the materials are the results of combining these elements into various mixtures and compounds which made them hazardous if these are not handled properly (Burke, 2003, p. 43). Chemicals – it is the U. S. Department of Transportation (DOT) that came up with the nine major classifications for hazardous chemicals that are now widely used. These classes are mostly explosives, compressed gases, flammable liquids, flammable solids, oxidizers, poisons, radioactive materials, corrosives and last, miscellaneous hazardous materials (OSU, 1997, p. 1). Industrial chemical compounds are often long-lasting (they take years and decades to degrade to be harmless) and find their way into water supplies, lakes, rivers and oceans and along the food chain. Research conducted eliminated smoking, drinking, lifestyle and diets as probable factors and the polluted environment is the most likely cause of many cancers (Steingraber, 1999,

Write a critical article on a recently complete building Essay

Write a critical article on a recently complete building - Essay Example A prime example of this is the new Brighton Jubilee Library, completed in 2005, which represents a culmination of ideas and concepts that speak eloquently of its position and use in society as well as illustrating several of the concerns the modern world is facing regarding the use and construction of a facility such as this. Public reaction to the building has been strongly favorable on many different fronts as the building serves a great number of practical and aesthetic needs while remaining an accurate representation of contemporary times. Thanks to the complexity of its design, the building is capable of communicating its ideas in a variety of ways that can be interpreted differently depending upon the viewer. Its very construction illustrates the materials of which it is made and showcases them at their greatest strength. Although the building can, and has, been interpreted from many angles, including its presence as an artful piece of architecture in the modern world, the Brig hton library can be seen as a shining example of modern engineering in its use of new materials and up-to-date technology as well as demonstrating the role of politics in architecture in the various ways in which the building has been designed for user participation. In considering these roles – architecture as engineering and politics in architecture – it is important to understand not only how the building itself demonstrates these concepts, but also some of the background information and key thoughts regarding these ideas. Architecture as engineering actually grew out of the philosophy of the mind, in which the evolution of thought and the proper approach to science was speculated upon. This process started with medieval thought into the various processes of nature, both outward and inward. Copernicus made the startling revelation that the sun was the real center of the known universe while

Chemical, Biological and Nuclear Agents and Incidents Research Paper

Chemical, Biological and Nuclear Agents and Incidents - Research Paper Example There are four types of classifying various hazards using a color-coding system, which are the following: Blue (for threats to health or physical injuries), Red (flammability), Yellow (reactivity) and last, White (water reactivity). A new classification which uses the symbol of a radioactive propeller has been added to indicate a material is radioactive. This paper tackles the common chemical, biological and nuclear agents deemed to be dangerous and common incidents involving them. Most of the hazardous materials (hazmat, for short) are essentially man-made although a few of these are naturally-occurring, such as certain types of anthrax and radioactive elements. The three major categories of hazmat agents are discussed individually, and incidents involving the same materials, such as accidents during transport and spills or leaks during production. Only some 39 elements as found in the Periodic Table of Elements are actually hazardous, the rest of the materials are the results of combining these elements into various mixtures and compounds which made them hazardous if these are not handled properly (Burke, 2003, p. 43). Chemicals – it is the U. S. Department of Transportation (DOT) that came up with the nine major classifications for hazardous chemicals that are now widely used. These classes are mostly explosives, compressed gases, flammable liquids, flammable solids, oxidizers, poisons, radioactive materials, corrosives and last, miscellaneous hazardous materials (OSU, 1997, p. 1). Industrial chemical compounds are often long-lasting (they take years and decades to degrade to be harmless) and find their way into water supplies, lakes, rivers and oceans and along the food chain. Research conducted eliminated smoking, drinking, lifestyle and diets as probable factors and the polluted environment is the most likely cause of many cancers (Steingraber, 1999,

CRM Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 5

CRM - Essay Example Globally, there is only one volume-purchasing program and it ensures equity among all members since they all adhere to similar rules. Customers accumulate points as they continue purchasing over a period of eight quarters, where the management runs a quarterly roll off. It is essential to realize that each new customer in the entire world is given a two hundred and fifty entry threshold points on enrolling. Discounts are available for all enrolled individuals as long as they own a license. It is incredibly simple joining the volume purchase program since their online tools offer these services and other activities such as membership look-ups, points’ configuration and points’ portal. The only requirement needed to sign up in this program is to become a VMware customer. Purchasing from their outlets ensures that a customer either receives an addition of points or gets discounts. Those eligible for discounts are the ones purchasing license products whereas, purchasing both SnS products and licensed products earn a customer

Rent-A-Captive Insurance Company Development

Rent-A-Captive Insurance Company Development A Critical Analysis of the Benefits, Risks and  Implications of Creating an Off-shore  Rent-a-Captive Insurance Company in Bermuda. Contents (Jump to) Abstract Chapter 1    Methodology Chapter 2 –   Research Process Chapter 3 – Findings and Evaluation of Findings 3.1 Captive 3.2   Analysis of Benefits, Risks and Implications 3.3 Rent-A-Captive 3.4 Pestle Analysis 3.5 Porter’s Five Forces Abstract The potential for utilizing a rent-a-captive facility in Bermuda represents a method that is a business proposition to examination the risks, benefits and implications of utilizing this as a viable strategy. Inherent in equating any strategy are its suitability, ease of entry and exit as well as costs and weighing these against the learning curve and relative benefits that will accrue in best and worst case scenarios. To reach such a determination, the examination will employ a number of strategic as well as financial tools, along with the advantages and disadvantages of the methodology to determine its viability in a general, specific and overall sense. The use of any business strategy has either direct and or indirect implications which represent variables that must prove their worth in their ability to further the overall aims, objectives and purpose of the entity and to be particularly of benefit in adverse economic conditions and or unforeseen occurances. The preceding tough evaluative climate represents the acid test via which to effectively prove or disprove its potential worth to the enterprise. A ‘captive insurance company’ represents an entity that is set up for the limited purpose by parent insurance companies to finance risks from the main organization and or its subsidiaries (Bawcutt, 1997, pp. 8-9). Rather than representing a new concept, captive insurance companies have been around since the mid 1870s, borne out of ‘protection and indemnity’ clubs of that period which offered marine insurance in coverage of third party liabilities as well as expenses emanating from either operating or owning ships as a principle (Braithwaite and Drahos, 2000, p. 157). The preceding was a result of the passage of the Lord Campbell Act of 1846 (Alabama Law Review, 2004, p. 884), which â€Å"†¦ was enacted by the English Parliament †¦Ã¢â‚¬  and titled the ‘Fatal Accidents Act of 1846’ whose purpose was â€Å"†¦ to alleviate the harsh results †¦Ã¢â‚¬  from either serious injury or death on ships during that period (Alabama Law Review, 2004, p. 884). Claim liability potential was increased as a result of the flood of immigrants traveling to the United States as well as the higher value of cargos and injuries to crew members. The Protection and Liability Clubs pooled resources to cover claims arising from the passage of the act and minimize exposure for the primary insurance carriers such as Lloyd’s of London (Alabama Law Review, 2004, p. 884). Captive insurance companies can be utilized to provide insurance coverage for commercial purposes, as well as industrial and governmental entities to insure either all or part of the risks facing an organization (Geisel, 2004). Captive insurance companies also can be formed as a result of companies that have similar business risks joining together to pool said risks in a cost effective manner to have the needed insurance coverage for these types of areas (Geisel, 2004). The increased growth in this industry segment is a result of the change in the way businesses and organizations see the way to finance their risks as it represents a more flexible approach against potential losses, augmenting catastrophic risk that is covered via conventional means (Sammer, 2001). Critical to the preceding is understanding that insurance represents â€Å"coverage by a contract binding †¦Ã¢â‚¬  one party to â€Å"†¦ indemnify another against specified loss †¦Ã¢â‚¬  as a return for pr emiums paid covering said insurance (Houghton Mifflin, 2006). It, insurance, represents a form of ‘risk management’ that is a hedge against some type of financial loss that has a probable incidence of occurring, thus insurance represents the transfer of this risk from one entity to another as a result of the exchange of premiums calculated based upon the potential of occurrence. The preceding summary will provide an understanding of the purpose and niche regarding captive insurance companies as well as how they fit into the overall realm of the insurance industry represents important background information that is germane to the topic of ‘a critical analysis of the benefits, risks and implications of creating an off-shore rent-a-captive insurance company in Bermuda’. Chapter 1 – Methodology The methodology that will be utilized in this examination will consist of understanding the nuances involved in the process of single parent captives as well as rent-a-captives to determine the subtle and or obvious differences that represent either positive or negative factors which a company would need to be aware of as well as consider to have a full understanding of the process. Inherent in such is the understanding of the legal, business, regulatory, financial, operational and administrative facets of the process and how these impact upon each other in the utilization of a rent-a-captive facility. The preceding represents a broad based understanding as well as in depth with regard to the benefits, risks, implications and related factors. In equating such this examination will employ such tools as Porter’s Five Forces framework, a SWOT analysis, as well as a Pestle Analysis and a discussion of the Balanced Scorecard to aid in reaching a determination of the foregoing. The limitations to the methodology may be in that the tools of analysis are not directly suitable to analyze the process, and or they may be too many business, operational and or industry variables to enable equating if the process is or will be effective in all or most instances. The methodology is limited by the complexity of the problem in that the decision branch tree factor may be too large to adequately cover all of the potential nuances and aspects which might be important. As the basis for the study is the suitability of a certain structure for potential utilization, the methodology is thus simplified into gathering and comparison as a means to uncover the basics and related detail factors which appear in multiple sources. Chapter 2 Research Process The research process will consist of secondary measures utilizing books, journals and online sources to provide a wide cross section of ideas, viewpoints, concepts, theories and practices to ensure that the salient foundational information is based upon the true and actual conditions present. Through a comparative analysis entailing systematic methodologies of collecting, review and analysis of data, the foregoing will provide for such an outcome. Yin (1994) advises that in conducting research, one should seek to equate the positioning of such against real life phenomenon by virtue of gathering a number of viewpoints to reach a balanced understanding. Yin (1994) also adds that the broader the examination, the better will be the grasp of the information and thus conclusions reached. Maxwell (1996) supports Yin’s (1994) approach and cautions that quality is more important than quantity, thus the research process will seek to weed out lesser sources in favor of more established ones through a comparative process. The preceding represents the suggested approach as put forth by Lieberson (1991), as well as King et al (1994). As the subject represents a pragmatic consideration whereby theory is less important, the comparative analysis of sources is easier as the base information should be relatively close, if not identical, depending upon the jurisdictional locale. Said variable renders the research process as relatively straight forward. Chapter 3 – Findings and Evaluation of Findings In examining the subject matter, background information as well as facts, details and information pertaining to the field of captive insurance companies is an important foundation to understanding the benefits of a rent-a-captive as a comparison. The forgoing includes an understanding of the jurisdiction in which the rent-a-captive is located. 3.1 Captive 3.1.1 Bermuda Bermuda’s entrance into the international insurance market got its start in 1947 when it was selected by C.V. Starr â€Å"†¦ as the location for his American International Company, Limited (Bermuda Market Solutions, 2005, p. 3). The captive concept was promulgated by Fred Reiss in the mid 1960s as â€Å"†¦ an insurer owned by a non-insurance parent †¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Bermuda Market Solutions, 2005, p. 3) which was established to finance the insurable exposures of the parent. Bermuda is the global leader in the captive insurance market, growing dramatically during the 1980s as a result of group captives that were created to permit smaller companies to align with those of similar interests to thus gain greater control over their insurance through the pooling of risks (Bermuda Market Solutions, 2005, p. 3). One of the largest of these was the OIL Insurance Ltd. that was formed by petroleum companies in the early 1970’s as a result of difficulties they were facing in the property insurance market. Table 1 – Total Insurance Assets for all International Insured’s (in billions) (Bermuda Market Solutions, 2005, p. 3) Bermuda, is the premier domicile for captive insurance companies as well as rent-a-captives with in excess of 1700 insurers (Lowtax.net, 2004). The captive insurance market has slowed over the last couple of years in contrast to its rapid growth pace of the late 1980s and 1990s with other locales offering similar advantages thus effectively bringing its share of the global market down to approximately one third of all captives from a high of 40% in the mid 1990s (Crombie, 2005). Locations such as the Cayman Islands, British Virgin Islands, Hawaii, Guernsey, and Barbados as well as Dublin, along with an addition 45 other jurisdiction as well as a number of states in the U.S. have slowed Bermuda’s growth and market share as a result (Crombie, 2005). Other factors in this trend have been (Crombie, 2005): the increased popularity of risk retention groups whose small size, in general, does not make them really suitable for location in Bermuda, increased marketing by new jurisdictions such as Hawaii and Vermont which have the advantage of being American states, developments in the varied types of corporate vehicles that are available, notably segregated account companies, and lastly, the ways in which some jurisdictions count their captives, including those that have formed and not removing them once they have been dissolved. Another important consideration is cost. Bermuda is expensive and thus since cost does matter to smaller captives as well as those operating on slimmer margins, there selection of locale takes this facet into account. Bermuda’s client base primarily consists of large U.S., European and South American companies whose presence has been in that location for some time (Crombie, 2005). The cost is offset by Bermuda’s reputation, quality of professional expertise as well as the ease of access thus minimizing the cost variable over the long term as a result of the foregoing and the locale’s stability. Another factor that must be considered with respect to Bermuda’s global positioning in terms of the attraction of new captives is the limited infrastructure on the island for residences, schools and traffic. Bermuda is basically more of an exclusive club which is based upon quality as opposed to quantity (Crombie, 2005). As the third largest insurance local after Ne w York and London, Bermuda’s new business formations in 2004 saw approximately 50% in the form of captives (Lowtax.net, 2004). The country is the number one location for segregated account companies with 83 that include 6,234 cells within cells as compared to 126 protected cell companies in all other locations as of 2003 (Lowtax.net, 2004). Table 2 – Captives by Domicile Year End 2002 (Towers Perrin, 2004) Table 3 – Leading Captive Domiciles (Elliott, 2005) The preceding represents data on captives as of year end 2002, thus accounting for the higher figures indicated above, showing captive numbers for domiciles mentioned as a comparison. 3.1.2 Rent-a-Captive Insurance Companies A rent-a-captive insurance company provides ‘captive’ insurance facilities to other companies for a fee and protects itself from any losses via individual programs that are further isolated from losses via other programs in the same company (Banham, 2001). Banham (2001) provides the analogy of thinking of a rent-a-captive insurance company â€Å"†¦ as a mall of stores †¦Ã¢â‚¬  and each store represents â€Å"†¦ the self insurance program of a particular company†. The rent-a-captive concept represents the fact that a company does not have to go through the procedures and regulations entailed with incorporating its own captive as it is able to lease one instead. The preceding represents a business rationale for creating an off-shore rent-a-captive insurance company, leasing out its existence. The concept of the rent-a-captive provides much of the same benefits that corporate owned captives do in that it provides (Banham, 2001): increased control regarding losses as a result of improved claims management, the ability to derive a profit from underwriting along with investment income from the funds that are set aside for claim reserves, various tax benefits, and avoidance of accounting and audit issues, which are the responsibility of the rent-a-captive sponsor. The advantages of the establishment of a rent-a-captive insurance company depend upon a number of factors on the part of the interested company. These aspects shall be discussed in the analysis of the benefits, risks, and implications of a rent-a-captive. 3.2 Analysis of Benefits, Risks and Implications In equating the reasons, as well as benefits, risks and implications of forming a rent-a-captive it is important to have an understanding of the reasons as to why captives are formed, thus providing an understanding of the benefits of a rent-a-captive. The following represent the foregoing (Elliott, 2005): To reduce and or stabilize cost Generally, the financing of risk under a captive lowers overall cost and aids in stabilizes costs long term as a result of being less susceptible to changes in the insurance market. Examples of cost savings are represented by the fact there is: no profit load, the reduction and or elimination of commissions to brokers, lower costs for administration, the owners in a captive share in all of the earnings through policyholder or shareholder dividends, a captive avoids costly insurance regulations as well as the exclusion of payments into residual market pools and premium taxes, savings in loss – cost is another area as captives serve to increase the awareness of risk management as well as cost awareness among top management. The savings benefits, in general, exceed the expense of both setting up the captive as well as administering it. Increase capacity and provide access to reinsurance A captive can access the capacity of reinsurance markets and might be able to provide more coverage limits than available within the retail market. An example of the preceding is whereby multiple insurers participate in what is termed as a slip to offer millions in added capacity which would not otherwise be available. A ‘slip’ is a binder that often includes more than one insurer. An example of the preceding is provided by Lloyd’s of London whereby the slip is passed from underwriting to underwriter to initial and subscribe to specific parts of a risk (captive.com, 2006). Control One of the reasons for the origin of captives is due to insurance buyers that were tired of the vagaries of the market regarding insurance and looked for more control concerning underwriting, rates, investments and claim settlements. Captives provided them with these benefits. Coverage An advantage of captives is that they can provide coverage to subsidiaries and other firms that might not otherwise be possible or available for such areas as professional liability, certain business risks and punitive damages. Rate and form freedom The benefits of special constructed wording can be written by captives as a guide for reinsurers to follow to thus provide coverage’s for obscure areas. Establishment of better than average claim experience As the claim history for a captive insured may be improved or batter than the overall class of business for an insurer in the commercial category, this aspect makes a sound argument for retention of that risk in this framework as opposed to the broader and poorer claims experience as a whole. Recapture of investment income and to accelerate and or manage cash flow The investment income derived from a captive may be completely or partially retained by the captive as opposed to staying with commercial insurers thus providing revenues that would otherwise be lost. Insurance accounting Special tax treatment accrues to insurance companies, such as tax deductible reserves for claims not paid and in the instance of life insurance reserves no taxes are paid on the internal build up of interest income. Tax deductibility Other tax advantages are possible such as in the case of multiple owners or insured as well as in the cases where the insured and shareholders are not the same. Another area is in the deductibility of premiums along with the deferred taxation of insurance income. Careful consideration of tax benefits need to be investigated prior to adding such advantages to the list of benefits. Perceived safety of formalized services As the books and records of captives are audited along with the claim reserves being under constant review by actuaries, investments managed by professionals and accounts that are maintained by managers that are independent, these services represent checks and balances with so many differing external factors checking the books and accounts that the system has extra measures of safety that in most cases is superior to other means whereby a number of these functions is performed in-house or by the same company. Favorable regulations Many captives are formed offshore to avoid certain unnecessary regulations concerning solvency. However, just as in onshore solvency regulations, offshore captive solvency regulations are designed to protect policyholders. In some instances this regulation is weak in offshore locales, which is not the case for Bermuda as well as the state of Vermont in the United States. Administrative tool for funding retentions In many instances, large organizations create captives to fund differences between their large corporate deductibles or retention and smaller deductibles or retention of its individual business units. Under the captive format the main organization is able to offer fixed cost rates that are above the smaller deductibles and balance the equation of as a result overall larger rate, thus spreading the deductible or retention and achieving savings. Risk management Captives provide the risk manager with more leverage than the annual cost allocation process. Innovative deals Captives can increase the access to certain deals, such as more creative loss portfolio transfers achieved by transferring liabilities from one balance sheet to another. Warehouse data Being in a captive can provide a tool for the collection of better as well as more data in support of its cost management efforts. An example of this is that a captive can be the central repository for what is termed common disability cost management for instances when an organization elects to finance certain employee risk benefits as well as worker compensation risks. Strategic partner support Coverage can be made available by organizations for their various business partners as represented by key suppliers and or customers, as well as independent contractors, etc. when the normal market pricing and or terms are not favorable. The preceding may very well provide tax management as well as profit advantages. Profit In some instances captives are created to underwrite the risks of a customer or to provide third party insurance. Such undertakings can provide and or add value to an organization as a result of tying the customer to the owner. Some of the preceding areas represent clear financial aspects as well as non financial operating areas which can in certain instances turn out to be as important or more important than the financial considerations in creating or utilizing a captive. The understanding of the benefits, advantages and implications of a captive are integral in the discussion of a rent-a-captive in that the reasons and rationales that are found in the former also apply to the latter. As such, a discussion of the structuring of captives is an important aspect to be considered in this context, as such aids in the understanding of a rent-a-captive. There are three primary aspects of captives, the financial, operational and of course personnel. Captive financial resources consist of premiums along with capital and investment income. The premiums and or capital can consist of non-investment instruments such as a letter of credit and these financial resources must be sufficient to accomplish three tasks (Geisel , 2004). First is the facet of financing the legal obligation as part of the insurance and or reinsurance agreements. Secondly, the financial resources must be sufficient to finance a reasonable level attributed to adverse development, and lastly, the financial resources needed to fund the expenses of operating the captive. It is important to understand that captives, as well as rent-a-captives operate in a somewhat similar fashion as traditional insurers. It, the captive, directly issues policies to insured’s, and or reinsurers via a fronting insurance company (Geisel, 2004). It also collects the premiums and pays claims as well as setting reserves aside to pay for legal obligations stemming from its insurance and or reinsurance agreements, and pay for the captive’s operating expenses, and dividends (Geisel, 2004). One of the advantages is that captives usually utilize a captive management company to run the day to day operations, maintain books and serve as the liaison with the regulators and Board of Directors (Towers Perrin, 2004). Captives also can and often do utilize specialty service providers, accountants, legal council and actuaries to aid in the operational aspects thus eliminating the need for finding, retaining, and setting up office space to house these aspects, which represent a considerable cost savings in internal administration. In terms of managing costs, captives have the following benefits and or advantages (Elliott, 2005): Actuarial Bermuda requires an actuarial analysis as an aspect of the feasibility study concerning the area(s) of insurance and or reinsurance being contemplated for setting up a captive. The premiums as well as losses are thus based upon this information and when the actuarial review has established a level of confidence in these figures, the captive will thus make a better impression on regulators, tax advisors and reinsurers. Bermuda requires ongoing actuarial analysis. Expenses In most circumstances a captive should be able to operate in a more efficient manner than commercial insurance companies. The captive’s expenses should be in the area of below twenty percent of premiums, unless loss control dictates a higher ratio. Investment It is a general practice among captives to set premiums to reflect the time value of cash in the assumption that the investment returns will closely approximate the amortization of the premium discount over time. The captive investment policy should thus be in keeping with the assumptions that are utilized to set premiums. 3.3 Rent-A-Captive The foregoing analysis and details concerning captive insurance companies provides the needed foundational and structural information to better understand the nature of the entity and thus the implications, benefits and other facets associated with electing to utilize a rent-a-captive format. Given the preceding, the reasons and rationales for electing to choose a rent-a-captive format takes on increased meaning. Rent-a-captives represent the fastest growing segment of the captive category and the indications are that they will continue this trend and become even more broadly utilized in the future (International Risk Management Institute, 2004). Large corporations usually establish a captive to aid in the underwriting of its risk as well as to assume portions of its losses based upon the prospect of making or deriving a profit from these operations (Elliott, 2005). In essence, the corporation enters the business of insurance in an attempt to gain control over its losses as well as t o lower the cost of its insurance as a result of deriving a return of profit from underwriting and or investment income. Smaller companies lacking the financial resources to cover the costs of setting up and meeting requirements for a captive can derive much the same benefits through renting a captive as the alternative to receiving the indicated benefits from their insurance program(s). Rent-a-captive insurance companies are in general funded, created and â€Å"†¦ rented by insurers, brokers or groups of affiliated businesses† (International Risk Management Institute, 2004). The determination as to whether a rent-a-captive represents a viable as well as sound proposition is dependent upon a number of facets that can be summarized as follows (Geisel, 2004): size of the company considering utilizing a captive, or rent-a-captive, the amount of losses it ha