The Importance Of Water To Life On Earth A Look At The Unique Structur

The Importance of Water to Life on Earth a look at the unique structure and behavior of the water molecule by Steven Luscher, Student Water is the most important substance in our evolution and our daily lives. Without water, life as we know it would not have been possible. This essay will examine the water molecule in order to ascertain how it brought about Earth's thriving ecosystem and how important it is to us today. ============================== ______________________________ ============================== Each water molecule consists of one oxygen atom and two hydrogen atoms. The oxygen atom (or the apex of the water molecule) bears a slight electronegative charge while hydrogen possesses a more positive one1 (figure a). Because opposite charges attract, the water molecules are drawn together. When an oxygen atom is linked to a neighboring molecule's hydrogen atom, a bond called a hydrogen bond is formed2. In an ice crystal the hydrogen bonds govern the shape of the crystal so that the grid of molecules surrounds relatively large spaces (imagine figure b in three dimensions). In a liquid form, water has no such spaces; thus ice is less dense and will float on liquid water. If not for this, great bodies of water would freeze from the bottom up without the insulation of a top layer of ice and all life in the water would die. The water molecule is a very small one but because of its unique properties it behaves like a larger one. The bonds between water molecules are so strong that water resists changes in its state (Solid, liquid, gas); thus water has a higher melting point and a higher boiling point than another molecule of similar size. If water followed the example of other molecules its size it would have a boiling point of -75?C and a freezing point of -125?C4. This would mean that, on Earth, water would be a gas all of the time and life would not be possible. When heat is applied to solid water, some hydrogen bonds get so much kinetic energy that they break and the ice melts. Liquid water does not necessarily have all four hydrogen bonds present at all times but it must retain some of them5. For any object to penetrate water, it must be able to break the hydrogen bonds on the surface of the water. These bonds resist breaking thus forming a "skin" that allows small insects to walk on the surface of the water. Without the cohesiveness of water, those insects would not have survived. All plant life on Earth benefits from the ability of water to make a hydrogen bond with another substance of similar electronegative charge. Cellulose, the substance that makes up cell walls and paper products, is a hydrophilic substance ("water-loving")6. It interacts with water but, unlike other hydrophilic substances, it will not dissolve in it. Cellulose can form strong hydrogen bonds with water molecules7. This explains why a paper towel will "wick" water upwards when it comes in contact with it. Each water molecule will make a hydrogen bond w ith cellulose and pull another water molecule up from down below and so on. Without this feature (capillary action8), plants would find it more difficult to transport water up their stems to the leaves in order to make food through photosynthesis. Water has a very high heat capacity. Most of the heat introduced to water is used not to set water molecules in motion (giving them kinetic energy and causing their temperature to rise), but to move hydrogen atoms around between neighboring oxygen atoms9. If all of this heat was used solely to warm the water, living cells would boil in their own heat. Every action in a living cell releases some heat. If the heat was not dissipated by the water, all living things would cook themselves. In order for water to evaporate from the surface of liquid water, a certain amount of energy must be expended to break its hydrogen bonds. Because these hydrogen bonds are so strong, water requires a lot of heat to boil (100?C). When water vaporizes, it takes along all of the heat energy required to break its bonds thus having a powerful cooling effect on the

Comparison & Contrast Of Helena and Viola essays

Comparison & Contrast Of Helena and Viola essays These last two plays that we have read have two distinct characters, Helena and Viola, which are similar and different in many ways. In this paper I plan to brush upon a few of them and give you, my readers some incite as to the enjoyment of reading about them. In the play Alls Well That Ends Well, we were introduced to a young lady who had been smitten by the looks of a young fellow she felt was not in her reach. Her name was Helena, the daughter of a very famous, deceased, court physician. She had the physical and mental attributes that could command the attention of any eligible bachelor, but un fortunately she didnt have the correct social pedigree to entice the man whom she so dear cared for, Bertram, a courts son. This first characteristic matches perfectly to a young lady we meet at the beginning of our second play, Twelfth Night. Her name was Viola; she too was smitten by the looks and manner of a man that well beyond her reach. Here she had been shipwrecked and ended up on this seacoast, a young, pretty, virgin woman, all alone. She then comes to find out that this Duke governs the land they are on, of whom she has heard of by her father, and she corrupts this plan to get next to him and try to win him over in love, as Hele na tries to do to Bertram. To make thins more twisted, these two young women then concoct these schemes of deception and trickery to win their men. Helena puts her plan to work by getting close to her lovers father, as Viola tries to get close by disguising herself as a Young Man and wins over the trust of her lover himself. Both of these women seem to be extremely smart and head strong. They both see something they want and will do whatever it takes to get it. Helena gives the audience proof that she will stop at nothing during the first act, ... my project may deceive me, but my intents are fixed, and will not leave...

Analytical Essay About Leaders Essay Example for Free

Analytical Essay About Leaders Essay What is a leader? A leader is a person who leads or commands a group, organization, or country. There are many types of leaders. A leader can be a laissez-faire leader that lacks direct supervision and fails to provide regular feedback to those they lead, an autocrat that possesses total authority and take decisions upon their own will without consulting those who are following or even a participative leader who has the responsibility of making the final decision but greatly includes the opinions, ideas and feedback of those they lead. Leaders can also be transactional leaders who receive certain tasks to conduct and give rewards or punishments to those under them based on their performance or transformational leaders who motivate followers and increase productivity using communicative techniques and involvement in the tasks they set. Not only that, a leader also has to have some traits that correspond to their types of leadership. For example, transformational leaders have to be patient with their followers otherwise relationships can break down and the whole idea of efficiency is destroyed. Leaders need to be persuasive as well to motivate and convince their followers to believe in an idea or their ability to do a task which they hesitate to do or think they are unable to. As seen in history and many novels, leaders lead differently than other leaders as ideas, methods and perceptions of perfection differ between them. For example, the ideas and methods used by Queen Elizabeth the First differed from those used by Sampath Chawla from the novel entitled ‘Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard’ written by Kiran Desai as well as Mark Antony from the play entitled ‘The tragedy of Julius Caesar’ written by the famous William Shakespeare. The three of them all differed in how they led their followers and using which ideas to do so. Despite differing in many aspects, they all shared some common traits that are the bases of leadership. In ‘The Tragedy of Julius Caesar’, some conspirators had killed the almost roman emperor, Julius Caesar. They did so, giving the false reason that they wanted to rid him of the fear or worry of death. Mark Antony, using persuasive techniques, managed to change the mindsets of the public who believed in the conspirators’ reason into believing that Caesar was a good man and had no bad intentions, which is what the conspirators’ thought. Mark Antony uses persuasive techniques like repetition, false intentions and sophistry. He uses these in his speech at Caesar’s burial to convince the crowd into believing his ideas by first commending Brutus on how honorable he is but then repeating how honorable he is to make the crowd question their faith in Brutus. He also says that he did not arrive to praise Caesar but to bury him which is exactly the opposite of what he wanted to do. Another false intention was that he did not want to disprove Brutus which is exactly what he did by using appropriate facts. Lastly, his speech was sophisticated and so led the crowd to believing that he was superior to Brutus which cemented his gaining the crowd’s support. In ‘Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard’, the main character, Sampath, is a leader later on in the novel after losing his job at the post office where he reads every letter that passes him. He becomes a sort of spiritual leader as he passes on some of the knowledge, both useful and downright senseless, to those who believe he is one. He manages to convince the people who come to him for advice, as he seemingly has an answer that seems meaningful and wise, using persuasive techniques that include loaded language and glittering generalities. An example of the responses he gives to people is when someone asked him if anyone could comprehend all there is to know about god to which Sampath replied ‘‘ Once you have broken the bottle you can no longer distinguish the air inside from the air outside’’ This represents the colorful and loaded language Sampath represents as well as his ability to confuse and manipulate people into thinking meaningless sentences like these have greater meaning and that is the reason they cannot understand. He is also a leader because he represents a symbol of knowledge and religious importance and this gives people something to look forward to, believe in and rely upon. Queen Elizabeth the First was a leader as well when she ruled over England in 1588. She was brave, intelligent, caring and because of this, loved by the people. At this time, England was about to go to war with Spain. The units in concern were the naval fleets of both nations that were about to engage in combat. The Spanish fleet, nicknamed the Spanish Armada, were in comparison to the English fleet, bigger, stronger and heavily armored and this caused the soldiers to doubt their own ability to win and caused large bouts of cowardice. Despite this, the English fleet came out victorious. Queen Elizabeth, on the eve of the Spanish Armada, gave a powerful speech that motivated her soldiers and showed her love and respect for the country. She used persuasive techniques like bandwagon appeal to bring out the desire to belong in the soldiers, rewards that gave incentive to the soldiers to fight, win and return, loaded language to appeal to her audience, a tone of self-assurance to show that she knows the position of power she is in and how she is not threatened by anything on the outside and lastly, the most powerful technique she used was to keep using the word ‘we’ to show how they are all united and how she was willing to give up everything for the nation. This inspired the confidence needed to win the battle. A leader is a person who leads or commands a group, organization, or country. This is what all three leaders have shown, the ability to lead. They have shown this in their own ways and with their own ideas. They all share this common trait as well as being persuasive and adapting intelligently to fit the situation. That is the basic leadership trait that all successful leaders throughout history have shown and that is all that is needed in order to be a successful leader. Analytical Essay About Leaders. (2016, Sep 15).

CW4 - Peter Drucker Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

CW4 - Peter Drucker - Essay Example Peter’s era was the twentieth century where his career regarding management consultant grew from 1942.Peter Drucker had led a bright career in teaching phycology, sociology and management. Ultimately he pioneered in offering an executive MBA program for working professionals in Claremont Graduate University. His writing and critical thinking regarding the improvement of the organization as to adopt the human resource and benefit the human race urged him to write several books and articles. Although being the management consultant he was not much inspired by the numbers but he was focused upon improving the organizational cultures and relations so that the human resource management can be done more effectively and beneficially. Peter Drucker’s writing regarding society and politics led him to work in the high level management of one of the biggest company around the world at that time, General Motors. Peter taught the management of liberal art where the relation regardin g the suppliers, customers, employees and other companies were given much value than crunching of the numbers. With his workings and phycology Peter earned links in the top management of the many of the big bulls of that time including General Electric, IBM, Sears and many more especially in Japan as Japanese where really inspired with his works. Main Thought From the start Peter Drucker was more inspired and exaggerated the relationship between the people then from the valuation of numbers. The main focus of Peter was upon improving the relation between the employees and enhancing the capabilities of the human resource. He was much inspired by those who work with minds rather than those who work with hands. Most of the works of Peter Drucker is upon the betterment of the management in the organizations as he believed that private organizations play a vital role for the betterment of the society. Peter’s belief of making organization better to better serve the society led to many ideas in reforming the organizational cultures and norms so that the private sectors serve the economy and enhance the human lives. The Wall Street Journal called Drucker â€Å"the most influential management thinker of the past century,† who â€Å"developed a loyal following among many of the world’s most-famous corporate chieftains, and became the model of the modern management guru, a craft he plied far more modestly than many of his successors† (Thurm & Lublin, 2005). Peter believed that the human resource is one of the most important assets to the company and the management should value the employees and train them accordingly so that the employees would bring out their talent and benefit the organization and the society. it is this thought of Peter Drucker that realized the worth of human resource in the organizations and ultimately leaded to the enhancements in the human capabilities. Peter Drucker idealized the importance of the private sector as th e organizations and their relation with the better society by providing human resource that are more benefiting for the society as a whole. According to him the works of the workers should be appraised and appreciated. By appreciation the motivation level of the individuals increase and thus improves the potential of the individual ultimately resulting in the enhancement of knowledge within the individual and then spreading in the social circle and thus benefiting for the whole society. The appreciations of the works of the workforce is the main reason that the workforce devotion

Marketing case study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Marketing case study - Essay Example The closing technique used by Frank was appropriate and suitable to the given situation because as he had made strong selling points, Abby showed certain objections and tentative questions (â€Å"Trial Close,† n.d.). It was also because Frank May wanted to steer the conversation in the right track, to know his real prospect (Paterson, 2006). When the time the customer had come up into a decision, the commitment had been obtained (â€Å"Closing techniques,† n.d.). The future close is a closing technique wherein the closing of the transaction could be in a future date, like â€Å"How much time to you need to think about it Abby? †¦ I know you can’t decide right now, what do you think?† Another method is adjournment close, which basically refers to the consideration of time being offered for the prospect to think, like â€Å"Being the senior purchasing director of Moor International, I know this decision is very relevant to you, I’ll give you time to consider about this. Can I count to it?† Conditional close is about giving conditions when objection occurred from the prospect in order to make a purchased of the product/service, like â€Å"The 50% I guess is only an estimation, if I can figure out the exact percentage of site that needs the scanner, will you choose our product?† A. Selling benefits not features – Frank’s performance was unsatisfactory for he was actually selling the features of the company and not the benefits the prospect can get. He said they had built the finest engineering staff over the past 5 years, what’s in it for Moore? He should refer on what the system can do for Moor because the expenditure can be justified by the benefits but not on the function. B. Using trial closes – The performance was good for he successfully performed the trial close technique with Abby. He responded on the objections and immediately closed the conversation. The good performance in using the trial close method made by Frank increased his performance. C.

The Halot, Elizabeth-Jane and Their Gender Roles Essay Example for Free

The Halot, Elizabeth-Jane and Their Gender Roles Essay â€Å"Dont be the girl who fell. Be the girl who got back up.†-Jeanette Stanley. The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy introduces the readers to Elizabeth-Jane and Lucetta, two girls of both different means personalities. The comparison by Thomas Hardy of Elizabeth-Jane and Lucetta reveals two different sides of the gender barriers that faced young women in the 1800’s. This comparison shows that Hardy is an early feminist. This is shown through examining each girl’s respective personality, their friendship, how each handles it, and the gender role side that each are portraying. Elizabeth-Jane is the book’s heroine. She is the daughter of Susan and Henchard. Elizabeth- Jane is quiet and shy. Elizabeth-Jane also cares a large amount about doing what’s proper. She worries about her friend Lucetta’s reputation, and how to fix it. Elizabeth- Jane is an all-out good person. She seeks to better herself by studying, â€Å"Knowledge-the result of great natural incite- she did not lack; learning, accomplishments-those, alas, she had not† (Hardy 82). Elizabeth-Jane has this passion to learn more that the reader does come to admire about her. She is not too concerned about finding a man to marry. Elizabeth- Jane seems content to just learn and be alone. However, when it comes to Elizabeth-Jane and men, the reader see an entirely new side of her. When Lucetta effectively replaces her in Farfrae’s mind, she just lets it go and goes on with her life. Yes she’s miffed for about five seconds but in the end she just leaves and moves on. It is this fact that makes it hard to root for Elizabeth-Jane in the end. On the entirely other side the reader encounters Lucetta. Lucetta is Elizabeth-Jane’s only friend in the world. She is vain and petty. Lucetta is Henchard’s former lover. She was young and naive. She blabbed her mouth everywhere and with the help of Michael Henchard ruined her reputation. This left her in ruin and she wrote a ton of love notes to him. All of this happens because he promises to marry her. The most important thing to know about Lucetta is that she is a manipulator. She will cry in order to get what she wants from men. In this regard she is brilliant and the reader looks upon her with both disgust and admiration. The reader see’s Lucetta for one of her more human qualities as follows, â€Å"‘Bring me a looking glass. How do I appear to people?’ She asks languidly. ‘Well- a little worn’, answered Elizabeth-Jane† (161). Lucetta is well aware that once her beauty is gone, she will never be able to find another man to marry her. She also knows that she has two choices if she wants to remain proper, she can stay single because she has been ruined or she can marry again and hope that her past never comes back to haunt her. This then leads the reader to the realization that she will not only do anything to get a man but s he also will do anything to keep her scandal in the past. This includes stepping on her friend in order to accomplish this. This form of her personality is not surprising, given the time period. Now there’s the friendship between Elizabeth-Jane and Lucetta. This unlikely friendship starts out in a grave yard, specifically at Elizabeth-Jane’s mothers grave. Both of these young women are there for very different reasons; Elizabeth-Jane is having a pity party because Henchard was mean to her, and Lucetta is finding out if Susan is really dead because she is still after Henchard at this point in the book. From this meeting Elizabeth-Jane gets both a friend and a new place to live. As this friendship grows, it becomes clear how differently both of these young women approach friendship. Elizabeth-Jane listens to Lucetta vent about her affair, â€Å" ‘This person- a lady- once admired a man much- very much’, she said tentatively. ‘Ah’, said Elizabeth-Jane† (160). Elizabeth-Jane doesn’t judge her; she listens to her and tries to help Lucetta. On the other hand, Lucetta doesn’t act like a good friend, at least not by the readers parameters. She does try however, â€Å"My husband is downstairs. He will live here till a more suitable house is ready for us; and I have told him that I want you to stay with me just as before† (200). Lucetta is so wrapped up in herself, and the fact that she found a way to remain respectable that she doesn’t realize just how terrible that statement really is in regards to Elizabeth-Jane. She figures that all she had to do to remain a good friend to Elizabeth-Jane is make sure she still has somewhere to live. That by the reader’s definition is not a good friend. This leads the readers to the gender role sides each; Elizabeth-Jane and Lucetta are on. Elizabeth-Jane is the modern women according to Hardy. She wants to learn and become more intelligent. Elizabeth-Jane also by the end of the book becomes independent and able to take care of herself and Henchard. The readers see this independence when she says, â€Å"Father-I will not leave you alone like this! She cried. May I live with you, and tend upon you as I used to do? I do not mind your being poor. I would have agreed to come this morning, nut you did not ask me† (278). Elizabeth-Jane doesn’t ask her father if she can come with him, she tells him that she’s coming with him. Over the book she has gained enough gumption that she no longer cares what Henchard wants, Elizabeth-Jane only cares about what he needs. It is for this fact that the readers can classify Hardy as an early day Feminist. He portrays Elizabeth-Jane as the only character with any redeemable characteristics. She grows over the course of the books, when the person that she is compared with dies a very stereotypical death for a woman in the 1800’s. Lucetta is a complicated individual. The reader has a love hate relationship with her when it comes to the side she’s on for gender roles. Lucetta does embody the perfect 18th century women. She understands that she has to fix the scandal that rocked her life. Lucetta also understands that she needs to get a man to marry her and keep him with her no matter what. One of the ways she guarantees this is, â€Å"He knew his wife was with child†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (266). Lucetta gets pregnant. The thinking behind this is that Farfrae can’t leave her pregnant and still keep his business and reputation intact. This is a classical move for her, which fits within the gender role that has been set up for her. Lucetta also uses varying forms of manipulation on people throughout the book. The first of such is, â€Å"’you’re probably aware of my arrangement with your daughter, and have doubtless laughed at the-what shall I call it- practical joke†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢Ã¢â‚¬  (139). with this simple statement Lucetta is doing her best to lure Henchard over to her house. She knows that things are bad between him and Elizabeth-Jane, and saw an opportunity to make a move to right her ruined reputation. Lucetta is quite good at making people do what she wants. This fact is more telling than any of the other things she does in the entire book of how this young girl was raised. The other part of Lucetta proving that she is the perfect 18th century young women is what she does when she thinks her secret is getting out. She does as follows, â€Å"She stood motionless for one second—then fell heavily to the floor† (260). Instead of dealing with the fact that her scandal had come back to haunt her, Lucetta simply falls to the floor. This is a normal reaction to things like this for young women in the=is time period. It was expected of them. The men had decided that women were so fragile that they couldn’t really handle much. In the end Lucetta dies from a severe miscarriage. This could have been helped if Lucetta had just faced her scandal and lived with the consequences. Hardy used Lucetta to show the readers just where lying, manipulation and running away from things get them. Lucetta is a well-used character when it comes to understanding the complex gender roles of the 18000’s. In conclusion the reader can learn a lot about gender barriers from reading Hardy’s novel. It is the comparison of Elizabeth-Jane and Lucetta that gives the reader a clear look into exactly what they faced in regards to gender barriers. It is this specific comparison that opens the reader’s eyes to the fact that hardy is an early day feminist. The reader can see this the clearest when reading about Elizabeth-Jane. She is shy and simple in the beginning of the book, by the end however she is strong and independent. Elizabeth-Jane does go through a transformation into the bright young women that Hardy is trying to demonstrate. Then the reader has Lucetta, she is petty and simple minded. Lucetta is also the perfect 18th century young women. She has been raised to use the gender barriers to her advantage. Lucetta faints when things don’t go her way, she manipulates men into doing what she wants till she doesn’t want them anymore, and she keeps secrets and lies no matter what. In the end she gets what she deserves, Lucetta dies having a miscarriage. She faints and panics when it looks like her scandal is going to be revealed to her husband and the entire town. Once she faints, she starts to miscarry and ends up dying because of it. This fact is Hardy telling the readers that if you lie and manipulate people than you will lose in the end. The comparison of these two young women makes it clear how hardy felt toward women. He thought that women were worth a second look; they could learn and be smart. They didn’t have to just be a piece of arm candy for men to parade around whenever they wanted to. To embody this he portrays Elizabeth-Jane as the modern young women and Lucetta as the stereotypical 18th century young women. Throughout the book the readers root for both Lucetta and Elizabeth-Jane. By the end of this book however they are rooting for Elizabeth-Jane to come out on top and are secretly glad that Lucetta has died. The good news is that in the end Elizabeth-Jane is the girl who fell by she is also the girl who got back up and became something better than before.

My Movie Script :: Movie Scripts

My Movie Script The year was 1925, when the beliefs of regular gals and folks were still extremely antiquated compare to the beliefs they have now. The main character was an 18 years old lesbian named Sam (short for Samantha) Johnson, who was from a working class family that lived in New York City. Her mom was a sweatshop worker, and her dad picked up garbage for a living. She had 7 brothers and sister because her parents did not believe in birth control (besides, birth control pills didn't exist then). Her family lived in a tiny one-room apartment in the Harlem district, and they lived day-to-day, paycheck to paycheck. Ever since Sam was a young child, she had been in love with the game of baseball. She loved anything and everything about baseball. She would collect baseball cards, catch baseball games on t.v, and read everything on her favorite baseball team, the Yankees. She bought her first baseball bat and glove when she was 16, she got the money by collecting soda cans and returning them to re cycling center for money. It took her almost 3 years to get the baseball bat and gloves, and she could only afford the cheapest kind. She was a terrific baseball player, which was surprising because she had never taken any lessons. I guess it is her gift. Everyday after the end of school, she would go to a baseball field behind her house to play baseball with her friends. Most of her friends were boys; she didn't have one single girl friend. Sam had always known that she was a lesbian, but she didn't come out to her parents till she was 16. Her parents were shocked at first, but now they accepted her for who she was. Sam hadn't told any of her friends about her being gay because she didn't think it was any of their business. It had been a life-long dream of Sam to join a major league baseball team, but she knew that she needed to finish high school first. In June of 1925, Sam finally graduated from high school. She told her parents that she wanted to try-out for a major league baseb all team. One of the main reasons was that Sam had hoped to earn money to help support her family. She knew how hard her parents had worked, and she realized she needed to contribute in one way.

Writing Proficiency

Abstract The present study investigated the sentence-level errors of freshmen students at three proficiency levels and the aspects of writing that raters focused on while rating the essays. It views errors as valuable information for the following: For teachers, as it clues them on students’ progress; for researchers as it gives them valuable data as to how language is acquired or learned; for learners, as it enables them to reflect on their learning.The data for the present study is based on the data collected for a previous study. One hundred fifty essays written by freshmen college students on their first week of classes in five private schools in Metro Manila (30 for each participating school) were collected, word-processed, and subjected to rating and coding or errors. Most of the findings of the present study corroborate the findings of previous studies on error analysis and essay evaluation—that sentence-level errors have a significant role in essay scores.The ra ters still have the grammar accuracy model when checking essays, although it is just considered secondary to other aspects of writing such as the ability to address the prompt and organize the ideas logically. Introduction Areas of Writing Research Writing teachers and researchers have always set their teaching and research lenses on the variables that describe successful second language writing vis-a-vis unsuccessful writing.Because of this preoccupation, a plethora of research has been undertaken as regards the role of L1 in L2 Writing (Cumming, 1990; Krapels, 1991), L2 writers’ characteristics and proficiency (Hirose & Sasaki, 1994; Victori, 1999; Deane et al, 2008), L2 writing process/strategies (Arndt, 1987; Becker, 2003), L2 writing feedback/evaluation (Ferris, 1995, 1997, 2002, 2003; Goldstein, 2001, 2005) L2 writing instruction (Zhang & Zhou, 2002; Liu, 2003; Chen, 2005; Coombe & Barlow, 2004) and L2 writer’s texts (Zhang, 1997; Hinkel, 1997; Hirose, 2003).In t he analysis of L2 writers’ texts, researchers focus on the rhetorical and linguistic features that impact essay scores in different linguistic backgrounds (Becker, 2010; Gustilo, 2011). These studies are significant in that they help us in understanding the complex factors that underlie proficient and less proficient writing. Emphasis on Essay Evaluation In assessing essays, what do raters consider as more proficient and less proficient writing? Studies have established that factors such as content, rhetorical strategy or linguistic (grammar, spelling, vocabulary) and non-linguistic features (organization, style, content, etc. can separate less proficient and more proficient writing. These factors, however, are weighed differently by raters depending on their background and experience (Kobayashi, n. d. ; Weltig, n. d. , Cumming et al. , 2002). According to Weltig, ESL (English as second language), EFL (English as foreign language), and ENL (English as native language) raters weigh the aspects of writing differently. On the one hand, the ENL raters put more thrust on the non-language aspects (grammar and mechanics) and consider language-related issues as secondary in judging essays.On the other, ESL and EFL raters focus more on language erro Error Analysis As a corollary to this emphasis on essay evaluation, there is no wonder why almost inextricable in the analysis of L2 texts is the focus on errors that learners make in relation to their writing performance (Sarfraz, 2011; Sattayatham & Honsa, 2007; Kitao & Kitao, 2000). Previous studies have indicated that errors do significantly affect raters’ evaluation of the overall quality of essays. For instance, Sweedler-Brown (1993) attributed the low scores of L2 essays for the original than for the corrected essays to sentence-level errors.Kobayashi and Rinnert (1993) found that the same essays gained higher overall holistic scores when the errors were corrected. Kobayashi (n. d. ) also found that lan guage use errors and coherence breaks influenced the English teachers’ (both native speaker and Japanese teachers) judgment in terms of content and clarity but not the Japanese university students’ judgments. The error-free essays were praised as very good, but the error-laden essays were penalized with low scores. Terms and Definitions of Errors Making errors is one of the most unavoidable things in the orld. In language acquisition, learning, and teaching, error has been referred to and has been defined in many ways. Catalan (n. d. ) reviewed the terms and definitions of error in Error Studies and consolidated these definitions using the communicative event framework (addresser; addressee; code, norm, and message; and setting). From the perspective of norm or well-formedness of a sentence, error is regarded as â€Å"an infringement or deviation of the code of the formal system of communication through which the message is conveyed† (Catalan, n. . p. 66). Dulay , Burt, and Krashen (1982 p. 139 as cited in Catalan ) corroborates this definition by saying that error is the â€Å"flawed side of learner speech or writing that deviates from selected norm of mature language performance† (p. 7). Errors are alterations of the rules of the accepted norm and are termed as surface errors which may be further classified as omission errors, addition errors, misformation errors, wrong order, spelling error, systems error, and the like.Also the terms overt and covert errors (Corder, 1973, Faerch, 1984, & Medges, 1989 as cited in Catalan, n. d. ) may be added in the list. The former refers to errors that are not observable within the surface but implied in the message, and the latter refers to those that are clearly identifiable in the surface (Catalan n. d. , p. 8). Benefits of Error Analysis Error Analysis (EA) is concerned with the analyses of the errors made by L2 learners by comparing the learners’ acquired norms with the target languag e norms and explaining the identified errors ( James, 1998).Stephen Pit Corder’s (1967) seminal work â€Å"The Significance of Learner’s Errors† has given EA a significant turn in that it views errors as valuable information for three beneficiaries: for teachers, it clues them on the progress of the students; for researchers, it provides evidence as to how language is acquired or learned; for learners themselves, it gives them resources in order to learn (Corder, 1967 as cited in Maicusi, Maicusi, & Lopez, 2000, p. 170).With this approach errors are regarded as resources for learning and teaching rather than as â€Å"flaws† which connote failure in the acquisition process and ,therefore, needs to be eradicated. Despite the criticisms against EA such as complete reliance on errors per se and not seeing the whole picture of the learners’ linguistic behaviour by looking also at the nonerrors (Gass & Selinker, 1994; Maicusi, Maicusi, & Lopez, 2000), EA has contributed comprehensively to Second Language Acquisition Theory and second language writing instruction. Aim of the Study The present study aims at investigating the sentence-level rrors of freshmen students at three proficiency levels and the aspects of writing that raters focus on while rating the essays. Specifically, the present study aims at providing answers to the following research questions: 1. Do writers with higher levels of writing proficiency commit the same errors that low proficiency writers do? 2. Are there significant differences in the frequency of errors committed by low, mid, and high proficient writers? 3. Which of these errors significantly decrease essay scores? 4. What aspects of writing that affect essay scores did the raters focus on while rating the essays?Method The Essays The data for the present study is based on the data collected for a previous study. One hundred fifty essays written by freshmen college students on their first week of classes i n five private schools in Metro Manila (30 for each participating school) were collected, wordprocessed, and subjected to rating and coding or errors. Rating Three independent raters who are trained ESL teachers rated the essays using a holistic scale patterned after the TOEFL writing section and SAT scoring guides (Gustilo, 2011). Kendall’s Tau coefficient of concordance (. 71, p

Coca Cola Pr Crisis in Belgium

COCA-COLA CRISIS IN BELGIUM, 1999. Introduction The assignment given was to choose a case with an organization or person that suffered a PR crisis, and didn’t manage it correctly from a PR perspective, such as miss-communications with stakeholders, media etc. I chose to write about the crisis that happened in Belgium in 1999. I will analyze the steps the company took towards to solve the issue, explain what they did wrong, and give my own opinion on how they could’ve handled it better. I will end my case with a final conclusion, and what the situation is today. But firstly I will start by talking a little bit about the Coca-Cola Company.Company Profile The Coca-Cola Company is the global leader in the soft-drink industry, with world headquarters located in Atlanta, Georgia. Coca-Cola and its subsidiaries employ nearly 30,000 people worldwide. Syrups, concentrates and beverage bases for Coca-Cola, the company's flagship brand, and more than 160 other soft-drink brands ar e manufactured and sold by Coca- Cola and its subsidiaries in nearly 200 countries around the world. Approximately 70 percent of volume sales and 80 percent of profit come from outside the United States. The European market provides 26% of the company’s US$18B in revenues.Coca-Cola owns a 49% share of the European soft drink market, compared to Pepsi-Co’s 5%. Coca-Cola’s Corporate Mission Statement We exist to create value for our share owners on a long-term basis by building a business that enhances The Coca-Cola Company’s trademarks. This also is our ultimate commitment. As the world’s largest beverage company, we refresh that world. We do this by developing superior soft drinks, both carbonated and non-carbonated, and profitable nonalcoholic beverage systems that create value for our Company, our bottling partners, our customers, our share owners and the communities in which we do business.In creating value, we succeed or fail based on our abili ty to perform as worthy stewards of several key assets: 1. Coca-Cola, the world’s most recognized trademark, and other highly valuable trademarks. 2. The world’s most effective and pervasive distribution system. 3. Satisfied customers, to whom we earn a good profit selling our products. 4. Our people, who are ultimately responsible for building this enterprise. 5. Our abundant resources, which must be intelligently allocated. 6. Our strong global leadership in the beverage industry in particular and in the business world in general.Additionally, Coca-Cola has a stated commitment to social responsibility through philanthropy and good citizenship. The company's reputation for good corporate citizenship results from charitable donations, employee volunteerism, technical assistance and other demonstrations of support in thousands of communities worldwide. Coca-Cola Management From 1984 to 1997, Robert Goizueta ran Coca-Cola like; â€Å"a ship in calm waters† as we m ay say, it was going smoothly. In his 13 years at the helm of Coke as CEO, Goizueta transformed Coke from an Atlanta cola company to an international brand phenomenon.Analysts and employees alike viewed Goizueta like a â€Å"God. † In 1997, Doug Ivester succeeded Roberto Goizueta as CEO of Coke following Goizueta’s death from lung cancer. Ivester, an employee of the company since 1979, had previously been Goizueta’s right hand financial engineer and later his chief operating officer. On the face of it, the transition would appear seamless. Doug Ivester has often been described as a very â€Å"rational† man with a â€Å"bulldog† leadership style. James Chestnut, Coca-Cola’s chief financial officer, says Ivester is a â€Å"terribly rational† manager.He states, â€Å"Doug believes everything should go through a logical sequence. He’s fixed on where he wants the company to be. † Ivester’s recent focus had been on two potential acquisitions to increase Coca-Cola’s presence in Europe: Orangina in France and Cadbury Schweppes. The tactics Ivestor pursued to acquire Orangina and Schweppes, however, has been met with much criticism, especially by Europeans. A July article appearing in Fortune magazine summarized the conventional wisdom this way: â€Å"the way Coke went about the acquisitions – arrogantly, urgently, intensely – absolutely reflects Ivester’s personality.And it’s not working. † Other analysts who have followed Coca- Cola for years believe that if Goizueta were still running the company, controversy surrounding the recall in Europe would not be festering as it was under Ivester. The Source of the Problem The outbreaks appeared to be caused by two sources, contaminated carbon dioxide and fungicide sprayed on wooden pallets used to transport the product. The contaminated carbon dioxide found its way into the product at a bottler in Belgium.The comp any was unable to determine whether the carbon dioxide was already contaminated when the bottler received it or whether contamination occurred later, at the bottling facility. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Anton Amon, Coca-Cola’s chief scientist, said that, â€Å"contrary to Coke procedure, the plant wasn’t receiving certificates of analysis from the supplier of the gas, Aga Gas AB of Sweden. This certificate vouches for the purity of the CO2. † A CCE spokesman confirmed this statement and acknowledged that the company did not test the CO2 batch at the Antwerp plant.In either case, key quality control procedures were not followed. At the Coca-Cola bottling facility in Dunkirk, France, the plant received wooden pallets that had been sprayed with a fungicide that left a medicinal odor on a number of cans. Jennifer McCollum, a spokeswoman for Coca-Cola, described the substance as p-chloro-m-cresol or PCMC, â€Å"a chemical commonly found in wood pr eservatives and cleaning fluids. † The Environmental Chemicals Data and Information Network (ECDIN) states that PCMC can be absorbed through the skin and cause redness, burning sensation, pain and skin burns.If inhaled, the chemical can cause symptoms such as cough, sore throat, shortness of breath, headache, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, unconsciousness, and may cause effects on the central nervous system, liver and kidneys. These more severe conditions are said to require large doses or chronic exposure to the chemical. Coca-Cola said that the substance was sprayed on approximately 800 pallets used to transport cans produced in Dunkirk to Belgium. The supplier of the pallets was said to be Dutch. The company, however, declined to name the company, stating only that it was not one of their regular suppliers.The foul odor is believed to have caused numerous symptoms, including upset stomachs, headaches and nausea after drinking the product. Dr. Hugo Botinck, medical director at St. Joseph’s Clinic in Belgium and one of the first physicians to see these patients, stated in an interview that affected persons were treated for, â€Å"headaches, dizziness, nausea and muscular vibration. † He added that, â€Å"some of them were vomiting, but there was no fever. † Bottling and International Distribution One of Coke’s greatest strengths lies in its ability to conduct business on a global scale while maintaining a â€Å"multilocal† approach.At the heart of this approach is the bottler system. Bottling companies are, with only a few exceptions, locally owned and operated by independent business people, native to the nations in which they are located, who are contractually authorized to sell products of The Coca-Cola Company. These facilities package and sell the company’s soft drinks within certain territorial boundaries and under conditions that ensure the highest standards of product quality and uniformity. Coca-Cola Ente rprises (CCE) manages most of the European bottlers. The Coca-Cola Company controls a 40% interest in CCE. Coca-Cola Belgium.Belgium was introduced to Coca-Cola in 1927. Today Belgium is among the world’s top 20 countries in terms of per capita consumption of Coca-Cola products. The Coca-Cola Company currently employs close to 2,000 people and serves up to 30,000 restaurants, supermarkets and other customers in that country. Coca-Cola France. Coca-Cola was introduced in France in 1933. Coke has been the number- one soft drink in France since 1966 with total sales doubling over the past eight years. Coca- Cola France employs more than 1,000 French citizens and has invested more than 3 billion francs in local economy since 1989.Today, French consumers drink an average of 88 servings of Coca- Cola products each year. External Factors Involved In May and June of 1999, it is fair to say that Coca-Cola executives vastly underestimated the sensitivity of European consumers to food c ontamination issues in light of the existing social and political environment. Contributing to the anxiety was the â€Å"mad-cow† crisis that had taken place three years earlier. Additionally, the Coke incident coincided with a recent governmental ban on the slaughter of pork and poultry in Belgium.Earlier in June, cancer-causing dioxin was found in a large shipment of meat, which was believed to have originated through contaminated animal feed. In the end, this scandal forced the resignation of Belgian Prime Minister Jean-Luc Dahaene as well as the country’s health minister. With the Belgian government facing elections on June 13, all political platforms were under scrutiny. In the wake of the Coke crisis, European government agencies were scrambling to protect their reputations as watchdogs, taking a high-profile role in contamination issues.Consumers had previously considered Coke invulnerable to contamination concerns due to the artificial, manufactured nature of t he product. In addition to its proximity to other food scares in Europe, the crisis also occurred at a time when Coke was looked upon unfavorably by the European Commission. Earlier in 1999, Coke had made plans to acquire Cadbury Schweppes brands around the world. The European Commission was opposed to this acquisition, viewing Coca-Cola as excessively dominant. The company was forced to scale back its acquisition plans. Coca-Cola’s ResponseBy the time the recall was completed, 249 cases of Coke-related sicknesses were reported throughout Europe, concentrated primarily in Belgium. A total of 15 million cases of product were recalled costing the bottler, Coca-Cola Enterprises (CCE), an estimated $103 million dollars. When the outbreak began, Coca-Cola executives waited several days to take action. Viewing the issue as low-priority, an apology to consumers was not issued until more than a week after the first public reports of illness. Top company officials did not arrive in Be lgium until June 18, ten days after the first incident was reported.The company’s casual and muted approach to the crisis was first made evident in its neglect to mention the May 12 incident – in which affected consumers suffered similar symptoms – once the other cases were reported, beginning in June. Ivester remained largely silent, at least publicly, throughout the crisis. He admitted that he happened to be in Coke’s Paris office on June 11, shortly after the first wave of illness reports surfaced, and was briefed in person on the Belgian situation. Ivester and Belgian Coke executives attributed the problem to a bad batch of carbon dioxide and â€Å"hardly a health hazard. The next day Ivester boarded a plane back to Atlanta, as planned. On June 14, the Belgium government ordered all Coca-Cola products off the market and halted production at bottling plants in Antwerp and Ghent. The government took the lead to protect consumers from the health scare, rather than Coca-Cola management. Coca-Cola issued a statement on June 15 from Atlanta (see Exhibit 1) refuting the contamination claims. On June 16, Ivester released a statement under his name (see Exhibit 2) expressing regret for the problems, but he mostly left the public side of the damage-control campaign to company spokesmen and CCE.On June 18, Ivester realized the magnitude and impact of the crisis and arrived in Belgium for the first time to manage the crisis. Ivester’s mission to Europe was his most visible step during the crisis and came only after the number of reported cases had ballooned to more than 200. Coca-Cola officials avoided the media, however, stating afterward that this decision was in response to a request from the Belgian Minister of Health, Luc van den Brossche, asking that the crisis be handled out of the public eye. ConclusionIn conclusion Coca Cola didn’t handle the situation properly by not communicating in a timely manner with the stakeho lders. The crisis represented vast damages to Coca Cola’s reputation and total cost of 66 million pounds. The main reason for the mistakes it was the lack of authority of local executives (Ivester). Coca Cola identified the reason for the fails in communications and consequently empowered the local teams to deal with this sort of situation. The lessons from this case study show how important it is to communicate with stakeholders.

Understanding SAT Scores What Do They Mean

Understanding SAT Scores What Do They Mean SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips You got your SAT score back, and you're not sure what to think of it. What does your SAT score mean? What does your SAT score measure? Is your SAT score high? Is it low? Will it get you into the college you hope to attend? I'll answer all of these questions below so you can start understanding SAT scores. What Does the SAT Measure? The SAT is supposed to measure your readiness for higher education and be a prediction of future academic success, thoughwhether it does measure so is debatable. There aremany smart, successful people, who don't do very well on the SAT. The SAT began as an Army IQ test, which was slightly altered and given as a college admissions test for the first time in 1926. However, the SAT did not become widespread until 1933, when the Harvard president began using it to judge scholarship applicants because he thought it was an accurate predictor of academic potential. By the 1940s, the SAT was the standard test among college applicants and was given to over 300,000 people in the US. What do SAT scores mean nowadays? Colleges continue to use the SAT because they see it and the ACT as â€Å"equalizers.† While every high school student across the country received a different education, all applicants take the SAT or ACT. Right or wrong, admissions officers see it as a fair way to compare students from across the globe. While what the SAT measures is debatable, the purpose of an SAT score isn’t. The purpose of your SAT score is to get you into college, so you should understand your SAT score in terms of how it can help you do that. How Does Your SAT Score Compare? SAT Score Range To understand your score, you need to know the range of possible SAT scores. If you already took the SAT or are taking the SAT this fall (2015), the composite scores can range from 600 to 2400. If you are taking the new SAT in spring 2016 or later, the composite scores can range from 400 to 1600. The average composite SAT score in the US is typically around 1500 (on the 2400 scale) though it varies slightly from year to year. The worst possible score (old test 600, new test 400) is very rare; only 374 students got this score in 2014, which is fewer than the 583 thatgot perfect scores (old test 2400, new test 1600). What’s a Good SAT Score in That Range? While we would all love a perfect score, it's unnecessary for most applicants. A good score for you depends on what college you hope to attend.To figure out if your score is â€Å"good† in terms of your target schools, search â€Å"[College Name] SAT.† That search should lead you to what's known as the Freshman Admit Profile. The name may vary slightly from school to school, but you should be able to find what's known as the 25th/75th percentile or the average SAT. The 25th percentile SAT score means that 25% of admits scored at or below (in other words, 75% of admitted applicants scored above). The 75th percentile SAT means that 75% of admits scored at or below (or 25% of admits scored above). The average SAT is an average of all of the admits’ SAT scores. A good score for that school is at or above the 75th percentile SAT score. If you reach that score and have a strong transcript and application, you'll have a great chance of getting in. For schools that only give the average SAT, I recommend aiming for a score 100 points higher than the average to ensure you are in the top 25% of students. Why should you aim for a higher score? In writing this, I'm assuming you are a typical applicant with no special qualification (recruited athlete, legacy, child of a significant donor, or a unique talent like a famous painter). Schools often accept students with special qualifications with lower scores. I think you should assume those students may account for as many as 25% of admits. If you're not one of those students, you want a higher SAT score to stand out, so aim for the 75th percentile or above. For further explanation, check out What is a good SAT score? A bad SAT score? An excellent SAT score? Should You Retest? How Many Times? If you did not meet the 75th percentile or above for your school of choice, I recommend retesting.However, you shouldn't take the SAT more than six times. If you haven't achieved your target score after three or four attempts, you're not preparing properly. You need to have a dedicated study plan to reach your goal. Check out one of our guides for sophomores, juniors, and seniors to creating an SAT study plan. Also, consider hiring an SAT tutor, taking an SAT class, or enrolling in an online SAT prep program such as PrepScholar. Created by Harvard grads and SAT full scorers, the program figures out your strengths and weaknesses, then customizes your preparation to your needs, so you get the most effective preparation possible. What’s Next? Need help with preparation? Struggling with the SAT Writing section? SAT Reading? SAT Math? Or just want overall SAT strategies? Remember, that with hard work and dedication you will achieve your desired score! Disappointed with your scores? Want to improve your SAT score by 240 points?We've written a guide about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

Managing Financial Resources and Decisions Essay - 3

Managing Financial Resources and Decisions - Essay Example These sources can be broadly classified into short term and long term sources of finance. Long term sources of finance, as the name indicates, are required over longer periods of time (any duration that is above 1 year) whereas short term source of finance that are required within a period of one year. There are three main long term sources of finance for JS and co, namely, share capital, debentures and long term loans. An equity share represents a share of the company’s assets and a share of earnings after the claims are met. Equity shareholders are the owners of the business and have a right in the company for the percentage of shares owned by them (Samuels et al, 2000). Also, the risk is borne by the shareholders who invest in the company. JS and co can issue new shares in order to raise some surplus finance. Debentures are bonds issued to the investors in exchange for finance lent to the company. JS and co can borrow money in the form of debentures from the public, by agreeing to repay the sum by some future date. Also, Js and co has to pay an interest to the creditors (debenture bond holders) before paying out dividends to the shareholders. Hence, in this case, debentures have a little risk attached to them compared to the shareholders, from the company’s perspective (Samuels et al, 2000). Long term loans from banks and other sources are the easiest ways to raise a large amount of capital. Obtaining higher amounts of long term loans will be easier for JS and co, as the business is well established and is making profits. However, the interest payable might be high (as it is spread over a long period of time). Hence a high interest cover should be available for the company, in order to ensure interest payments in times of a financial crisis. Increasing the long term liabilities will increase the gearing ratio (Burke and Wilks, 2007). This coupled with sustaining a high interest cover

SWOT and Financial Analysis for Verizon Research Paper

SWOT and Financial Analysis for Verizon - Research Paper Example SWOT and Financial Analysis for Verizon Verizon Communications Inc., which is also acknowledged as Verizon is duly considered to be one of the largest service providers of broadband and telecommunication in America. Verizon was formed in the year 2000 after the merging of Bell Atlantic Corp. and GTE Corp. The company has been listed in Dow Jones Industrial Average in the year 2004 due to its consistent performance in delivering quality services to the clients. It can be apparently observed that the company earned greater business reputation and established itself as one of the leading providers of advanced IT solutions to large business association and government bodies worldwide. Resulting from consistence performance in the telecommunication industry, the company has acquired number of well-known companies like Alltel (Verizon, 2013). With this concern, this paper intends to conduct a complete SWOT analysis and financial analysis of the company (Verizon, 2013). Discussion SWOT Anal ysis SWOT analysis is regarded as the most common adapted techniques which helps in understanding the strengths along with the weaknesses and also to identify the opportunities available and threats that the organization face and/or would face in future. The main objective behind adapting SWOT technique by modern business organizations in today’s business world is that it helps in identifying the internal along with external factors. These factors often act in favor or against a particular company providing opportunities to mitigate the issues and develop plans to maintain the current position of the company in the global platform (University of Washington, n.d.). In this similar concern, Verizon is regarded as an American based company which deals with the products or services such as broadband and wire line and wireless communication among other related products. It can be viewed that Verizon’s fourth-generation Long Term Evolution (4G LTE) is considered to be the mo st advanced 4G network around the United States of America (USA). However, the gaining momentum of business market competition in the telecommunication industry and the invention of new technologies are creating a barrier for Verizon to maintain its leading position in the respective industry. Additionally, it has also been viewed that the operation plans of Verizon are facing crucial challenges with the increased level of competitors, alterations in government regulations and global economic slowdown (Verizon, 2013). The SWOT analysis of Verizon has been demonstrated hereunder. Strengths. One of the major strengths of Verizon is normally considered to be its strong liquidity position. The company is regarded as one of the most consistence performers in the global telecommunication platform. The company reported an annual increase in the liquidity ratio resulting in 38% increase in its current assets and 1% increase in current liability in the year 2011. Moreover, the company has al so reported a rapid growth in its receivable rate in the year 2011 which is also regarded as the other strength of the company. In terms of strengths, it can be viewed that the company possesses a substantial wireless capacity and coverage in the U.S covering nearly about 296