Saturday, August 31, 2019

Custom Van

Custom Vans, Inc. , specializes in converting standard vans into campers. Depending on the amount of work and customizing to be done, the customizing could cost less than $1,000 to more than $5,000. In less than four years, Tony Rizzo was able to expand his small operation in Gary, Indiana, to other major outlets in Chicago, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, and Detroit. Innovation was the major factor in Tony’s success in converting a small van shop into one of the largest and most profitable custom van operations in the Midwest.Tony seemed to have a special ability to design and develop unique features and devices that were always in high demand by van owners. An example was Shower-Rific, which was developed by Tony only six months after Custom Vans, Inc. , was started. These small showers were completely self-contained, and they could be placed in almost any type of van and in a number of different locations within a van. Shower-Rific was made of fiberglass and contained towel racks, built-in soap and shampoo holders, and a unique plastic door.Each Shower-Rific took 2 gallons of fiberglass and 3 hours of labor to manufacture. Most of the Shower-Rifics were manufactured in Gary in the same warehouse where Custom Vans, Inc. , was founded. The manufacturing plant in Gary could produce 300 Shower-Rifics in a month, but this capacity never seemed to be enough. Custom Van shops in all locations were complaining about not getting enough Shower Rifics, and because Minneapolis was farther away from Gary than the other locations, Tony was always inclined to ship Shower-Rifics to the other locations before Minneapolis.This infuriated the manager of Custom Vans at Minneapolis, and after many heated discussions, Tony decided to start another manufacturing plant for Shower-Rifics at Fort Wayne, Indiana. The manufacturing plant at Fort Wayne could produce 150 Shower-Rifics per month. The manufacturing plant at Fort Wayne was still not able to meet current demand for Shower-Ri fics, and Tony knew that the demand for his unique camper shower would grow rapidly in the next year. After consulting with his lawyer and banker, Tony concluded that he should open two new manufacturing plants as soon as possible.Each plant would have the same capacity as the Fort Wayne manufacturing plant. An initial investigation into possible manufacturing locations was made, and Tony decided that the two new plants should be located in Detroit, Michigan; Rockford, Illinois; or Madison, Wisconsin. Tony knew that selecting the best location for the two new manufacturing plants would be difficult. Transportation costs and demands for the various locations should be important considerations. The Chicago shop was managed by Bill Burch. This Custom Van shop was one of the first established by Tony, and it continued to outperform the other locations.The manufacturing plant at Gary was supplying 200 Shower-Rifics each month, although Bill knew that the demand for the showers in Chicago was 300 units. The transportation cost per unit from Gary was $10, and although the transportation cost from Fort Wayne was double that amount, Bill was always pleading with Tony to get an additional 50 units from the Fort Wayne manufacturer. The two additional manufacturing plants would certainly be able to supply Bill with the additional 100 showers he needed. The transportation costs would, of course, vary, depending on which two locations Tony picked.The transportation cost per shower would be $30 from Detroit, $5 from Rockford, and $10 from Madison. Wilma Jackson, manager of the Custom Van shop in Milwaukee, was the most upset about not getting an adequate supply of showers. She had a demand for 100 units, and at the present time, she was only getting half of this demand from the Fort Wayne manufacturing plant. She could not understand why Tony didn’t ship her all 100 units from Gary. The transportation cost per unit from Gary was only $20, while the transportation cost from Fort Wayne was $30. Wilma was hoping that Tony would select Madison for one of the manufacturing locations.She would be able to get all of the showers needed, and the transportation cost per unit would only be $5. If not Madison, a new plant in Rockford would be able to supply her total needs, but the transportation cost per unit would be twice as much as it would be from Madison. Because the transportation cost per unit from Detroit would be $40, Wilma speculated that even if Detroit became one of the new plants, she would not be getting any units from Detroit. Custom Vans, Inc. , of Minneapolis was managed by Tom Poanski. He was getting 100 showers from the Gary plant. Demand was 150 units.Tom faced the highest transportation costs of all locations. The transportation cost from Gary was $40 per unit. It would cost $10 more if showers were sent from the Fort Wayne location. Tom was hoping that Detroit would not be one of the new plants, as the transportation cost would be $60 per unit. Rockford and Madison would have a cost of $30 and $25, respectively, to ship one shower to Minneapolis. The Detroit shop's position was similar to Milwaukee’s—only getting half of the demand each month. The 100 units that Detroit did receive came directly from the Fort Wayne plant.The transportation cost was only $15 per unit from Fort Wayne, whereas it was $25 from Gary. Dick Lopez, manager of Custom Vans, Inc. , of Detroit, placed the probability of having one of the new plants in Detroit fairly high. The factory would be located across town, and the transportation cost would be only $5 per unit. He could get 150 showers from the new plant in Detroit and the other 50 showers from Fort Wayne. Even if Detroit was not selected, the other two locations were not intolerable. Rockford had a transportation cost per unit of $35, and Madison had a transportation cost of $40.Tony pondered the dilemma of locating the two new plants for several weeks before deciding t o call a meeting of all the managers of the van shops. The decision was complicated, but the objective was clear—to minimize total costs. The meeting was held in Gary, and everyone was present except Wilma. Tony: Thank you for coming. As you know, I have decided to open up two new plants at Rockford, Madison, or Detroit. The two locations, of course, will change our shipping practices, and I sincerely hope that they will supply you with the Shower-Rifics that you have been wanting.I know you could have sold more units, and I want you to know that I am sorry for this situation. Dick: Tony, I have given this situation a lot of consideration, and I feel strongly that at least one of the new plants should be located in Detroit. As you know, I am now only getting half of the showers that I need. My brother, Leon, is very interested in running the plant, and I know he would do a good job. Tom: Dick, I am sure that Leon could do a good job, and I know how difficult it has been since the recent layoffs by the auto industry.Nevertheless, we should be considering total costs and not personalities. I believe that the new plants should be located in Madison and Rockford. I am farther away from the other plants than any other shop, and these locations would significantly reduce transportation costs. Dick: That may be true, but there are other factors. Detroit has one of the largest suppliers of fiberglass, and I have checked prices. A new plant in Detroit would be able to purchase fiberglass for $2 per gallon less than any of the other existing or proposed plants. Tom: At Madison, we have an excellent labor force.This is due primarily to the large number of students attending the University of Madison. These students are hard workers, and they will work for $1 less per hour than the other locations that we are considering. Bill: Calm down, you two. It is obvious that we will not be able to satisfy everyone in locating the new plants. Therefore, I would like to sugge st that we vote on the two best locations. Tony: I don’t think that voting would be a good idea. Wilma was not able to attend, and we should be looking at all of these factors together in some type of logical fashion.

Friday, August 30, 2019

A great fraction of Tecumseh’s life Essay

The first Pontiac refers to the Ottawa chief whose influence is said to have extended to as far as Seneca, Shawnee and Delaware at a period of 1763- 1766. At the time of the French Indian war, a lot of land recessions were wrung from the English in the form of treaties that neither of the sides lacked the goodwill to adhere to. This was clearly proven when there was the permanent desisting from the side of the Amherst from the buying of the peace through the use of gifts back in 1760. On the other hand, Tecumseh (1768- 1813), otherwise known as Tekamthi or Tecumtha was a famous leaders to the American natives known as the Shawnee. A great fraction of Tecumseh’s life was spent on rallying diverse Indian tribes so that they could defend their land. This led to Tecumseh’s death in 1812 (in the War of 1812). MotivationsThere are several reasons that acted as motivations behind the War of 1812. The most important of all these is the issue of land. With the incursion of the white race into the American soil, land for the indigenous American Indians started to diminish as the invaders also started to take up land progressively, both for settlement and commercialism. O’Brien (2001 p 451) postulates that with this state of affair persisting, the new settlers did not only take interests in taking massive tracts of land, but land that was accredited for its fertility in agriculture and richness in mineral materials. This condition led to the indigenous Indian communities to be contained in smaller areas. At the same time, land that was unproductive, barren and unresourceful became a preserve for the aboriginal Amerindian communities. All the above happened merely because the new invaders had superior caches of weapons, skilled and seasoned military skills and superior animals such as horses. This development led to the formation of groups that wanted to reverse the situation- groups that were merely military rag tags. All of the groups were quasi- social and religious groups such as the Tenskwatawa, a group that had been known as the Lowawluwaysica. Indeed, it is also imperative to note that there were also reasons that led to the war, though these reasons still are pegged on the land issue. For instance, the Tenskwatawa were against the inculcation of the culture of the white man and thus, opposed Conversely, there are other social ills that Tecumseh and his group, the Tenskwatawa were up against. For instance, the massive cases of raping of the indigenous women by the white masters were rife. With the surge in a number of cases touching on human rights abuses, nothing much could be done to placate the anger of the Amerindians, save justice- an element that the new invader, the white man was not interested in delivering. Occurrence According to Cook (2004 p 90), the War of 1812 is known to have taken place in 1812, under the enablement of the religious movement, Tenskwatawa who were interested in disbanding the cultural cords of the white men. However, this was an artifice to ensure that the aboriginals did not cede more land to the whites. However, a Shawnee leader known as Black Hoof posed an antithetical stance to Tenskwatawa, being interested in the forging of the diplomatic relations with the whites.   Real trouble started when in 1809, Governor William H. Harrison who was in charge of Indian Territory formed the Treaty of Fort Wayne with a delegation of partially starved Indians so that the latter could cede 12,000 kilometers squared land. After enacting this treaty, William Harrison did not honor the Indians, a development that was vehemently opposed by Tecumseh. After trying in vain in 1811 to resolve the situation by talking to Harrison at Grouseland, Tecumseh was sent 1,000 soldiers in an attempt by Harrison to frighten him. However, Tenskwatawa instead ordered the attack of this contingency in the Battle of Tippecanoe which saw Harrison’s men retreat. Nevertheless, the war severed Tenskwatawa, making him to forfeit confidence and the prestige of his brother who secretly build an alliance with the British later. It is by this virtue that in the War of 1812, America finds herself, not just at war with the aboriginal Amerindians, but with the British as well. Outcomes There were massive cases of properties and lives being lost as the British supply systems were extirpated. On the other hand, the British incinerated all the public buildings in Detroit as they themselves retreated to Thames valley that is adjacent to   Apart from the conclusive defeat of the Tenskwatawa army, Tecumseh lost his life. This defeat was mainly due to the poor communication, organization and logistics that had been set in place by the rather new British Commander, Henry Proctor as the Major General. This same general did not have enough skills and as such, differed with Tecumseh over tactics that were to be employed. This failure was brought into its sad and tragic conclusion when Procter failed to show up in Ontario at Chatham as previously agreed upon between him and Tecumseh. This gave Harrison an easy ride to victory (Hatch 2003 p 199). Having seen that American history is seriously pegged on massive cases of human rights abuses, it is therefore incumbent that debates on making the reparations to the ethno linguistic groups that had been shortchanged at the time be revisited anew. This demands intellectualism from all disciplines and spheres of development. It is only through this that internal acrimony will be eradicated for the realization of national cohesion. Work cited Cook, Darius. The Amerindians. New York: John Wiley and Sons. 2004. Hatch, William. Embracing the past: A history of the 1812 War. New York: Prentice Hall. 2003. O’Brien, Sharon. Governments of the American Indian Tribes. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 2001.

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Business Outsourcing Functions Management †Myassignmemthelp.Com

Discuss About The Business Outsourcing Functions Management? Outsourcing is the process in which a company came into contract with another third party company to perform their function that can be done in the company itself. Most of the companies are using this process so that they can make their focus on other core activities of the company that needs more attention (Arias-Aranda, Bustinza and Barrales-Molina, 2011). Outsourcing results in contract between the two companies. The one company pays the other company to perform one of their functions. The process of outsourcing can only be successful if both the companies and the parties get ready to have mutual consent. There are many processes that can be outsourced which are not so important to be conducted in-house. Thus outsourcing those functions helps the company to invest their time and money solely on the activities that provides them large profit. The major objective of this project is to analyse the advantages and disadvantages of business outsourcing functions. This is because outsourcing not only provides benefits but can also be harmful for the companies. Understanding the basic advantages and disadvantages from outsourcing helps the company to take better decisions. This study focuses on analysing the factors that support outsource and factors that are negative for outsourcing. This study helps in understanding the basic concept of outsourcing and the reasons behind the same. This study can also provide the information about the factors that causes the organization to outsource some of their functions along with its advantages and disadvantages. The scope of the project is that the study can be used by the companies to make their outsourcing decisions by reducing its harmful effects an also allow the readers to analyse the disadvantages before outsourcing. Outsourcing has become the major trends in the companies these days. This is the technique that helps the companies to transfer one of their functions to another company. This has helped in generating job opportunities or the people at large scale. Human resource is the major function that has been outsourced in most of the companies these days. This is because it is not the core activity of the organization (Lee and Choi, 2011). There are other functions that can be outsourced such as accounting functions, customer support functions; marketing functions etc. It is required by the company to ensure that the company they are choosing for outsourcing their function should be reliable. The company should contact the prior clients of that outsource company to take the reviews. Making the legal contract is another important requirement in order to have legal relationship with the outsourced firm. This is because legal interaction between the companies binds both the companies with some ob ligations that cannot be breached by them and no company can exploit each other. A company should contact all the companies that outsource the area that the company is looking for. This is to identify the availability of the companies. This information helps the company to bargain with the outsourcing firms. Investigation should be conducted for the outsourcing company so that any flaws of the company can be identified. The contracts should be made with all the clauses that are required (Gewald and Dibbern,   2009). Outsourcing is the tool that is not only about legal contract between the companies, but it also involves trust and information sharing among the companies who came into contract. This relationship can be beneficial for the both the organizations. Some of the advantages of outsourcing the business functions are: (Appendix 1) Reduction of cost: If any company outsource any of the function, they get specialists to work from them. Keeping those specialists becomes costly for them in their own companies because they may not be required every time. Hiring them can be expensive for the firm. Outsourcing firms can be used for the purposes as and when required. This reduces the operating cost of the company (Lin, Pervan and McDermid,   2007). The outsourcing firms are comparatively cheaper as well. The reason behind the low cost of outsourcing organizations is economies of scale. As the outsourcing firm conducts the single operation at high scale thus per unit cost of operations becomes low. Concentration on core activities: every organization has some core activities that directly provide them profit. Outsourcing allows the organization to concentrate on those core activities.   The organizations outsource some of the support activities to the specialist third party organizations and provide their full concentration on the major activities and functions. This helped them to improve their core activities so that they can earn more revenue (Kremic, Icmeli Tukel and Rom, 2006). The companies have to divide their time and money to all the activities of the company. If one or more activities can be outsourced than the main activities or functions of the company can be prioritize.    Increased flexibility: Removal of the support activity departments from the company results in conversion of fixed cost into variable cost. Flexibility can be increased in the organization such that the services from the outsourcing organization can be availed according to the demand. It is easier to close down the contract then to close down the whole department from the company. It also helps in cist saving because it is not necessary that all the services or the functions of the company are active whole year (Belcourt, 2006). Suppose if the company needs a legal advice from the advisor than it is not necessary for the fir to hire a legal advisor in the company but can contact the legal counsellor at the time of requirement. This saves the money of the company as it needs not to give salary to the legal advisor the whole year. Quality service:   As discussed that the outsource firm are specialists in their functions. Thus, outsourcing one of the functions to the third party firm provides quality services to the companies. On the other hand, if the company conduct that operation in their own firm then it requires them to have knowledge about that function along with the person or the employees to handle such functions. It may be possible that they fails to hire such efficient human resource and the function get affected. Outsourcing not only provides benefits to the companies but some of the harmful effects are also faced by the companies because of outsourcing. This is because the whole function is being handover to the different company and it is very important to identify the There are many disadvantages of outsourcing the functions as well. Some of them are discussed below: Loss of jobs: As the company outsource one of its functions that mean the people or the employees who were earlier working on that function has to leave their jobs. This results in bad image of the company as the employees cannot trust the company for job security (Harland, Knight, Lamming and Walker,   2005). This also leads to bad publicity of the company and can increase the employee turnover as the employee cannot fell safe at the company. Quality issues: As far as the company’s internal functions are considered, it has been analysed that these functions can be evaluated and monitored by the company’s management time to time. But, these functions if outsourced from another company then the company does not have the access to monitor the same frequently. Thus, the contract of outsourcing should be made with the policies that allow the company to monitor the working of the third party timely. Customer resistance: it is very difficult to rely on third party for some kind of work such as customer support. Most of the companies outsource their customer support function to third party (Harland, Knight, Lamming and Walker,   2005). This may lead to issues such as the executive does not understand the foreign access or the language. Customers may resist dealing with the third party and needs specialists to resolve the issue. Loss security: It is the major risk that the company faces in order to outsource the function. This is because outsourcing also requires the company to share some of their private information to the third party company. Sharing of information is a biggest threat to the loss of security. It is required by the company to have legal contract with the security clauses that the company can take any legal action if the third company practice any of the unethical and illegal action by leaking the private information or sharing it to any other competitors. Ethical concerns: it is required by the company to have ethical relationship with the third party company. Even the third party company also has to maintain such ethical relationship with the company. This can be a major risk when a company comes in contract with the outsource firm.      Difficult to reverse: If a function of the company is outsourced, it becomes very difficult for the company to establish it back in-house in the company. This is because breaching or breaking the contract from the outsourcing firm requires cost and implementing the process again in the organization also requires large amount of cost (Mani, Barua and Whinston, 2010). Reversing the outsourced process requires the company to invest a lot in hiring, establishing system, training etc. as all the systems and the functions in the organizations are inked with each other thus implementing a new function back to the company results in disturbance to all the other function as well. Outsourcing affects the company in both the positive as well as negative way. It is very difficult to deal with such situations. The companies have to take many initiatives to have secure outsourcing because the thus party that is selected outsource the function can misuse the information provides to them in order to make the function effective and efficient. Outsourcing at the one hand helps the company to reduce its cost on the other hand raise many risks of security. Any information if released or leaked by the third party may results in great harm to the company. Thus making the legal contract is a very important part of this process. It has been concluded from the above discussion that outsourcing is the process used by the company in order to save the cost of extra activities that can be outsourced frim another company which is specialised in the same area. This helps the company to reduce its cost and get efficient work from the specialised people. It also helps the company to have flexibility of using the services. The company can use the service at the time of requirement and pay according to that. there are some other disadvantages of outsourcing functions of business such as focus on the core and major functions of the company, reduction in the overall cost, saving time and energy, etc. along with all these advantages, the company which outsources their functions also have to deal with some of the disadvantages and risks. The major risk is security. This is because the company has to share their internal information with third party thus trust is the major element of outsourcing relationship. Some of the ot her disadvantages that the company faces are ethical issues, legal breaching of the contract, inefficient working of the third party, leak of information, loss of trust by the employees, lack of monitoring etc. Arias-Aranda, D., Bustinza, O.F. and Barrales-Molina, V., 2011. Operations flexibility and outsourcing benefits: an empirical study in service firms.  The Service Industries Journal,  31(11), pp.1849-1870. Lee, J.N. and Choi, B., 2011. Effects of initial and ongoing trust in IT outsourcing: A bilateral perspective.  Information & Management,  48(2), pp.96-105. Gewald, H. and Dibbern, J., 2009. Risks and benefits of business process outsourcing: A study of transaction services in the German banking industry.  Information & Management,  46(4), pp.249-257. Lin, C., Pervan, G. and McDermid, D., 2007. Issues and recommendations in evaluating and managing the benefits of public sector IS/IT outsourcing.  Information Technology & People,  20(2), pp.161-183. Kremic, T., Icmeli Tukel, O. and Rom, W.O., 2006. Outsourcing decision support: a survey of benefits, risks, and decision factors.  Supply Chain Management: an international journal,  11(6), pp.467-482. Belcourt, M., 2006. Outsourcing—The benefits and the risks.  Human resource management review,  16(2), pp.269-279. Harland, C., Knight, L., Lamming, R. and Walker, H., 2005. Outsourcing: assessing the risks and benefits for organisations, sectors and nations.  International Journal of Operations & Production Management,  25(9), pp.831-850. Mani, D., Barua, A. and Whinston, A., 2010. An empirical analysis of the impact of information capabilities design on business process outsourcing performance.  Mis Quarterly, pp.39-62.

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Sources of finance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Sources of finance - Essay Example As you grow, you may need to turn to alternate sources such as Venture Capital. Once you have achieved a financial track record, you can turn to other sources such as Asset Based Lending or Commercial Loans. The main sources of financing can be divided into: Roger Inman can use cash for his purchase of new computer or the following sources of financing, such as a small loan(notes payable), buy a computer on accounts payable (in this case computer company would have to finance the purchase). Or another solution would be to lease a computer. A firm can raise money for working capital by selling bonds, bills, or notes to individual and/or institutional investors. In return for lending the money, the individuals or institutions become creditors and receive a promise that the principal and interest on the debt will be repaid. First of all it is difficult to answer, because we do not know in which industry the company is, therefore we can not say what the optimal capital structure is. So, making a few assumptions, next sources of financing can be used: E) Euro Tunnel suffered trading losses in its first year of operation. If the company wanted to maintain its gearing ratio at the same level as previous year, what type of finance would it have to raise As the company is suffering losses it implies that retained earnings are going down, resulting in equity decrease, so the gearing rate is going up. In order to keep the leverage rate at the level of previous year, new issues should be issued in order to counterbalance the losses that a company is currently making. F) Carlton Holdings PLC has a

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

HOW IS INTERNET RECRUITING IS CHANGING WORLD OF HIRING Research Paper

HOW IS INTERNET RECRUITING IS CHANGING WORLD OF HIRING - Research Paper Example Recruitment processes are no different. Internet recruitment or e-recruitment refers to the recruitment processes that take place on the web. The conventional modes of recruitment and job seeking have been substituted by internet recruitment; the online platform where job vacancies are uploaded by organizations and job seekers apply for the appropriate positions in the most reliable and fast-paced manner. Earlier, the technical concept was limited till the technologically savvy individuals but now, it has become one of the mainstay components of the modern recruitment activities. Internet Recruitment Internet recruitment industry is thriving year after year. Younger discussed the conclusions of a study; the annual revenues of the respective sector accumulated to more than $3 billion in 2003. This figure increased to $16 billion by the year 2007 and it was expected to reach $20 billion in 2008. Younger quoted some other results from a series of surveys that conducted studies on the nu mber of applicants and job seekers who use internet to search for jobs. In 2003, the number of such job seekers accumulated to 45 %. In 2006, the number had increased to almost 96%1. The two main actors in this domain are job seekers and organizations. There are different platforms on the web on which the recruitment processes take place; job portals, company’s websites under the ‘careers’ sections and professional networking sites. The advantages and disadvantages will be analyzed in this paper, with respect to both of the identified actors: Changes in Recruitment for Job Seekers Advantages of Internet Recruitment a. Time saving and cost effective Job seekers can upload their resumes on the online recruitment agencies’ websites where organizations can select most suitable candidates from the uploaded resumes. The resumes are uploaded instantaneously on the job portals’ websites in a reliable manner, rather than mailing the resumes through an unpred ictable and time consuming mode of postal system. This medium tends to be cost effective for the applicant, especially if the job application has to be sent across the border; international postal mail costs significantly more than the regional ones. b. Effective search options for suitable vacancies The search features of the job portals permit the job seekers to find jobs with specific requirements and experiences. Such search results can present suitable jobs for the job seeker and save time in browsing through hundreds of job advertisements. c. Detailed descriptions for available jobs Job seekers can benefit from detailed job descriptions of vacant positions that are posted on the web. The details can help the applicants judge their aptness for the position. The absence of details in other mediums gives the applicant counterfeit hopes about getting the position. On the contrary, the availability of the job descriptions gives him a pragmatic position of his chances of getting the job. Disadvantages of Inter

Monday, August 26, 2019

Importance of multicultural education in early childhood education Essay

Importance of multicultural education in early childhood education - Essay Example Conventional patterns of travel has been replaced by new avenues, and destinations (Silverstone, 2005, p.9). Mass media has allowed better cultural interactions and in turn has people and communities to understand each other quickly (Silverstone, 2005, p.39). The overall result is that people are now settling in areas which were perceived to be hostile and unfavorable to human life decades ago. Each and every society has now its own special group of migrant populations resulting in social diversity, and new patterns of social living but this has posed each society, a great many challenges as well (Reitz, Breton, Dion and Dion, 2009, p.11-17). The original communities have developed a fear of losing their cultural identity while the migrant groups fear a hostile environment (Reitz, Breton, Dion and Dion, 2009, p.168-175). The original dwellers tend to have a dominating trait that result in newcomers suffering suppression and cultural hegemony (Reitz, Breton, Dion and Dion, 2009, p.168 -175). When this is not restrained, minority cultures will be forced to assimilate majority culture and the result is that they loose their own culture (Reitz, Breton, Dion and Dion, 2009, p.168-175). As Robinson and Jones-Diaz (2006) have pointed out, such a change will eventually lead to racism and homophobia. This study is of the view that one way of making a deliberate effort in building respect for and safeguarding different cultures is including multiculturalism in early childhood education. This way, children can grow up under equitable environments which treat all cultures equally. Neither majority or minority culture is put in a more than or less than equal position in such a scenario. Thus this study dwells on the merits as well as reasons why multicultural education should be adopted or incorporated in early childhood education. The choice of this topic was inspired by the current social context in Singapore. The country is home to many cultural groupings,

Sunday, August 25, 2019

Organization's Compensation and Benefit Plan Research Paper

Organization's Compensation and Benefit Plan - Research Paper Example As the discussion stresses one of the factors that makes them successful at it would be providing their employees not only with the minimum wage, social security contributions for each employee, whether a non-exempt or exempt, and the FUTA or the Federal Unemployment Tax Act, which most companies adhere to as it is mandated by law; they also provide more opportunities for success for their employees such as the entrepreneurial opportunities for its protein-boosted managers. We all know that a lot of companies look at applicants in a bad light once their working record reveals a short-term service in their past workplaces because of their desire for career growth. However, the Jamba Incorporation has a different mindset on this one. For them, this is a good sign from an employee that has a lot of potentials to be an asset to a company, having the ability to possess utmost ownership in the business, which results in increased responsibility and loyalty. Thus, they provide entrepreneuri al opportunities to their managers by giving them a percentage of the store’s cash flow for a bi-period, depending on how they run a certain branch’s business. Aside from that, they give credit to their general managers’ ability to increase their yearly sales by giving them money that accrues in a retention account which stretches over a three-year period.This paper highlights that once the manager has served the Jamba Incorporation for three years, the bonus is immediately paid to them. Another bonus their employees enjoy would be that when a general manager completes a three-year term and decides to sign another three additional years with an employee, he or she is given a three-week paid sabbatical which is not charged against their vacation leaves while general managers can look forward to $1,000 bonus if he or she is able to promote an assistant manager to general manager. All this is an application of the principle of providing â€Å"benefits in kind or b onuses,† which means that as an employee gets his or her monthly wage which is taxable, a company can practice a retention system by providing bonuses in cash such as these in exchange of a business they close for the company which is not taxable. This indeed has created a generation of employees that are motivated to do more and be at their best all the time. Another great compensation plan that Jamba awards its employees is that they provide all their managerial employees with stock options.

Introduction Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 13

Introduction - Essay Example cess as well as to make original contribution to literature, this paper discusses what criteria a budding restaurants needs to meet in order to set its foot and expand in the highly challenging and competitive contemporary food industry. This paper uses the Porter’s Five-Forces model to examine a restaurant’s competitive environment. Taking McDonald’s as a case study, this paper discusses the threats and opportunities an expanding restaurant faces today and the advantages and disadvantages associated with its strategic moves. McDonald’s is one of the most successful fast food chains of all time. Having achieved such a phenomenal success and expansion in a matter of much less than a century, McDonald’s has a lot to offer new and budding entrepreneurs in terms of mission, vision, strategic decision making, and ways to achieve success. The paper concludes with a set of recommendations for McDonald’s that can help it even improve the pace of its success and the quality of its products and

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Experiencing History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Experiencing History - Essay Example People who were a little away from the detonation point first experienced the flash and heat, and a few seconds later a loud noise was accompanied by a blast wave. Almost all buildings within a mile of the blast had collapsed, and almost all structures within a three-mile range were damaged. Buildings that survived without any damage accounted for less than 10 percent of the total building in the city. â€Å"Out of 76,327 buildings, over 50,000 are destroyed† (Yep 22). The blast was so powerful that the wave had glass shattered even twelve miles away from the point of explosion. Even people miles away from ground zero instantly reacted in a way that they had been hit by a bomb. Small rescue teams soon began to operate, however half of Hiroshima’s population was either dead or injured. In areas which were worst hit almost everyone suffered serious injuries. Soon a large fire storm erupted which was caused due to the merging of several other small fires around the city. This firestorm ultimately covered about four and a half square miles of the city, killing almost everyone who was injured and could not escape the first few minutes of the blast. â€Å"Injuries from the blast, and from splintered glass and falling debris, occurred throughout the city and beyond† (Lifton 20). Relief and rescue teams from outside came in very slowly as the Government of Japan did not even know what had happened for sure even hours after the attack. All telegraph and radio communication from Hiroshima had suddenly come to a halt from 8:16 am.

Friday, August 23, 2019

MKTG 3000 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

MKTG 3000 - Essay Example changing consumer behaviour highlights that approximately 65-70% of consumers fall within the category of â€Å"multichannel shoppers† and increasingly has the highest purchasing power (Weinberg et al, 2007). As a result, Weinberg et al posit that it is â€Å"critical that organisations effectively employ a multichannel marketing approach, as consumers in B2C contexts now expect it† (Weinberg et al, 2007, p.385). It is evident that retailers are now moving away from the conventional economics based approach to consider the benefit of integrating effective customer relationship management (CRM) into business strategy to create value for its customers For example, Vollmer and Precourt argue that the underlying basis for marketing is rooted in economic principles of exchanging goods for value (2008). It is precisely this concept of â€Å"value† that has been at the heart of marketing strategy in persuading consumers to exchange value for goods in conventional business strategy. However, as the business models continue to evolve in line with changing consumer habits and retail channels, Vargo and Lusch point to the fact that economical basis for traditional marketing strategy has been forced to adapt to remain relevant (2004). â€Å"very nature of network organisation†¦..and the potential impact on the organisation of consumption all suggest that a paradigm shift for marketing may not be far over the horizon†(in Vargo and Lusch, 2004). They highlight the point that retailers have been forced to move away from the focus on tangible goods in light of the increasing consumer value attached to intangibles, thereby underpinning the â€Å"paradigm shift† in providing value in marketing. A significant part of this has been the move away from the economic model to the recognition of marketing as a social and economic process (Vargo and Lusch, 2004). In evaluating this â€Å"paradigm shift†, Gronroos refers to the fact that customer relationship economics presses the need for

Thursday, August 22, 2019

Culture of Madness Essay Example for Free

Culture of Madness Essay Schizophrenia is a mental disorder that enables individuals to engage in unruly behavior. It is a mental disorder that makes individuals deviate from social norms. In the years between 1920s and 1950s, schizophrenia was a general condition that was manifested by emotional disharmony and impacted negatively on the abilities of the white people with regard to thinking and feeling. Research article authors of psychiatric journals described schizophrenia patients as native-born-Americans of white European ancestry. Such patients were termed by psychiatric authors as harmless and instead needed psychotherapeutic care. In 1960s, schizophrenia was described as illness manifested by rage. Research articles asserted that it was a condition that afflicted the Negro men who were hostile and aggressive. These Negroes protested for their civil rights. The protests were organized by black power, black panthers, nation of Islam or other activist group. I disagree with the view that schizophrenia has got popular cultural expression. It is merely a mental disorder that is not influenced by either race or culture. According to Metzl in 1960s, schizophrenia patients were the Negro men, who were described as aggressive and hostile. In the real sense, the black Americans who were oppressed were not hostile neither did they act ragely. They raised their voices to be heard by Americans for a change of lifestyle, from oppression to freedom. In so doing, the black Americans were fighting for their rights as equal human beings since they wanted to be treated with equality. As discussed by Metzl, schizophrenia was associated with racism, thus biased. It was considered to be a disease of the black Americans since they expressed their feelings due to pressure exerted on them. They were out to fight for the state of affairs between the Americans and the Black Americans. Schizophrenia is feared in the current moment. Schizophrenia patients can act unruly in a given surrounding. These patients act to satisfy only their desires not considering the effect of their deeds on other people. They can behave in a way that interferes with other people’s daily life. For example, if the illness drives them to violent behavior, other people will leave what they were doing and deal with them first. Any activity that they engage in, they do it with all their strength and thus can be destructive and fierce. b) According to psychiatrists, schizophrenia is a biological mental illness expressed through defined symptoms like delusions whereby the patient thinks of invisibilities and acts according to his/her thoughts. It is also expressed through hallucinations where by the patient builds castles in the air and imagines that it is real life. The patients as well have disorganized speech whereby they mix issues which do not relate at all. They express catatonic behavior which is a disorganized behavior in a given environment, for instance relieving oneself in the open. Such symptoms are manifested in ways that are specific to the surrounding, assumptions and values of the schizophrenic individual. For instance, a schizophrenic individual can behave unruly in the midst of other people. He can violently attack a group of people for no good reason and cause alarm. This is because the patient is not able to control him/herself due to lack of mental coordination. He/she thus attracts attention of people who may be in the middle of serious events. A schizophrenic patient usually makes undesired assumptions particularly in a group of people. Whenever they see other people talk or laugh, they always think that they are being laughed at because of their condition. They can therefore attack them and end up harming them for no reason. Some usually assume that it’s their duty to perform any role anywhere. For example, some schizophrenic patients assume that it is their duty to clean every environment they are in. They therefore end up collecting wastes everywhere they go. Most schizophrenic patients think that a group of people behave in a certain manner to hurt them or because they want to go against their wishes intentionally. They are in a condition which cannot allow them to reason with the surrounding. They instead act negatively. For example, if a schizophrenic patient is always violent, the people around him and who knows his/her condition may decide to tie him or her with some ropes or lock the person in a house for some time. If he or she happens to see some people hold such ropes in another incident, he/she may try to get hold of the ropes as he/she thinks that he/she will still be tied up. On the contrary, this may not be case. As a matter of fact, the ropes might be for a different purpose. c) Symptoms of schizophrenia can be harmless if at all the assumptions; values and norms in the current setting are changed. This can only be achieved if there is freedom in all aspects of life of schizophrenic individuals. For instance, it can be assumed that, if one is talking to himself or herself, he or she is probably talking to the ancestors and should be allowed to do so. It can as well be assumed that if one behaves unruly, he/she is expressing some burning issues within him/herself. Therefore, with this kind of assumptions, nobody would criticize schizophrenic individuals and subsequently, they would have all the freedom they require to express themselves. Schizophrenia cannot cause any distress if the patients are given freedom of speech. For example, a schizophrenic person should not be shut down if he mixes ideas in a discussion. He should be understood the way he is and given time to express himself. In so doing, he will not feel neglected or weak in one way or another. Some may behave in a schizophrenic manner out of a bad experience they have had before. For example, one can become schizophrenic after a divorce or death of his/her partner. Within this context, such people need understanding and a shoulder to lean on so as to counteract the effects of what they are going through. Schizophrenic’s behavior should be termed normal in a surrounding so as not to cause distress. For example, some religions like Islam allow wife battery. Therefore when wife battery cases are encountered in a family with a schizophrenic husband, they are considered to be normal behavior. 2. Conceptual Tools Evans-Pritchard, E. E. (1987). â€Å"The Notion of Witchcraft explains Unfortunate Events,† Witchcraft, Oracles and Magic among the Azande. Oxford: Clarendon Press. a) Constitution is in the making of man. It entails a set of laws or norms that are involved in structuring, creating and defining limits of power or authority possessed by government. A constitution is used to give states identify since all states that have got constitutions are referred to as constitutional states. In the context of phenomena, constitution is the process of using a category to create or come up with knowledge or perceptions about something. A description is very different from constitution in that whereas a description is the concerned with defining an item, constitution is creation of ideas, thoughts or shapes. Constitution is used to define the structuring or production process of anything. In the context of culture, the outcome of culture or that which is attributed to culture is considered as a product of the constitution process. On the other hand, definition of the meaning of culture and what it entails is termed as description. A distinction between constitution and description is realized in the description of witchcraft within the Zande community by Evans-Pritchard, 1987. The physiological state of a person that is linked to witchcraft is a mere description of the activity. On the other hand, a constitution is what will yield or be generated from witchcraft. Witchcraft from the wording itself is a mere description of some kind of psychic acts. However, constitution is what is synthesized from this act or from the notion itself. The reason why Evans-Pritchard has made this distinction is to show reality in the light of witchcraft within the Zande community. The Azande are so glued into linking everything with witchcraft; therefore, the writer tries to show distinction between reality and witchcraft by giving an elaborate distinction between description and constitution of categories. This way, he tries to change the notion of Azande from thinking that every mysterious thing that happens is due to witchcraft. In the context of reality and the internal knower, symbols and language are used to describe culture. The shift towards seeing categories as generative is seen through activities which are as a result of certain categories. A category is composed of certain elements with some common characteristics. It is the common characteristics that enable the categories to become active and achieve a certain goal. In the Zande community for example, witchcraft has been described as a psychic act. On the other hand, it has been solely associated with constituting unfortunate events among men. The objective description in this case is that witchcraft is associated with one’s physiological state. Evans-Pritchard believes that the physiological state used to describe witchcraft is nothing more than a passage of food through the small intestines. It is this objective definition of witchcraft that seems to be embedded in the shift of witchcraft from an objective description to a generative category. The generative nature of witchcraft is seen in its role to explain occurrence of unfortunate events as well as in regulating the conduct of people. b) The shift from describing to being generative lies in the fact that, description is the initial process used to come up with a category. Once a certain category of people or items is formed, they are used to generate and produce an intended outcome. Alternatively, they are linked to the generation of certain results. This way, the change in framework from descriptive to generative is enhanced. When this framework changes, explaining the history of a category shifts as well. This occurs in that, instead of giving the history of a category with respect to description, the generated outcome of the category is used to explain its history. In the Zande community, witchcraft is attributed to physiological factors. Consequently, it is associated with generating mysterious negative effects on man. However, with time, the association of categories such as witchcraft, with mysterious negativity derives a different meaning and there is need to shift the explanation. In the Zande community, witchcraft is considered to be generative in every aspect of the Azandes’ lives. Each and every mysterious occurrence in the lives of the Zande community is considered to be linked to witchcraft. Several claims are made with regard to witchcraft. For instance, among the Azandes, when blight attack groundnuts in the field, this is attributed to witchcraft. Also, if women tirelessly bail water from a pool and only manage to draw a few minuscule fish, witchcraft is said to be responsible for this mysterious occurrence. If a wife, contrary to other days, is unresponsive and gloomy, it is said that witchcraft is the cause. Evans-Pritchard has compared the occurrence of misfortunes in the Zande community to the occurrence of misfortunes among the African people. He has gone further to show that the Azande attribute witchcraft to a chain of causation for conditions which when looked at closely, relate a person to natural occurrences. Therefore, if the occurrence of events were to be understood in a more realistic manner, the explanation of generative categories would have to change. Evans-Pritchard has showed how this would be done. In all those circumstances where witchcraft was seen as the cause of misfortunes, it was during that particular moment that witchcraft was seen as the cause of the misfortune. This is perceived to mean that witchcraft is not solely responsible for every kind of bad luck. Therefore, the explanation would shift from a generalized understanding to a more specific one. Witchcraft, according to the people of Azande, is used to explain the occurrence of coincidence which causes harm to man. c) The shift from description to seeing categories as generative provides a way to think about rationality, irrationality or their interrelation. To examine this, the paper will look at the belief held by the people on what and who is associated with witchcraft. From a rationale point of view, this is just a timeless category without any basis or governing principle. The community of Zande can be termed as an irrational group because of the way they attribute witchcraft to occurrences which, a normal and ordinary person would attribute to natural calamity or mere coincidence. The Azande did not practice any rationality in as far as existence of phenomena is concerned. They do not believe in the existence of phenomena, much less mystical causation. They hold the view that witchcraft is the cause for that which happens mysteriously. The irrationality of the Azande is manifested by the fact that they cannot accept that things can occur through mere coincidence. They have used witchcraft to explain the occurrence of mysterious events. This is irrational of them as there are no facts to back up their ideology. The mere fact that witchcraft is a psychic act could also mean that it is attributed to some positive occurrences. However, this is not so as only the negative aspect of occurrences is linked to witchcraft. On the other hand, the Azande have applied some rationale in as far as why some things do happen. For example, the Azande are very much aware that termites eat up the support of a granary thus can fall or collapse at any moment. This is a show that the Azande think rationally. However, irrationality comes in when they relate witchcraft to the collapse of a granary in the presence of people. The Azande do apply rational thinking to explain occurrences but when a negative outcome is impacted on man, this is linked to witchcraft despite the fact that it may not necessarily be the case. This is the interrelation between rationality and irrationality within the category of witchcraft among the Azande.

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Knowledge Is Power Essay Example for Free

Knowledge Is Power Essay Knowledge is Power, but knowledge does not always come with power. Knowledge is the state of awareness or understanding gained from experience or study learning specific information about something. This means a person has the resourcefulness to obtain and criticize useful and informative information in order to become well informed citizens who can make intelligent decisions based upon their understanding and awareness of everyday situations. Does this make them powerful? Is a question that creeps into ones mind? Well, power is said to be the ability or capacity to act or perform effectively. Without knowledge, how can this ability to perform effectively, be possible? Indeed, it cannot. This proves that knowledge is very much a necessity to gain Power. Education is the key to success is one of the sayings that one hears throughout their college life. It is invariably true that every person who is knowledgeable leads a successful life. Education plays an important role in promoting a nations economic growth, as well. When you look at Americaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s rise to power during the past war era it is easy as well as trivial to attribute it to the abundance of natural resources and surplus number of new inventions. But, really we must consider how those inventions came about and how those natural resources were utilized to a productive end. More importantly than what made America the most powerful country in the world is why it became the most powerful country. It wasn’t luck, or coincidence or the fact that they had abundant resources but because they laid a firm foundation for their people by educating them and making them valuable members of the society who could meet the demands of the competing world. Investment in higher education is worthwhile because how much you spend on it right now definitely will make up for the amount it makes you gain later in life.

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Modern Families And Traditional Families Sociology Essay

Modern Families And Traditional Families Sociology Essay Families are changing all over the world. What we see as a family some years back is different. There has been a lot of transition from traditional towards modern families. It is sometimes because of technology but most importantly it evolves around the culture and how different people have adapted to different cultures. (The Future of Families to 2030) Families; now and then: A few years back, concept of a family was different. In different cultures family was considered parents raising their children and all of them living together raising children and grandchildren together. The aunts and uncles were part of families and were significant other. Three generations were considered to be a single family who are living together; but now the concepts of families have totally changed. Your significant others now days are only the parents or your siblings. At a time one or two generations make a family. This change does not vary on a cultural basis but it is seen to be adapted universally. (The Future of Families to 2030) Modern families Vs. Traditional Families: The book marks different examples and compares both stereotypes of families. The traditional families vary from modern families in a lot of ways. Example of primitive Chineses societies is given where is mentioned how the family works on the farm together play their role and act as one unit. Each of the family members has separate shares of land and they get divided when children grow up. To avoid this, primitive families gave the land to the eldest son. Further, traditional families have an advantage that the families stay close together with a strong bond. (Kong) On the other side, living together can cause number of disputes and disagreements as well; larger the family, more the ways of thinking and more conflict of ideas. To keep this thing in place, a head of mainly is made who is mostly the eldest male member of the family. All the family decisions are in his hand. He is to decide whether to talk about and take a certain decision or not. This creates loos of freedom as no one is to take decisions independently and one loses the right of how to conduct certain things in the family. In traditional families, more is talked about bonds and staying together like family as a single unit; but now days more is being focused in individuality; people like to think about themselves first and then about significant others. Individuality has given rise to equality and in case of families all family members must be equal together. This is a concept which has been adopted by the modern families where each of the family members has say in the family decisions and everything is based on equality. This style of family is healthy at one side but it is also has a demerit; this type of families ruin the traditional values which elders kept safe throughout the generations. The respect of elders is becoming less. Parents living together with grandchildren are considered a burden. Whatever the type of family is and in whatever culture or society we reside; but universally a family is where the love and care takes start. After a bad day; when everything comes to an end; you are always looking towards family as a last place of comfort. Families are there to support you and help you without being judgmental. (Kong) Change in fertility and family planning from past to future: There has been a lot of change in the family planning and idea of number of children. The fertility levels and family size have a lot of difference in the past as compared to today and in future. The fertility and family size has been changed not only because of the change in traditions and culture but growing population has become a global concern as well. There are many other reasons as well which have led to a different family pattern and size. (2011) Now days everything and even the way of living has changed, now people like to have less but the best of all the options available. Same is the case with families; now days what parents commonly think is that to provide their children and family with the best options like education, standards of living and much more, it becomes impossible in the case when you have large families; so smaller families are a way to get all of this in todays world. Secondly, the trend of late marriages has also stepped in where now the people like to focus on their career and education before they plan to settle; late marriages lower the level of fertility and leads to less number of children but who are grown in the healthiest manner. Thirdly, are the advancements in contraceptions and change in society marriages. Gay marriages are legal in most of the countries leading to smaller family sizes and advancement is contraception which was absent in the past have led to smaller families. The fertility level and the family size and trends have changed a lot from past to the future. (2011) The change in partnership patterns: Families in the past were happy to live together for all their lives; the early marriages concept was common. People were not allowed to take bold decisions or to think about themselves; but as education came in and people became more aware about their rights; they started to think about themselves; hence changing the partnership patterns. (2011) In past; marriages used to last long, but in future trends will be different because of high divorce rates. People think about themselves individually now and equality also plays an important role. Gender biasness has decreased a lot which maintains both the husband and wife rights equally and when they are not being fulfilled people go to look for other options like divorce and separation. This in future will result in families with number of single parents. (2011) Same is the case with gay marriages; in future number of families will be with same gendered parents living together and raising families at their best. The change in children behavior: There are number of changes seen in the behavior of children as compared to how they behaved a century back. Now days children like to be and stay independent after they start to earn or turn eighteen. Children move out of the parents home and stay with friends or partners and look for an independent life. (2011) (The Future of Families to 2030) In the past, this idea was rarely seen. Parents home was the childrens home and they stayed until they got married or even sometimes parents home was the family home where all lived together; children moving out in their teenage has changed the family pattern and the concept of family a lot. Furthermore; as the world move towards globalization; studying and settling abroad has become very common as soon as we become global citizens. Children move out for higher studies and get settled there later on in life which has changed the family concept and pattern as compared to the past. Family of the Future: Family of the future seems to be a different term; but if we look upon closely the concept of a family still remains the same; the family is a place which you look forward to after everything. Family is about companionship and staying together in hearts no matter wherever you are. The transition which the families have gone through from past to present towards the future has immense changes but whether modern or traditional family is where an individual belongs to. (The Future of Families to 2030)

Monday, August 19, 2019

The Philosophy of James Patterson Essay -- James Patterson Description

The Philosophy of James Patterson   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  James Patterson should be included in an anthology because he has mastered the art of description and plot. Heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s capable of creating lives in his books like no other author from past or present. He has created a fictional world inside of his Alex Cross series, where many fans of his like to live. With each new book he can fill a mind with unbelievable detail and imagery. A small two book series, nicknamed the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“bird booksà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?, blew away many critics. With this mini-series he ventures into biotechnology and the worlds in its view on longevity. Heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s known for venturing off the normal path of writing. He goes where many authors donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t, into religion, romance/humor/history, and a womanà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s murder club. A few examples are Letters for Nicholas, The Jester, Cradle and All, and the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“number booksà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?(1st to die, 3rd degree).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Patterson has been affected by many things in his life. The greatest thing was most likely his involvement in the company J. Walter Thompson, an advertising company. After his wife died in 1984, he focused all his energy into the company. Four years later he became CEO, then in 1990 he became chairman, and in 1994 he became the World-wide Creative Director (Author & Artists, page 209). He has said working for the company opened up his mind to bigger ideas in his books. Ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s what helps him write the masterpieces we see today.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Pattersonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s main influence in the action/mystery genre is the Alex Cross series, but three other books stand out too. Besides the Alex Cross series, his other major bestsellers are à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“The Thomas Berryman Numberà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“When the Wind Blowsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?, and à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“The Lake Houseà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?. His first novel à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“The Thomas Berryman Numberà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? won an Edgar award in 1977. It was critiqued as a wonderful change from the normal thriller, written with a faultless ear for real speech and an accurate eye for real people. Even now, it is still said that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“the plot is subtle and provocative, the characters are complex and compelling, and Patterson's writing here makes it a pleasure to deal with every pageà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? (Amazon.com (2nd source), A reader). Then after some success with Alex Cross, he came out with à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“When the Wind Blowsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? and à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“The La ke Houseà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? a few years later. These books take a wild spin on bio-engineering, fusing wings into a human. It was met with some skepticism at first, but many rea... ...y have only made him stronger. He has also succeeded not only in writing but in the corporate business too. When asked what he is going to do after Alex Cross, he said that he had no idea and thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s how he likes it. What a philosophy. By taking life as it comes he can give back the most spontaneous reaction. He says he looks forward to many more years of writing. So many people look forward to him in those years. Works Cited 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Author & Artists volume 25, contemporary author encyclopedia (no author), pages 209-213, Copyright 2004 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/customer-reviews/0446600458/ref=cm_rev_sort/104-1297017-7468716?customer-reviews.sort_by=byExactRating_5&me=ATVPDKIKX0DER&x=10&y=12, 2005, A reader 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/customer-reviews/0446607657/ref=cm_rev_next/104-1297017-7468716?%5Fencoding=UTF8&customer-reviews.sort%5Fby=byExactRating%5F5&n=283155&customer-reviews.start=11&me=ATVPDKIKX0DER, 2005, Locke, Josephine Anna (1st review down) 4.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/customer-reviews/0316603287/ref=cm_rev_sort/104-1297017-7468716?customer-reviews.sort_by=byExactRating_5&x=11&y=5, 2005, Ufowriter (2nd review down) The Philosophy of James Patterson Essay -- James Patterson Description The Philosophy of James Patterson   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  James Patterson should be included in an anthology because he has mastered the art of description and plot. Heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s capable of creating lives in his books like no other author from past or present. He has created a fictional world inside of his Alex Cross series, where many fans of his like to live. With each new book he can fill a mind with unbelievable detail and imagery. A small two book series, nicknamed the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“bird booksà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?, blew away many critics. With this mini-series he ventures into biotechnology and the worlds in its view on longevity. Heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s known for venturing off the normal path of writing. He goes where many authors donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t, into religion, romance/humor/history, and a womanà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s murder club. A few examples are Letters for Nicholas, The Jester, Cradle and All, and the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“number booksà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?(1st to die, 3rd degree).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Patterson has been affected by many things in his life. The greatest thing was most likely his involvement in the company J. Walter Thompson, an advertising company. After his wife died in 1984, he focused all his energy into the company. Four years later he became CEO, then in 1990 he became chairman, and in 1994 he became the World-wide Creative Director (Author & Artists, page 209). He has said working for the company opened up his mind to bigger ideas in his books. Ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s what helps him write the masterpieces we see today.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Pattersonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s main influence in the action/mystery genre is the Alex Cross series, but three other books stand out too. Besides the Alex Cross series, his other major bestsellers are à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“The Thomas Berryman Numberà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“When the Wind Blowsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?, and à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“The Lake Houseà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?. His first novel à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“The Thomas Berryman Numberà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? won an Edgar award in 1977. It was critiqued as a wonderful change from the normal thriller, written with a faultless ear for real speech and an accurate eye for real people. Even now, it is still said that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“the plot is subtle and provocative, the characters are complex and compelling, and Patterson's writing here makes it a pleasure to deal with every pageà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? (Amazon.com (2nd source), A reader). Then after some success with Alex Cross, he came out with à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“When the Wind Blowsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? and à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“The La ke Houseà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? a few years later. These books take a wild spin on bio-engineering, fusing wings into a human. It was met with some skepticism at first, but many rea... ...y have only made him stronger. He has also succeeded not only in writing but in the corporate business too. When asked what he is going to do after Alex Cross, he said that he had no idea and thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s how he likes it. What a philosophy. By taking life as it comes he can give back the most spontaneous reaction. He says he looks forward to many more years of writing. So many people look forward to him in those years. Works Cited 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Author & Artists volume 25, contemporary author encyclopedia (no author), pages 209-213, Copyright 2004 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/customer-reviews/0446600458/ref=cm_rev_sort/104-1297017-7468716?customer-reviews.sort_by=byExactRating_5&me=ATVPDKIKX0DER&x=10&y=12, 2005, A reader 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/customer-reviews/0446607657/ref=cm_rev_next/104-1297017-7468716?%5Fencoding=UTF8&customer-reviews.sort%5Fby=byExactRating%5F5&n=283155&customer-reviews.start=11&me=ATVPDKIKX0DER, 2005, Locke, Josephine Anna (1st review down) 4.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/customer-reviews/0316603287/ref=cm_rev_sort/104-1297017-7468716?customer-reviews.sort_by=byExactRating_5&x=11&y=5, 2005, Ufowriter (2nd review down)

Different Types of Love in A Midsummer Night’s Dream Essay -- William

Different Types of Love in A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare A Midsummer Night’s Dream is a comedy, written in 1595 during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. This was when the society was dominated by men. During the period, England was ruled by a powerful and well respected queen. One of the many themes of the play is that of love. Many different types of love are depicted in the book. There is: Parental Love (Egeus and Hermia, Titania and Little Indian Boy), Friendly Love (Helena and Hermia, The Workmen), Unrequited Love (Helena and Demetrius), Official Love (Hermia and Demetrius), Argumentative Love (Oberon and Titania), Mad Sexual Love (Bottom and Titania),Passionate Love (Hermia and Lysander). Each type of love would be discussed to support the point that the play is full of different types of love. Parental Love This is the type of love that exists between parents and their children. A parent would go to any length for their children to show their love to them. This is shown in the love between Egeus and Hermia. Egeus wants the best for his daughter. He wants her to marry a man of his choice and does his best to make her see things his way. He declares to those present that â€Å". . . As she is mine, I shall dispose of her; Which shall be either to this gentleman Or to her death, according to our law Immediately provided in that case.† 1.1. 42-45 On the other hand, Hermia has to love her father no matter what he says or does to her. Children are brought up to respect their parents and love them. Theseus tells Hermia â€Å"What say you, Hermia? Be advised fair maid. To you your father... ...ready to jump into bed with him. Today, many people would find this disgusting and outrageous. But it is fiction, so anything can happen. Especially when you are under a magical spell. Passionate Love â€Å"So will I grow, so live, so die my lord, Ere I will yield my virgin patent up Unto his lordship, whose unwished yoke My soul consents not to give sovereignty.† 1.1.79-82 Hermia does not love Demetrius. She would rather die or become a nun, than marry him. She only has eyes for one man, Lysander. And he feels exactly the same way about her. When they are together, you can see that the love between them is really strong. So she is quite surprised when he is suddenly in love with Helena. As a result of the â€Å"Love Juice†, Lysander falls in love with Helena, and becomes infatuated and obsessive.

Sunday, August 18, 2019

Iago of Shakespeares Othello :: free essay writer

Iago of Othello Of all the characters presented in Shakespeare's literature the most sinister one is without a doubt Iago. He is a ruthless sociopath. No other character can even come close to his evil. Most of the antagonists present in Shakespeare's plays have valid reasons for the troubles the cause. Iago doesn't for the most part he just has a burning hatred for the world especially Othello. Iago is the whole reason there is any conflict in Othello . If he never had entered the play Othello would have married Desdimonia and they would have lived happily ever after. Right from the beginning of the play to the very end he causes conflicts. He is directly or indirectly responsible for the deaths of: Othello Desdimona, Emilia, Cassio, and Roderigo. Which happen to be all of the main characters. I believe Shakespeare didn't just want Iago's character to be evil. I think he wanted him more to symbolize it. All of the problems he causes are through lies, treachery, manipulation, and a deep unknown hate. Some of his hate is fueled by jealousy and revenge. The ironic part is that he wants to be known as "honest Iago". Every act contains an evil plot set up by Iago. They all play into his "grand scheme". In the very beginning of act 1 Iago displays his hatred for Othello. He is angry at him for making Cassio the lieutenant. Jealousy is his first motif. He than tells Roderigo (a fo rmer suitor of Desdimonia) that Othello and Desdimonia are getting married. The two of them then go and tell Desdimonia's father, Brabantio that Othello and his daughter just got eloped. This infuriates Brabantio. Soon after Brabantio gets a gang after Othello. Iago's treachery is first displayed hear. When Othello is confronted Iago is on his side. Iago was the person who insighted the whole ordeal. Act 1-3 is where Iago pieces together his whole sinister plot to get revenge. He first tells Roderigo to sell his lands and move to Cypress to court Desdimonia. The last stanza is where he manifests his "grand scheme". His idea is to get Othello into thinking Cassio is in love with Desdimonia. That way Cassio will be dismissed from lieutenant and Othello will lose Desdimonia. Shakespeare does a very good job in showing what kind of person Iago is right from the beginning of the play. Iago of Shakespeare's Othello :: free essay writer Iago of Othello Of all the characters presented in Shakespeare's literature the most sinister one is without a doubt Iago. He is a ruthless sociopath. No other character can even come close to his evil. Most of the antagonists present in Shakespeare's plays have valid reasons for the troubles the cause. Iago doesn't for the most part he just has a burning hatred for the world especially Othello. Iago is the whole reason there is any conflict in Othello . If he never had entered the play Othello would have married Desdimonia and they would have lived happily ever after. Right from the beginning of the play to the very end he causes conflicts. He is directly or indirectly responsible for the deaths of: Othello Desdimona, Emilia, Cassio, and Roderigo. Which happen to be all of the main characters. I believe Shakespeare didn't just want Iago's character to be evil. I think he wanted him more to symbolize it. All of the problems he causes are through lies, treachery, manipulation, and a deep unknown hate. Some of his hate is fueled by jealousy and revenge. The ironic part is that he wants to be known as "honest Iago". Every act contains an evil plot set up by Iago. They all play into his "grand scheme". In the very beginning of act 1 Iago displays his hatred for Othello. He is angry at him for making Cassio the lieutenant. Jealousy is his first motif. He than tells Roderigo (a fo rmer suitor of Desdimonia) that Othello and Desdimonia are getting married. The two of them then go and tell Desdimonia's father, Brabantio that Othello and his daughter just got eloped. This infuriates Brabantio. Soon after Brabantio gets a gang after Othello. Iago's treachery is first displayed hear. When Othello is confronted Iago is on his side. Iago was the person who insighted the whole ordeal. Act 1-3 is where Iago pieces together his whole sinister plot to get revenge. He first tells Roderigo to sell his lands and move to Cypress to court Desdimonia. The last stanza is where he manifests his "grand scheme". His idea is to get Othello into thinking Cassio is in love with Desdimonia. That way Cassio will be dismissed from lieutenant and Othello will lose Desdimonia. Shakespeare does a very good job in showing what kind of person Iago is right from the beginning of the play.

Saturday, August 17, 2019

Autobiography of Frederick Douglass

Frederick Douglass's Autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, is situated in a context that was not open to, or fond of the straightforwardness of his writing style. His open identity in an anonymous world of anti-slavery literature thrust him into international fame. His writings are often compared with that of Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin. Unlike Jefferson and Franklin, however, Douglass's Narrative was inspired by much more than a harsh, but removed king-figure. Instead, violence and the difficulty of obtaining a worthwhile education spawned Douglass's quest for freedom. After compelling and continual praise from Garrison and Wendell Phillips in the Preface to the Narrative, Douglass begins his story immediately addressing the ignorance expected from slaves. They were not allowed to know their ages, they were often taken from their mothers at a very early age. Even Douglass admits that upon his mother's death, it meant nothing more to him than the death of a stranger. From a very early age, Douglass felt the need to learn. He recognized that a major distinction between slaves and their white masters was education. He recalls his master saying that education could do him (Douglass) no good, but instead â€Å"a great deal of harm. It would make him discontented and unhappy† (1776). At that moment, Douglass realized what he had to do to escape the bonds of slavery to achieve freedom. â€Å"These words sank deep into my heart, stirred up sentiments within that lay slumbering, and called into existence an entirely new train of thought† (1776). Diligently, Douglass learned to read and became an eloquent speaker. Upon his escape to freedom, the opportunity to share his experiences with multitudes of others that were unaware of the abilities of a Negro to think deeply and speak powerfully opened up. He led a revolution of thought and made available to the public a new perspective on universal and all-inclusive humanity. In addition to education, violence also played an important role in Douglass's efforts to prove himself an equal. He offers disturbing accounts of starvation and depravation of the most essential things in life. Numerous descriptions of violent beatings that were indicative of any given day on a plantation drew sympathy from those who read the Narrative. Douglass's stories offer a view of the brutality of slavery that was rarely seen or heard in that time, especially from a black man. His descriptive and graphic words grabbed hold of the hearts of readers and listeners. Douglass used his personal experiences, as painful as they were, to inspire a revolutionary new idea: the idea that Negroes were as capable (if not more capable to be able to endure those methods of punishment) as the whites. To Douglass, education would bring him out of oppression, and the violence he witnessed and endured left him no choice but to escape from that oppression. In his Narrative, the visual imagery of emaciated slave girls fighting for offal thrown into the street and women being beaten until too exhausted to even stand provided a foundation for events as critical as the Emancipation Proclamation. He showed courage beyond that which was called for by standing, as a former slave, against those who would oppress a person because of the color of their skin. His narrative is powerful and moving and it a cornerstone of the civil rights we have today.

Friday, August 16, 2019

Maroubra and Kogarah Essay

Maroubra and Kogarah are beautiful suburbs of Australia. Neither provinces are national capital nor commercial centres. However, each has prominent features. This report will compare and contrast the location, population, housing, sevices of these two provinces. Maroubra is a beach suburb nearby Sydney which is located 10 kilometers south-east of the central business dictrict while the residential suburb-Kogarah is slightly farther than Maroubra, about 14 kilometers. The population of these suburbs are extremely different, Maroubra has twice as much population as Kogarah. The population of Maroubra is 26.500 while Kogarah is 10.900. The propoution of the largest age group from 20 to 39 years old in Maroubra is 33 percent whereas this age group in Kogarah has only 31 percent. In the review, 53 percent of people in Maroubra were born in Autralia while in Kogarah were 47 percent. In Maroubra,47 percent of people come from many countries in the world. However, Kogarah has 53 percent of people from a lot of different countries. Housing in the two suburbs have both similarities and differences. Maroubra and Kogarah have over 42 percent of apartment. The median either house price or apartment price in Maroubra in higher than in Kogarah. The cost of a house in Maroubra is about 1.050,000 dollas while a house in Kogarah is about 650.000 dollas. An apartment’s price in Maroubra is about 575.000 dollas but one in Kogarah is just about 420.000 dollas. So there are 46 percent of apartment in Kogarah while this percent in Maroubra is only 42. There are a lot of discrepancies about services of both suburbs. In Maroubra, the number people driving to work account for about 55 percent whereas there are only about 45 percent. Basically, trains are widely used in Kogarah, it takes about 25 minutes to go to city. People in Maroubra do not travel by train. Instead, they go to the city by bus in about 50 minutes. Next point à ­ about retail. Sightseers in Maroubra can enjoy shopping having coffee or food meal in some medium-sized shopping center,small shop and cafes on major road. But in Kogarah, most small shopping center, small shops is near train station. Beside, the major hospital of Maroubra is about 3 kilometers away from the center. Whereas the major hospital of Maroubra stay at the center. But both have many private clinics.

Thursday, August 15, 2019

Engine Management Essay

Engine Management System ensure that engines run cleanly and efficiently in a wide variety of conditions, they are for the most part reliable and require little or no maintenance. Two basic functions performed by an EMS: (1) to meter fuel to the engine in the right quantity and (2) to provide a spark at the right time. An EMS is a self contained custom built computer which controls the running of an engine by monitoring the engine speed, load and temperature and providing the ignition spark at the right time for the prevailing conditions and metering the fuel to the engine in the exact quantity required. There are two discrete subsystems in operation within the EMS The fuel or injection system and The ignition system. When the engine is running its requirements for fuel and ignition timing will vary according to certain engine conditions, the main two being engine speed and engine load. This Map injection gives the appropriate fuel or timing setting for each possible speed and load condition. There will normally be a map for the injector timings (fuel map) and a separate map for the ignition timing settings (ignition map) within the EMS. Each map has entries for a pre-determined range of engine speeds (called speed sites) and a predetermined range of engine load conditions (called load sites), which generally indicate how far open the throttle is. The EMS knows the engine speed (derived from the crank sensor or distributor pickup) and the engine load (from the Throttle Position Sensor or airflow meter) and will use these two values to ‘look-up’ the appropriate fuel and timing settings in each map. If the current engine telemetry falls between the sites in the map then the value is interpolated between the nearest two sites. Normally there will be speed sites every 500 or so RPM and 8 to 16 load sites between closed and open throttle. In the example below speed sites are spaced every 1000-RPM and the eight load sites are numbered 0 to 7. An all-new line of V6 engines, with more horsepower, powers the 2006 Mercedes-Benz C-Class and more advanced technology than before. The luxury models feature a high-tech seven-speed automatic transmission, and the C350 Luxury sedan has the classic Mercedes balance of ride quality and handling. The line also includes sport models for those who want a sportier driving experience. Inside, the C-Class cars look and feel like a Mercedes-Benz, with firm, supportive seats and mostly high-quality materials. The C-Class delivers Mercedes engineering and safety technology, with optional all-wheel-drive that will improve traction in wet or wintry conditions. New engines for 2006 complement the substantial C-Class updates made just a year ago.   Mercedes redesigned the C-Class interior for 2005, freshened the exterior styling and further distinguished the sport models from the standard luxury sedans. A new six-speed manual transmission greatly improved shift action. New paint technology imbeds microscopic ceramic flakes in the clear coat finish, increasing its resistance to chipping and degradation over time. Aerodynamically, the C-Class cars are among the most efficient in the Mercedes-Benz family. The C-Class boasts a drag coefficient of 0.27, which helps minimize wind noise and improves fuel efficiency.   Interior Features The C-Class interior looks like the inside of a Mercedes-Benz should, and for the most part, it feels that way, too. A model re-alignment for 2006 has increased the level of luxury in the least expensive models. Fabric upholstery and manually operated seats can no longer be found in the C-Class line. The C-Class got a thorough interior re-do for the 2005 model year so the 2006 models benefit from that. The dashboard, instruments and seats were redesigned, and materials were revised throughout. The instrument cluster now features four gauges, with a chromed-ringed tachometer and speedometer of identical size sitting front and center. To the left and right of these are smaller fuel and temperature gauges. In the middle sits an LCD display with various system and trip functions. Fashioned in the mold of the larger Mercedes E-Class, the instrument cluster is deeply hooded and virtually eliminates glare on the dials. The backlit script is clear and easy to read. Audio controls are now located in what we consider the optimal spot: above the climate control switches, which sit at the bottom of the stack. Both audio and climate knobs are large and easy to locate. The switchgear is, for the most part, easy to use and understand. The stalk controls have a beefy feel with positive detents. Redundant buttons on the steering wheel let the driver operate the audio and telephone functions without removing a hand from the wheel. Lighting inside is effective, with good illumination for entry in the dark and excellent map lights for reading. The C-Class glove box is a good size, unless you order the CD changer, in which case you lose most of its storage space. In general, the C-Class sedans are trimmed with good-quality interior materials. Driving Impressions The 2006 Mercedes-Benz C-Class sedans have been improved across the board, thanks to a new family of V6 engines. The least powerful of the new C-Class engines, the 2.5-liter V6 in the C230 Sport sedan, rated at 201 horsepower, offers more power than the supercharged four-cylinder engine it replaces. As important, it is far smoother at all speeds and generally, fewer courses in feel, sound or the amount of vibration it generates. The 228-hp 3.0-liter V6 in the C280 Luxury sedan is much more powerful and satisfying than the anemic 2.6-liter V6 in the 2005 C240 (previously the best selling C-Class). Even the biggest V6, which was our favorite engine on the 2005 models, is much better for 2006. The 3.5-liter V6 in the C350 generates 268 horsepower, 20 percent more than the 3.2 in the 2005 C320, which improves acceleration performance considerably. Matched with either the six-speed manual or the high-tech seven-speed automatic, the new engine makes the C350 more responsive than the 2005 C320. The 3.5-liter V6 has fully variable valve timing to deliver an impressive amount of torque from idle all the way to the red line. The C350 responds more immediately than the C320, no matter how fast it is already traveling when the driver presses the accelerator. The new engine is also noticeably smoother, particularly at high rpm. In addition, thanks the seven-speed automatic, the improved performance comes without a corresponding decrease in fuel mileage. All of the C-Class cars offer nice steering, effective brakes and a good balance between ride and handling. Before choosing between a Luxury or Sport model, C-Class buyers should carefully consider whether a smooth ride or sharper handling is preferred because the trade-off between comfort and response changes with the model. The Sport models are more firmly sprung than the standard Luxury models. All C-Class models are quiet inside, even when blasting along at 80 mph. These sedans are aerodynamically slippery cars, and very little wind noise penetrates the cabin. As mentioned, the C-Class offers a choice of transmissions. The seven-speed automatic that comes on the C280 and C350 Luxury sedans is superior to five-speed automatics that come on most cars (to say nothing of an old-fashioned four-speed automatic). With more gears, it offers better acceleration performance and responsiveness around town as well as enhanced fuel efficiency. Gear changes are barely noticeable in normal driving, especially in the higher gears. This transmission allows significantly quicker acceleration for highway passing situations, and it does not have to go through every gear. Step on the gas and the transmission will skip down to the appropriate gear, switching from seventh to fifth, for example, and from there directly to third, meaning two downshifts instead of four. As for the manual transmission, Mercedes has lowered the ratio for first gear for quicker acceleration off the line, but kept an overdrive sixth gear for quiet, low-rev highway cruising and better fuel economy. More important, the old cable-operated shift mechanism has been replaced by a solid, direct rod. The result is easier, quicker and more precise shifting, and the improved action contributes greatly to a more rewarding, engaging driving experience. Shift effort is low, and the gears are easier to hit. For manual fans, we can heartily recommend the C230 Sport sedan. If you prefer an automatic but want a Sport model, we encourage you to step up to the C350 Sport sedan with the optional automatic. The optional 4MATIC all-wheel-drive system delivers power to all four wheels. It is fully automatic and on all the time, so there are no buttons to push and no special knowledge is needed; just drive the car. The system uses electronic traction control to vary torque each of the four wheels, diverting power to the tires with the best grip. Even if three wheels lose traction, 4MATIC can direct power to the one remaining tire with grip. The result is better stability and improved handling in slippery conditions, with a greatly reduced chance of being stuck. 4MATIC does dampen engine response and slow acceleration slightly, and lowers fuel mileage a bit. However, for those who drive through harsh winters, all-wheel drive is worth it. All-wheel-drive sedans such as the C-Class are proof that you do not need an SUV to confidently handle rough weather. In fact, a car tends to handle better in icy conditions than a truck. We consider all-wheel drive a valuable asset in the rainy Northwest or for the harsh winters of the Midwest and Northeast, and 4MATIC is priced much lower on the C-Class models than it is on other Mercedes models. Braking is excellent. Every C-Class model has good-sized brake rotors, and the Sport sedans feature cross-drilled rotors in front for better resistance to fade. (Braking effectiveness fades away as brakes get hot from repeated hard use.) All C-Class cars come with Electronic Brake-force Distribution (EBD) and Brake Assist. EBD can reduce stopping distances and improve stability when braking by distributing brake pressure between the front and rear wheels, giving more to the tires that are gripping best. Break Assist senses a panic-braking situation and helps ensure full braking force even if the driver makes the mistake of relaxing pressure on the brake pedal. The net effect is short, no-fuss stopping. In everyday use, the C-Class brakes are progressive in pedal feel. The C55 AMG might be the most impressive C-Class yet. It is a sports sedan in the extreme sense, capable of amazing acceleration, and handling and braking on par with exotic sports cars. It is capable of accelerating from 0 to 60 mph in an exotic-grade 4.9 seconds, according to Mercedes. The old C32 was super quick, too, but the C55 is less crude and more refined. Its big V8 engine is smoother, more tractable and less intrusive when a driver is cruising the freeway or just trundling along, and its deep, V8 exhaust note better suits the sportiest C-Class of all. How to maintain the engine of a car If we will take one look, why cars break down? We can see several things. Sometimes cars start having problems after accidents. Sometimes it may be a factory defect or design flaw. Heavy conditions like, for example, driving only short trips without letting the engine to warm up fully also make the engine life shorter. Corrosion is another factor – for example, park the car for a few months in place with high humidity and later it will probably have more problems than the vehicle driven all this time on daily basis.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   One of the most reasons for a car to break down is maintenance. There are important remainders to maintain the car in good shape. A regular oil change may keep engine running, avoid overheating the engine, changing spark plug, air filter, timing belt and other items from maintenance schedule may save from money. Fixing a small problem will avoid a serious damage in your car. Engine Oil Change Regular oil change is very important in maintaining a car. Engine oil has limited life – after a certain point, it starts losing lubricating qualities and carbonizes. Once it happens, the engine is contaminated with carbon deposits or sludge that significantly shorten engine’s life. When you change oil at or before manufacturer suggested interval, you change the oil before this â€Å"carbonizing† point, engine remains clean and once refilled with new oil ready to work hard again. If the engine oil has not been changed for long, carbon deposits start clogging the oil pick-up screen decreasing oil supply and increasing friction. Through the engine ventilation system the same carbon, deposits build up inside the throttle body and EGR system causing rough idle and possible check engine light. Compression decreases and engine start wearing much faster. If you do not remember when you changed the oil in your car last time – just check the oil on the dipstick. Moreover, every time you change the oil, the oil filter should be replaced as well. For correct oil type, engine oil capacity, maintenance schedule, etc. check your car owner’s manual or find car technical information. B.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Checking the engine oil Check the engine oil at least once a month or even more if the car has a mileage. Driving with extremely low oil level (less than min.) or with low oil pressure warning lamp on may cause serious engine damage. Have your engine be inspected as soon as possible if the oil pressure gauge indicates extremely low oil pressure. Always use the appropriate engine oil type. Change the oil if you notice that the color is black. Check your parking space for leaks. If you find any, fix it before it results in more serious vehicle problem Concerning the type of oil that you will use there are a comparison with synthetic oil and conventional mineral oil. The advantage of synthetic oil is that it can withstand higher temperature and can work longer without losing its lubricating qualities. It does not get thicker at below-zero temperatures providing good engine lubrication at a cold start. However, since it is more â€Å"thinner† a high-mileage engine filled with synthetic oil will more likely to develop leaks and you will more likely to hear lifters tapping noise at a start. Therefore, If you have low mileage or turbo engine and driving under heavy conditions such as high temperature, excessive load, long intervals without an oil change, etc., or simply want to provide extra protection for your engine, synthetic oil may be a good solution. Nevertheless, I do not think it is worth to use synthetic oil in high-mileage engines – thicker mineral oil will provide better protection as long as you change it regularly. C.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Engine cooling system Engine overheating causes serious engine damage. In order to avoid the engine overheating: Check the coolant level periodically. It should be at least at the â€Å"min† mark in the coolant reservoir. If it is lower, add the coolant bringing the level to the â€Å"max† mark. Avoid coolant leak it may cause an engine overheating. The engine temperature start rising higher than the normal, have your engine inspected. Check the front of the radiator – sometimes it may be obstructed with leaves or dust. It is one of the possible reasons for the overheating. Never open the radiator or the coolant overflow reservoir when engine is hot! Tune –up, Timing Belt, Fuel Injector flush There are certain vehicle components that need periodical replacement such as: The fuel filter-dirty fuel filter may cause engine stalling and loss of engine power. Air filter –dirty air filter causes loss of engine power, increased fuel consumption, airflow sensor failure, etc. Engine coolant – old engine coolant loses its anti-corrosive and other characteristics and may cause water pump to fail. Spark plugs – simply spark plugs replacement can significantly improve the engine performance. Timing belt – timing belt failure may cause serious engine damage, especially if it’s diesel engine. Battery The battery filled with harmful acid solution and can produce explosive gases. Handling a battery be careful and always use protective glasses and gloves. Do not use open fire, smoke, or create a spark near battery. Most of batteries nowadays are maintenance free. All you check is battery terminals that should not be loose or corroded. Corroded battery terminals will cause all kind of problem: blinking instrument lights, low charge, no-start, dim headlights, check engine and ABS malfunction light etc. If you see any acid leaks, cracks or any other damage – replace the battery. Acid leaking from the battery destroys everything underneath. If there is any problems with your engine, such as irregular noise or smell, or performance problems, leaks or smoke, or â€Å"check engine† light is on, etc., have your car inspected with a mechanic. It is always better to fix any small problem right away before they can cause engine damage. Be aware, some mechanics will try to scare you because they always want to sell you more job than your car really needs, so always ask to explain everything, to show you what exactly is wrong and why. For vehicles with turbocharger, the Turbocharger serves to pump more air into the engine boosting engine power without increasing the engine volume. This turbo charger works at a very high temperature that why it requires a quality engine oil. Low quality, or old contaminated oil can be easily cooked under high temperature in the turbocharger causing it to fail. Here are some considerations: 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   If it is not against manufacturer recommendations, use synthetic oil, or at least be very accurate with regular oil changes. 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   When you stop the car after hard driving (speeding, accelerating, etc.) do not shut the engine off right away, let it idle for a while to cool down the turbocharger. 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Very long uphill driving under constant load may also cause turbo to overheat, try to avoid it if possible. There are few tips on how to improve the emission test result. 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Change oil before testing. For old or high mileage car using thicker oil may help. 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Change spark plugs and air filter if it was a while ago since you have changed them last time. Complete tune-up may be an option for older cars. 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Flushing the fuel injectors usually help. Before conducting the test you must check and adjust the tire pressure, fill the car with premium gas. Take a car for a spin on a freeway – it helps to clean spark plugs and catalytic converter and make sure, the engine is fully warmed up before test. If you have check engine light on, exhaust leaks, broken gas cap, or any other problem with vehicle emission system it needs to be repaired before the test – all those items will be inspected during the emission test. Reference: Samarins.com ;Illustrated guide to car buyers and owners. (2006)â€Å"Few tips on engine maintenance† http://www.samarins.com/maintenance/engmain.html Aol.com (2006); â€Å"Engine Management†. http://members.aol.com/dvandrews/ems.htm#topics Auto Mall USA (2006) â€Å" Mercedes Benz C-Class† http://www.automallusa.net/1996/mercedes-benz/e-class/reviews.html Horst Bauer   (2004)â€Å"Diesel Engine Management† Robert Bosch GmbH p.9 Horst Bauer (2004)â€Å"Gasoline Engine Management† Robert Bosch GmbH p.9 Hutchinson Education. (2004) †Fundamentals of Automotive Electronics â€Å" V. A. W. Hillier 1987,1996