Impact of Class Size on Students' Achievement Essay

Impact of Class Size on Students' Achievement - Essay Example Class size is an issue that is largely at the center of the school system, especially since it influences not only the size of classrooms but also the number of teachers in a school (and by extension in the country), hence, it is naturally a concern to parents, teachers, school administrators, the government and all other stakeholders in the education sector (Mosteller, 1995). The research that has been conducted concerning the impact of class size on students’ achievement is particularly wide- and far-reaching, but has on several occasions yielded different and sometimes even conflicting results, thus raising the question, what in fact is the impact of class size on students’ achievement? Another question that arises is whether class size has similar impacts across the grades in elementary education (if impacts are found to be present), and finally whether any present impacts of class size on students’ achievement are residual after the students are integrated back into regular-size classes. Some studies have concluded that class size does have an impact on learning while others dispute this, and this fact alongside the research questions make this an interesting and important area of inquiry. A review of relevant literature based on the premise that class size has an effect on students’ achievement is the backbone of this inquiry, alongside the implications of this literature review and their potential applications in an actual school setting. The literature on the effects of class size on students' learning achievement was collected through a search in education journals, databases and relevant sites. This review consists of primary sources and secondary ones that were obtained after refining the search to focus on the impact of class size on elementary school education.... ievement is particularly wide- and far-reaching, but has on several occasions yielded different and sometimes even conflicting results, thus raising the question, what in fact is the impact of class size on students’ achievement? Another question that arises is whether class size has similar impacts across the grades in elementary education (if impacts are found to be present), and finally whether any present impacts of class size on students’ achievement are residual after the students are integrated back into regular-size classes. Some studies have concluded that class size does have an impact on learning while others dispute this, and this fact alongside the research questions make this an interesting and important area of inquiry. A review of relevant literature based on the premise that class size has an effect on students’ achievement is the backbone of this inquiry, alongside the implications of this literature review and their potential applications in an actual school setting. Literature Review The literature on the effects of class size on students' learning achievement was collected through a search in education journals, databases and relevant sites. This review consists of primary sources and secondary ones that were obtained after refining the search to focus on the impact of class size on elementary school education. A great deal of work has been done in this area over the last three decades, with conflicting results; most studies have suggested that reduction in class size leads to considerable improvements in student learning, while others conclude that class-size reductions may not bring with them any appreciable or significant effects (Pritchard, 1999). Besides this, the other matter that arises is the model of investigations into class size.

Marshall Plan Essay Example for Free

Marshall Plan Essay How important was the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall plan to the crystallization of Cold War Tensions in Europe in the years 1945-1951? When considering the crystallization of Cold War tensions in Europe one can not overlook the impact of both the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan. Although events were often ‘a cycle of action and reaction which makes the identification of ultimate causes difficult and probably impossible’ both the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall plan signaled a turning point in relations between east and west Europe. The solidification of Cold War tensions in Europe is, for the sake of this essay, the point at which it was clear that relations between the United Sates and the Soviet Union were unsalvageable as their ideological differences became increasingly polarized. Although the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan were considered by the American administration as ‘two halves of the same walnut’ to fully explore the consequences of the American policies one must look at them separately. The Truman Doctrine hailed in a new era for the US’s foreign policy through the definition of containment and the introduction of formal institutions such as the National Security Council, the Central Intelligence agency and the Department of Defense. This showed a move towards a more assertive foreign policy, arguably provoking the Soviet Union and escalating tensions between the two powers. Similarly the Marshall Plan’s encroachment on what the USSR saw as their sphere of influence through their offer of financial aid triggered a threatened Soviet Russia to intensify their authority over satellite states. Their dramatic actions in Czechoslovakia can be seen as evidence of the importance of the role the Marshall Plan played in escalating tensions in Europe as these events can be viewed as a direct consequence of changing US foreign policy. However to fully appreciate the complexities of the issues covered when looking at the development of Cold War tensions in Europe one must place these events in a wider contextual framework. To ignore the political, social or economic issues which form the background of this timeframe would be to oversimplify the issue. It is therefore imperative to look as the situation from both US and Soviet viewpoints whilst considering the issues the nations were dealing with domestically. By 1951 Europe was undeniably divided, with two power blocs emerging, east and west. Whilst the formulation of these tensions had originated from a shared history dating back to before the war, the culmination of these tensions is undeniably linked to both the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall plan as they ‘solidified divisions of Europe’. The Truman Doctrine, through the role it played in outlining the Soviet Union as the enemy and defining the American policy of containment, was a hugely significant step towards the crystallization of Cold War Tensions in Europe. The Truman Doctrine argued that, after Britain’s need to reduce its participation in aiding Greece, congress must ‘immediately extend financial aid’ because of the threat of ‘communist domination’. However, far from solely asking for economic and military aid for Greece and Turkey the doctrine took on the role of calling for the ‘global containment of communism’. The combination of a definition of the United States’ foreign policy towards communism and the demonstration of their commitment through action did help the move towards a divided Europe. Furthermore it solidified and defined the ideology upon which US foreign policy was made. A key consequence of the Truman Doctrine was the changes it caused in the United States’ decision-making process. As Painter explains, the support elicited for the strategy of containment meant that American administrations were ‘able to act on their beliefs about the relationship between politics, economics and US security’. This signaled an era in which the US would base their foreign policy around their capitalist ideology, one completely at odds with the Soviet Union. These beliefs were strengthened by the introduction of new governmental institutions such as the National Security Council, the Central Intelligence agency and the Department of Defense arguably moving towards a more ‘activist foreign policy’ presenting a clear threat to the USSR. Kennan, seen as the father of containment was a crucial figure in the emergence of Cold War tensions in Europe through his writings that inspired the Truman doctrine. Whilst looking at the effects of the Truman Doctrine it is imperative that we look at the role Kennan took in not only promoting containment as a strategy of foreign policy but also defining the Soviet Union. From Moscow Kennan sent the ‘Long Telegram’ suggesting that the USSR was an aggressive nation and that the only successful form of American foreign policy would be a long term strategy of containment. Kennan encouraged the US to view the Soviet Union as ‘inherently expansionist and aggressive’, in effect suggesting that the USSR should be seen as the enemy. While Kennan explained his actions as not ‘directed at combating communism but restoration of economic health’ in Europe it is clear that his constant rhetoric describing the Soviet Union as a threat that needed to be contained did much to not only encouraging domestic fear and anti communist views but also to provoke the Soviet Union into changing its foreign policy. Kennan would further influence the escalation of tensions through the role he played in the Marshall Plan. The Marshall Plan, like the Truman Doctrine, may not have intended to divide Europe, for a number of reasons this was the final outcome. Based around the ideas that ‘The seeds of totalitarian regimes are nurtured by misery and want’ the Marshall Plan was seen as necessary to avoid the spread of communism. The Marshall Plan was seen by the American administration as the ‘next important step against the perceived Russian threat’ as it was imperative to remove the misery and want which was rife in an economically ruined Europe. However, to the USSR the Marshall Plan was perceived quite differently, it was a western attempt to encroach on their sphere of influence. The Marshall Plan had far wider reaching consequences that simply supporting a recovering Europe economically. Through looking at the Soviet reaction to the Marshall Plan we see that it played a key role in the crystallization of Cold War tensions in Europe. The reaction to the Marshall plan by the Soviet Union marked a turning point in relations between east and west Europe as they served to split countries whose ideologies were drifting further apart. As the Marshall Plan was arguably the spark set off the chain of events it can be seen as hugely important in the crystallization of Cold War tensions in Europe. Whilst the Truman doctrine may have put a strain on relations between America and the Soviet Union the Marshall Plan as Myrdal, who guided the Economic Commission for Europe saw it, it would ‘secure the iron curtain and bring on war’. The Marshall plan therefore seems to have been the point at which Europe was split as it presented to the nations of Europe the choice between the two great powers and their ideologies. To revisionist historians such as Kolko the Marshall plan served the purpose of bringing Soviet fears to the fore and thus increasing tensions. It is clear that the Marshall plan ‘forced Stalin to reassess his stance towards East and West Europe’ which escalated Cold War tensions. Many revisionist historians will argue that the Soviet reaction to the Marshall Plan was one natural for a country that felt weak and under attack. It could be argued that the Marshall Plan in the eyes of the USSR was a concerted attempt by the United States to undermine Soviet influence in Eastern Europe. To Taubman and Kolko it is therefore clear that it was the Marshall Plan that sparked the escalation of tensions. Whilst it could be argued that this was not the case as the Marshall Plan was open to Soviet participation Crockartt shows that the US administration took steps to avoid communist participation in the plan. Kennan, who as aforementioned had been clear about his views on containment and the Soviet Union made sure that the plan ‘be done in such a form that Russian satellites would either exclude themselves†¦or agree to abandon the exclusive orientation of their economies’. This therefore encouraged divisions within Europe, as now there was a clear indication of whether or not the country subscribed to East or West ideologies. Furthermore many argue that the inclusion of Soviet states was due to a ‘desire not to invite the charge that the ERP was an anti-communist measure’ rather than a genuine offer of financial aid. One could therefore argue that it was not surprising that the plan caused tensions, as soviet inclusion was highly unlikely. The extent to which the Soviet Union felt threatened can be seen through actions taken as a result of the Marshall plan, seen by historians such as Gaddis as a turning point in the development of the Cold War. The Soviet Union now seemed to act on a wish to unite the communist parties around Eastern Europe through the introduction of organizations such as Comiform. The Communist information Bureau can be seen as an attempt by Stalin to bring the communist parties around Europe under more soviet control. Furthermore the Molotov Plan, seen by many as a Soviet version of the Marshall plan, aimed to provide financial aid for struggling economies that fell under soviet influence. The influence the Marshall Plan can be seen clearly through the introduction of the Molotov plan as it suggests that either Eastern European countries were so affected by their rejection of the Marshall Plan they needed a similar proposal or Stalin felt so threatened he felt the need to create his own version. However perhaps the most striking Soviet reaction to the Marshall Plan was the events that took place in Czechoslovakia in 1948. The impact can be illustrated in the fact that the only remaining non-communist leader in Eastern Europe was removed, shocking the United States and heightening the divisions between east and west, polarizing both powers. The Czech coup, in which the communist part, with strong Soviet support assumed total control over the Czech government and purged any non communist political figures. Furthermore the ‘Stalinization’ of both Czechoslovakia and Hungary’s societies due to fears brought about by the Marshall plan further intensified the differences between east and west. Through the introduction of the collectivization of farming, an emphasis on manufacturing and a suppression of opposition eastern European countries were forced to become more extreme in their politics, separating Europe and increasing Cold War tensions. The reaction by the US illustrated the impact of events in Czechoslovakia as they it aided the swift implementation of the Marshall Plan, the creation of West Germany and in under a year the creation of NATO. It is clear to see therefore that the Marshall Plan played a key role in escalating tensions between the east and west in Europe. However, these views have been challenged. Although the impact of the combination of the Marshall Plan and the Truman Doctrine was undeniable in moving Europe towards a period of Cold War tensions the extent of their impact is a source of debate. The importance of the Marshall Plan is undermined by a number of issues that show that although it may have played an important role in the crystallization of Cold war tensions in Europe it was by no means the only influence. Historians such as Crockartt will point out the fact that one needs to consider the fact that both nations had hugely differing political styles and circumstances. The Soviet Union entered this period with ‘enhanced prestige after playing a key role in defeating the Nazis’and possessed, through ruling communist parties, tight control over their sphere of influence. The United States however placed a much greater emphasis on the justification of their actions abroad through official documents and formal organizations, as they did not, as the communists did, have puppet rulers in foreign governments. Therefore it could be argued that these differences in political style were the truly important factors in the consolidation of Cold War tensions rather than particular events or policies. However, whilst the differing political styles may have been important these were long term issues that had a constant role in the diplomacy between the USSR and the US. It would be difficult therefore to argue that these played any decisive part in the crystallization of the tensions these differences helped to create. Therefore it could be argued that actions such as the announcement of the Marshall Plan and documents such as the Truman doctrine were the real cause of the solidification of these tensions. One must look at this period of time not just as a chronological series of events but place these events within the framework of the political, social and economic features also prominent at the time. Much of the post-revisionist historiography, with the benefit of hindsight, takes into account these complexities and sees the causes of Cold War tensions in Europe as far more diverse. When these issues are taken into account we see that there was a host of issues at the time all culminating to solidify Cold War tensions in Europe. As aforementioned the Soviet Union entered the period with a new identity, that of a great power of the world. Both the US and the Soviet Union had to react to this change of order and historians such as David Reynolds will even argue that the Cold War was inevitable given the shared history between the two powers. However although tensions may have been inevitable, as mentioned earlier, the solidification of these strains seems to revolve around the implementation of the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan as they polarized the nations ideologies and pulled them further apart. As Crockartt explains revisionist historians view American economic expansionism for capitalist profits as at the heart of tensions between the United States and the USSR and it was the differences in the two nations ideologies that solidified divisions. American determination to keep ‘western Europe (as a) safe arena for international capitalism’ was the fundamental force of strains between the US and the Soviet Union. The wording of President Truman’s message to congress on March 12 1947 regarding US involvement in Greece and Turkey arguably shows the intertwined nature between American foreign policy and capitalist gains. In his address persuading congress to assist Greece and Turkey Truman refers to capital spent on the Second World War as an ‘investment’ in world freedom. The document makes it clear that, to the US administration economic stability and freedom from communism are inextricably linked. The Marshall Plan can hoever be seen as the manifestation of these ideologies and therefore this argument suggests the Marshall Plan had an even greater influence. Furthermore the importance of the Truman Doctrine in heightening Cold War tensions in Europe is called into question as Painter points out Stalin did little to significantly support the efforts of the Greek communists. Whilst some may argue that this because of the success of US aid, others would see it as undermining the significance of the Truman doctrine as Stalin only showed slight concern for the success of communist rebels in Greece. However this could be because of strains in Soviet relations with Yugoslavia being a greater priority that the potential of a Greek communist uprising. Furthermore although Soviet reaction to the Truman Doctrine may have shown reluctance to act on Stalin’s part, US actions in Greece, Turkey and Iran showed their ‘determination to maintain Western access’ to overseas trade zones. The Truman Doctrine and the Marshal plan played an undeniable role in escalating Cold War tensions between 1945 and 1951. Although they may not have formed the basis of these tensions, which had built up in the post-war years, they seem to act as the nail in the coffin for US/Soviet relations. One could argue that as a result of the definition of not only their differences, but also the definition of the Soviet Union as aggressive and expansionist, the Truman Doctrine waved in an era of hostility. The Marshall Plan further polarized European states as one either subscribed to Marshall aid, or didn’t, in effect the Iron Curtain was drawn. One must never overlook the issues that formed the basis of tensions between the US and the USSR as these similarly contributed to the crystallization of cold war tensions. At the crux of strains between the US and the USSR were the disparate ideologies the two nations held at the heart of their foreign policy and as a result the contrasting ways of looking at events and actions. This period sees the polarization of these ideologies and therefore the solidification between the two nations can be seen as inevitable. However, fundamentally the Marshall Plan and The Truman Doctrine provided a platform for these tensions to develop and escalate and because of this they were hugely important in the crystallization of Cold War Tensions in Europe. Bibliography: Primary Sources: President Trumans Message to Congress; March 12, 1947; Document 171; 80th Congress, 1st Session; Records of the United States House of Representatives; Record Group 233; National Archives. Secondary Sources: Crockatt, R., Fifty Years War: United States and Soviet Union in World Politics (London 1996) Barros, J., Trygve Lie The UN Secretary-General Pursues Peace, 1946-1953 (Illinois 1989) P.125 J. L., Gaddis, We Now Know: Rethinking Cold War History (1997) J. L., Gaddis, Strategies of Containment†¬: A Critical Appraisal of American National Security Policy During the Cold War†¬ (Oxford 1982)†¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¬ Hogan, M. J., The Marshall Plan: America, Britain, and the Reconstruction of Western Europe, 1947-1952 (US, 1990) Review by Charles S. M., in American Visions and British Interests: Hogans Marshall Plan Kolko, G., The Limits of Power: The world and United States Foreign Policy, 1941-1949 (1970) Painter, D. S., The Cold War: An Interdisciplinary History (London, GBR) Taubman, W., Stalin’s American Policy: From Entente to Dà ©tente to Cold War (New York 1982) p.172-3

Ogden Nash :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ogden Nash is one of America’s most popular humorists of the twentieth century and one of America’s most quoted poets also. He has coined some of the most popular quotes such as Mr. Felten’s favorite quote, â€Å"Candy is dandy, but liquor is quicker.† Nash combines satire, sharp wit, and unorthodox rhymes and has admitted to breaking every grammar law in the English language while making his poems and is well known for it also.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ogden Nash was born in Rye, New York in 1902 to parents of southern decent. His family was already well known all over that area because his great-great grandfather was the Governor of North Carolina during the American Revolution. Nashville, Tennessee was named for another of Nash’s ancestors. Nash grew up on the East Coast of the United States to maintain his father’s import-export business. He attended St. George’s School in Newport, Rhode Island from 1917-1920, upon graduation he attended Harvard University for one year. He then taught one year at his alma mater of St. George’s but left after one year. He then worked as a bond salesman in New York City and quickly found out that he was not suited for any kind of financial jobs. In 1925 he began working for Doubleday, Doran, as an advertising copywriter. In 1931 he married Frances Rider Leonard and soon after published his first book, Hard Lines, which was his first book of humorous verses, it became an instant success, selling out seven printings. He then realized that he was making more money writing poetry than he was working his job as a copy write editor.

Safe Personal Computing to National Security :: Computers Technology Internet Essays

Safe Personal Computing to National Security Am I Safe at my computer? I’ve posed that question and others to myself many times. Are the e-mail’s I send almost daily truly secure? Are my confidential e-mails from the Ohio University’s server truly confidential? Who else can see what I see? Sure in a perfect world we all would like to believe we‘re safe but the simple fact is that we are not safe all the time and the world is not perfect. People â€Å"hack†, as it is referred to, into almost anything or anywhere. I’d like to think that most people would have the ethics not to violate my personal security, but that’s just it they don’t. This since increasingly our â€Å"e-criminal† of today has the technical skills of an adult and the ethics of a small child (Shuchman). Most astonishing of all is that this is occurring because they are small children, or teens. I choose this topic because computers, e-mail, and the World Wide Web are increasingly becoming the dominate necessity of m y daily life. I am at a computer a least three times a day for lengthy periods of time. I send out personal account information, my social security number and other important secure information across the web and not mention all the information I store my computers hard drive. So I ask once again am I safe? Hacked at Home and Nation Wide You use to only here about the â€Å"serious† e-crimes. You know the ones that try to take down the CIA or the stock exchange. Now the hackers and security risks are hitting home. In the form virus that can do anything from crippling your PC to sending in worms that eat up your files. The attacks aren’t just personal wither. In the spring of 2001 there were attacks on hundreds of personal computers connected to the web via the new broad band connections. Two attacks involving nearly 500 Windows-powered PCs with broadband connections were used to shut down a security consultant's Web site in Southern California (Thorsburg). Hundreds of home computers were seemingly recruited into some sort of malicious cyber army. This or these hackers used computer like yours and mine to work for them turn them against a larger network.

Chemistry is a Part of Life Essay

For you to understand my personal importance placed on chemistry, you would first need to understand who I am in reference to chemistry. So for starters I am a Christian, second a human, third a survivor, and fourth a biochemist. These parts are what make chemistry personally important. Now that you know who I am in reference to chemistry, I now explain for understanding purposes why. As a Christian chemistry is an important part to me. I can only explain the significance using Genesis 2:7 – â€Å"And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being,† (2011). Chemistry is all around us, in the air, the ground, and in the body. God took the elements in the form of atoms from the ground and used them to form man; he also used them to put life or air into the nostrils of man. I could only imagine the amount and types of elements God placed into the form of man. And because of scientific advances you and I could somewhat grasp the idea that â€Å"96% of the mass of the human body is made of four elements: oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, and nitrogen; with a lot of that in the form of water,† (Schirber, 2009). However in the human body â€Å"we don’t look at them as single elements but as elements wrapped up into a compound,† (Schirber, 2009). The human consumes these same elements from the foods from the ground and the food from animals on the Earth. So clichà ©, you are what you eat. As a human this aspect of chemistry allows me to become a survivor. As a human I was able to survive, and through chemistry my survival has been sustained. This started June of 1992, I was not even a year old and as a toddler I was active, however my body would not allow me to play for extended periods of time like most toddlers. As a human my body was using its chemical signals to alert my brain that not enough oxygen was reaching other organs and such, so it forced me to rest more often than most. Later in June of 1993, my parents were told that I would need repair surgery for my heart valve. It seemed that my heart acquired a whole after birth that did not close as I aged, and with being an active toddler I put a strain on the whole opening making it increase in size as I engaged in physical activities. This damaged my mitral valve (the main valve to allow blood into the heart), and when doctors opened up for surgery they realized the extent of the damage on the mitral valve; it was beyond repair. Already for surgery the doctor made a quick and biologically sound decision to replace my lost heart valve with a titanium prosthetic heart valve. Reason for being a biologically sound decision is due to titanium’s medical benefits (Schank, 2012): * Strong * Lightweight * Corrosion Resistant * Biocompatible (non-toxic AND not rejected by the body) * Long-lasting * Non-ferromagnetic * Flexibility and elasticity rivals that of human bone This is when chemistry met biology for me. And 18 yrs. and 7 months after my surgery I am still ticking – the sound made by the titanium parts opening and closing as my heart beats. My biochemical encounter not only saved my life, but it also sustains it through the use of medicine that aids my blood in passing through the titanium mechanism. â€Å"Mechanical valves, which are made of biomaterials, may last a long time. However the patient with a mechanical valve must use an anticoagulant medication such as warfarin (Coumadin, Panwarfin) for the rest of life to prevent blood clots from forming on the valve. If a blood clot forms on the valve, the valve won’t work properly. If a clot escapes the valve, it could lodge in an artery to the brain, blocking blood flow to the brain and causing a stroke,† (Yi-Ren Woo, Carlos Rosario, and Prof. Pablo Cà ¡ceres; 2003).This is where chemistry, along with biology influenced me to become a biochemist. And my reason for choosing that profession is some on needs to come up with a way to make warfarin taste better as well as all the other cough and cold medicines for adults as well as children. So reader with this I hope you are able to understand that to me CHEMISTRY is IMPORTANT, because without it my life would not have begun, continued, or still sustaining today. Work Cited Schank, Craig. Titanium: The Medical Metal of Choice. Titanium Specialist†¦SuperAlloy.com. Super Alloy Inc.: 2012. Web. 26 Apr. 2012. . Schirber, Michael. The Chemistry of Life: The Human Body. Live Science. 16 Apr. 2009.Web. 26 Apr. 2012. . THE HOLY BIBLE. NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION ®, NIV ®. Biblica, Inc.: 2011. Print. Woo, Yi-Ren; Carlos Rosario; and Prof. Pablo Cà ¡ceres. BIOMECHANICS OF MECHANICAL HEART VALVE. Applications of Engineering Mechanics in Medicine. December 2003. Web. 26 Apr. 2012. .

Battle of Antietam - Outcome and Significance

Battle of Antietam - Outcome and Significance Dates: September 16-18, 1862 Other Names: Sharpsburg Location: Sharpsburg, Maryland. Key Individuals Involved in the Battle of Antietam: Union: Major General George B. McClellanConfederate: General Robert E. Lee Outcome: The result of the battle was inconclusive, but the north did win a strategic advantage. 23,100 casualties. Overview of the Battle: On September 16, Major  Gen. George B. McClellan  met General Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia in Sharpsburg, Maryland. The next morning at dawn, Union Major General Joseph Hooker led his corps to mount a strong assault on Lees left flank. This began what would be the bloodiest day in all of American military history. Fighting occurred across a cornfield and around the Dunker Church. In addition, Union troops assaulted the Confederates at the Sunken Road, which actually pierced through the Confederate center. However, the Northern troops did not follow through with this advantage. Later, Union General Ambrose Burnsides troops got into the fight, croosing over Antietam Creek and arriving at the Confederate right.     At a crucial moment, Confederate General Ambrose Powell Hill, Jrs  division arrived from  Harpers Ferry  and counterattacked. He was able to drive back Burnside and save the day. Even though he was  outnumbered two-to-one, Lee decided to commit his entire army while Union Major General George B. McClellan sent in fewer than three-quarters of his army, which enabled Lee to fight the Federals to a standstill. Both  armies were able to consolidate their lines during the night. Even though his troops had suffered crippling casualties, Lee decided to continue to skirmish with McClellan throughout the day of the 18th, removing his wounded south at the same time. After dark, Lee ordered the withdrawal of his battered Army of Northern Virginia to across the Potomac into the Shenandoah Valley. Significance of the Battle of Antietam: The Battle of Antietam forced the Confederate Army to retreat back across the Potomac River. President Abraham Lincoln saw the significance of this and issued the famous Emancipation Proclamation on September 22, 1862. Source: CWSAC Battle Summaries

The Best AP Environmental Science Review Guide

The Best AP Environmental Science Review Guide SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Knowing how to review for an AP test can be challenging, and, based on average exam scores, it appears that many students who take AP Environmental Science don’t adequately prepare for the exam. Fortunately, if you’re not sure where to start, this guide will walk you through the complete of AP Environmental Science review process.I’ll start by going over the format of the exam and what it’ll cover, including sample questions, and then I’ll move on to the specific review strategies and plan you should follow in order to be prepared for the exam. What's the Format of the AP Environmental Science Exam? The AP Environmental Science Exam is three hours long and divided into two sections, multiple-choice and free-response. Multiple-Choice Section 100 questions 90 minutes Worth 60% of your score Questions will be both stand-alone and as part of sets You earn one point for each correct answer, and no points are taken off for incorrect answers (so you should answer every question!) No calculator allowed Free-Response Section Four questions 1 Document-Based question 1 Data Set question 2 Synthesis and Evaluation questions 90 minutes Worth 40% of your score (each question is weighted equally) No calculator allowed What Does the AP Environmental Science Exam Cover? Before we get into the nitty-gritty of APESreview, it’ll help to broadly go over what the exam covers to help put everything into context.Environmental science is a multi-disciplinary topic, and it covers concepts from science, history, current events, and more. The exam will touch on many areas, but there are six main themes it seeks to focus on.Every question you see on the exam will relate back to at least one of these themes, so they’re helpful to keep in mind as you navigate your review process. AP Environmental Science Themes Science is a process. Energy conversions underlie all ecological processes. The Earth itself is one interconnected system. Humans alter natural systems. Environmental problems have a cultural and social context. Human survival depends on developing practices that will achieve sustainable systems. The AP Environmental Science exam also has seven major topics which make up the content the course and exam focus on.These major topics are more specific than the above themes, and knowing them helps give you a better idea of what will be covered on the exam. Each of the topics will make up about 10-15% of the questions on the multiple-choice section, except for pollution which will make up 25-30% of multiple-choice questions.Each major topic has multiple smaller topics within it. In the interests of length, I included a selection of these for each major topic. If you’d like to see the entire list, check out the AP Environmental Science Course Description, beginning on page six. AP Environmental ScienceMajorTopics Earth Systems and Resources Topics include: Geology, the atmosphere, water resources, and soil science The Living World Topics include: Ecosystems, energy flow, biogeochemical cycles Population Topics include:Population ecology, reproductive strategies, survivorship Land and Water Use Topics include:Agriculture, forestry, mining, fishing, global economics Energy Resources and Consumption Topics include:Different types of energy (fossil fuels, nuclear, hydroelectric, etc.), energy consumption, and renewable energy Pollution Topics include: Types of pollution, economic impacts of pollution, how pollution affects environmental and human health Global Change Topics include: Global warming, loss of biodiversity, changes to the ozone layer What Do Questions Look Like on the AP Enviro Exam? As mentioned above, there are two sections on the AP Environmental Science exam: multiple choice and free response.Official sample problems from both sections are shown below. Multiple-Choice Sample Question To answer this multiple-choice question, you’d have to know major environmental disasters and what caused them.Each of the answer choices is a place where an environmental disaster occurred, but only one of them was caused due to disposing of toxic chemicals underground. The correct answer is choice C. Other multiple-choice questions may refer to a graph, require simple calculations, and/or be part of a set of related questions. The College Board doesn’t make many examples of multiple-choice questions available, but for a sample of questions, check out the Course Descriptionfor AP Enviro.Later in this guide, I’ll also go over where to find and how to use other sample problems. Free-Response Sample Questions Data Set Sample Question There will be one data set question on the exam. Some data (it may be a table, chart, or graph) will be presented, and you’ll be required to answer questions on it, some of which will include calculations. Because you aren’t allowed a calculator, the calculations won’t be too involved and will generally only require solving simple equations. Synthesis and Evaluation Sample Question There will be two synthesis and evaluation questions on the exam and, while they may include data you have to look at, you won’t have to do calculations in order to answer questions.Each question can be answered with a few phrases or sentences; no free-response questions on the Environmental Science AP exam require complete essays. The document-based question is similar to the synthesis and evaluation question in that there are no calculations involved, and the questions can be answered with short phrases or paragraphs, but the document-based question will have a short excerpt from a document you’ll need to read in order to answer some parts of the question. To see complete answers to these questions and other free-response questions, check out our dedicated guide to the AP Environmental Science Free-Response Section. How to Review for AP Environmental Science In this section, I’ll walk you through each step you should take during your AP Environmental Science review. Follow these sevensteps, be thoughtful about your weaknesses and progress, and you’ll be on your way to success! #1: Get Your Review Materials Ready Before you begin reviewing, you want to make sure you have all the review materials you’ll need ready and organized.It’s best to start this step around the end of fall, but even if you’re juststarting a few weeks before the exam, never fear! A couple weeks of dedicated studying can be enough to help you score well on the AP exam. What materials do you need? Many people find it helpful to purchase a review book. Unlike your textbook, review books focus specifically on the information you need to know for the AP exam, so you’re not wading through extraneous info that you don’t need to worry about for the test.Before getting a review book, read reviews online or ask your classmates if they have a book to recommend. In general, Princeton Review and Barron’s are solid choices. Don’t neglect your class materials, though! Your notes and textbook can be useful for in-depth review of certain topics you want to brush up on.Finally, practice tests are one of the most important ways to review, so you want to make sure you have gathered a bunch of them. Check out our guide specially on AP Environmental practice tests, or check out these top choices: There is one complete and official practice test available from the College Board. Barron’s also has a high-quality complete practice test. For free-response questions, there are lots of official examples from previous AP exams that you should use. For multiple- choice questions, there’s 17 official practice questions you can look at in the Course Description for the class. Varsity Tutors also has a 100-question multiple-choice test. #2: Take and Score a Practice Test Your next step should be to take a complete practice test under realistic testing conditions (90 minutes each for multiple-choice and free-response, no calculator, and taken in one sitting). I’d recommend using the Barron’s practice test or combining the Varsity Tutor’s multiple-choice section with a set of official free-response sections and saving the full-length official practice test for later on. After you take the test, score your test to see how well you did. Official practice materials come with scoring guidelines, and many unofficial resources are automatically scored, but if you need help estimating your score, use this score calculator. (It’s based on 2008 results, so it won’t be completely accurate, but it’ll give you a good estimate.) #3: Set a Score Target Now that you know how well you’re currently scoring, you can set a score target.Despite its low score averages, AP Environmental Science is generally considered one of the less-challenging AP exams, so most people who are able to commit some time to studying should aim for a 4 or a 5.However, if you are scoring a 2 or lower, or you know you won’t be able to study much, you may want to aim for a 3 instead. #4: Analyze Your Mistakes Now that you know what score you’re aiming for and how far you are from it, it’s time to start analyzing which questions you got wrong and why.Go through the practice test you just took and look over every question you got wrong. Think about why you got it wrong, and look for patterns. Did you miss a lot of the questions that involved calculations? Did you know global change but got most questions on energy resources wrong? This may seem like a long and tiresome step, but don’t be tempted to skip it. It’ll save you time in the long-run, and it’s really the only way to significantly improve your score. #5: Review Your Weak Content Areas Next, use the information you got from going over your practice exam and focus particularly on improving each of your weak areas.If there are certain topics or types of questions that gave you particular trouble, review your notes and take practice questions until you feel confident with them. Don’t just passively read through your notes either; actively engage with them. Underline important words and phrases, rewrite key points in your own words, and regularly stop and go over in your head what you just learned to make sure you’re actually retaining the information. #6: Revise Your Test-Taking Strategies A lot of the time, it’s not just the content of the exam that’s challenging, it’s how much you’re expected to do in three hours that can also cause you to make mistakes.If you find yourself either running out of time or making careless errors, you likely need to make some changes to how quickly or slowly you move through the exam. If you often runout of time, spend future practice tests timing yourself more carefully.For the multiple-choice section, you have 90 minutes to answer 100 questions; that’s 54 seconds per question. Getting stuck on one question can prevent you from answering multiple other questions, which can really hurt your score. So, if you’ve looked at a question for 90 seconds and still have no idea how to answer it, skip it and come back to it at the end if you have time remaining. (Do remember to answer every question though by the time the section ends, even if it’s a complete guess. There are no deductions for incorrect answers, so don’t leave any questions blank.) For free-response questions, you’ll have about 22 minutes to answer each question. However, no one will force you to move onto the next question, so it can be easy to lose track of time. Taking practice free-response sections and carefully timing yourself can help with this issue.Also, if you find yourself making a lot of careless errors on the exam, try to slow down a bit and read each question twice before you begin answering it. For both sections of the test, answering practice questions regularly can help you get a handle on timing issues and become more used to how long you have to answer each question. #7: Take Another Practice Test After all your hard work, it’s time to take another complete practice test to see how much you’ve improved.Follow the same rules as you did for your first practice test, and figure out your score. If you’ve improved a lot and are close to your score target, you may only need to do light studying until the exam. If you’ve improved but still aren’t where you want to be, repeat the above steps again to continue working on your weaknesses. However, if you haven’t improved a lot or are still far from your target score, you’ll have to change up your methods. Examine how you’ve been reviewing and which questions you’re getting wrong. You may not have been paying close enough attention or just passively read through your notes instead of engaging with them. Make a list of things you’ll change (such as studying more actively, paying closer attention to your notes etc.) and implement those changes as you go through the above steps again. Time Estimates How long will it take to review for the AP Environmental Science AP exam? That’ll vary for everyone, but below are some estimate of how long you should spend on specific steps. Take and grade first practice test: 3.5 hours Analyze your mistakes: 1 hour Review your weak areas and revise test strategies: 3 hours Take and grade another practice test: 3.5 hours So, going through one cycle of these steps may take you around 11 hours, and, remember, you may want to repeat the cycle to really get the information to sink in. Summary: Key Tips for AP Environmental Science Review Being well-prepared and ready for the AP Environmental Science exam gives you a much better shot of doing well on the test.Make sure you know how the exam is formatted and what material it covers before you begin your review. Your review process should include the following steps: Gather review materials Take and grade an initial practice test Set a score target Analyze your mistakes Review weak content areas Revise test strategies Take and grade another practice test to see how you’ve improved What's Next? Want some more practice materials for the AP Environmental Science Exam? We've got you covered with free and official practice quizzes and tests. Need some help reviewing for your other AP classes? Learn the five study tips and strategies you should use for all AP exams. Are you self-studying for AP Environmental Science or another AP exam? Learn the seven steps you should be following when self-studying in order to maximize your chances of getting a great exam score. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

Top 3 Traits That Will Get You Hired

Top 3 Traits That Will Get You Hired No matter how perfect your resume, there are still several crucial X factors that any HR company will evaluate you for during an interview. Review these dynamic traits and think about how to incorporate them into the image you project on paper and in person! 1. AgilityThis isn’t talking about your ability to physically jump through hoops or walk balance beams; metaphorically, a company wants to see you can adapt your approach when necessary, recognize shifting dynamics, and possess intercultural skills that help you find common ground and collaborate with your colleagues.2. AttitudeVery few job postings outside of a zany start-up will list â€Å"sense of humor† as a qualification, but equally few office environments can do without enthusiastic, entertaining employees. Come to work with a sense of fun, the enjoyment of a new challenge, and the intelligence to know you don’t have all the answers (but you do have a willingness to persist until you find them).3. Awar enessDon’t forget to research the company that you’re applying with- after the interview is not the time to google â€Å"Company Name + New York Times† and expect recent developments to do you any good. Be involved in the industry you’re trying to enter, even if it’s only as an informational resource on Twitter or LinkedIn. Show that you know what conversations are already in progress and how you fit in to them as an employee and an innovator!

African History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

African History - Essay Example Two women shaped Kings early life, one was his mother and other was his maternal grandmother. Martin Luther had great belief in God, which was nurtured by his father and other close relatives. He encountered church every Sunday and there some 4,000 members of Atlanta’s Black community found refuge from the mistreatment that was their daily experience in a state where segregation laws where strictly enforced. He sooner started realizing the hard life of Black Africans who were ill treated by Whites. Later in life he became enthralled by the work of Mahatma Gandhi who fought against the British colonial rule. So he wanted to help American Blacks win their freedom, not from foreign rule but from injustice. Martin Luther chose the non – violent way of preaching which was able to captivate Black and white listeners alike. Later he became a Christian minister in church and a leading figure in the fight for Black people’s right by organizing many peaceful marches, protests and speeches. The revolution of Martin Luther king was part of the ongoing struggle of Black Americans for equality and civil rights. For a dozen years, this charismatic Baptist minister and his legion of followers had confronted the humiliating system of segregation that had kept Black Americans second- class citizens. In doing this, King and his disciples had faced a raging storm of white abuse. They had been beaten, arrested, jailed and spat upon. They had their homes and churches burned, their families threatened, their friends and allies murdered. Yet they kept on. They marched; staged boycotts and sit –ins; they broke unjust laws and, in the end, they awakened the nation and world to the shame of American racial persecution. Through it all, no matter how badly provoked, no matter how brutal their enemies, they have never turned into violence, because with every ounce of his being Martin Luther King believed in non – violence. Martin Luther King received the world’s highest

Teenage pregnacies Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Teenage pregnacies - Research Paper Example According to Melbye et al. (1997) there is an elevated risk of Breast Cancer associated with abortion. In conclusion, although it may be the case that abortion is a moralistically complicated issue it may serve as a valuable tool in the fight to break the cycle of poverty. The direct costs of raising a child are extremely high, and raising a child for young mothers may also mean that they would have to forgo educational opportunities that may bring a more successful future. Bielski, Z. (May 26th 2010) Canada’s teen Birth and Abortion Rate Drops by 36.9%. The Globe and Mail. [online] Available at http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/canadas-teen-birth-and-abortion-rate-drops-by-369-per-cent/article1581673/ Accessed on March 26th 2011. Fu, H.; Darroch, J.; Stanley, D.; Kolb. E; & Kolb, H. (1998) Measuring the Extent of Abortion Underreporting in the 1995 National Survey of Family Growth. Family Planning Perspectives. Vol. 30, No.3. PP. 128-138. Kerzinke, K. (2003) 30 Years After Abortion Ruling, New Trends but the Old Debate. New York Times [online] Available at http://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/20/us/30-years-after-abortion-ruling-new-trends-but-the-old-debate.html Accessed on March 26th 2011. Melbye, M,; Wohlfahrt, J.; Olsen, J.; Frisch, M.; Westergaard, T.; Helwig-Larson, K.; Anderson, P. (January 9th 1997) Induced Abortion and the Risk of Breast Cancer. The New England Journal of Medicine. Vol. 336 No.2. Smith, G. & Pell, J. (June 4th 2001) Teenage pregnancy and risk of adverse perinatal outcomes associated with first and second births: population based retrospective cohort study. British Medical Journal. University of Cambridge, Rosie Hospital. Cambridge CB2 2SW Stein, R. (2010) Has the Recession Affected Abortion? The Washington Post. [online] Available at http://voices.washingtonpost.com/checkup/2010/05/has_the_recession_affected_abo.html

Business Through The Eyes of Faith Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Business Through The Eyes of Faith - Essay Example This is a company formed in 1987, which has over time provided critical technological services to markets, administrations, institutions, and more (Business: Is There A Christian Perspective p. 15). Management team at the company is largely Christians and in equal measure pursues Christian principles in their activities. The expression made in this case is that, business is part of Christian activity that cannot be separated from the wider role and duty of Christians. Business is a social activity and the essence for it to act morally and ethically is inevitable. Christians and the larger human body that have direct or indirect involvement in business have a duty to honor God by pursuing ethical and moral business practices at all times. People can honor and remain obedient to God when they shoe ethical and moral value of their business activities. When one honors God’s creation (the people) then the person in same measure is able to honor God. Ethics and morals are seen to be fundamental principles that define success or failure of any particular given business, although, it has to be known that an individual or a corporation can have strong ethical values and morals but still fail to achieve its objectives when it ignores multi-dimensional perspective of the business. The author of this chapter introduces the concept of ‘Law of Nature’ which he subsequently transforms into an argument based on moral laws. The author contends that Law of Nature is a creation of a human who in one way or the other tries to control or manipulates the behavior of the other human being (The Law of Human Nature 1). Laws of Nature are intended to define what is right and what is wrong, thereby categorizing the appropriate behaviors, which society can accept or not (The Law of Human Nature p.1). Although Laws of Nature provide these guidelines for appropriate behavior, they

Why I want to be an electrical engineer Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Why I want to be an electrical engineer - Essay Example Ever since my childhood, I have only admired a particular field, engineering. My aspiration for this field is driven by the passion of being like some identified engineers in my society who are perceived to be doing well in life. This has accorded them all the respect they deserve. Similarly, performing well in the core subjects for electrical engineering course has been my driving force into the discipline. Why I want to be an electrical engineer Electrical engineering is a branch of engineering science that involves designing of devices, and connection and maintenance of current flows to ensure that the machines run properly. It is a broad field that also involves proper use of mathematical and physics techniques as well as the study of current flows. The field is divided into two main areas of study that an individual can specialize in, the heavy current part that involves the study of devices such as transformers and the light current which involves the study of current flows by the use of computers. Electrical engineering profession therefore allows one to choose a line of specialization because it has a variety of sub branches. Though it can majorly be subdivided into two branches, heavy current and the light current, it has a wider micro scope that includes â€Å"communication and signal processing, power electronics, electromagnetic and digital systems† among others (Ipfw, p. 1).

Mechanism and the Rationality of Human Behaviour and Mind Essay

Mechanism and the Rationality of Human Behaviour and Mind - Essay Example In B. Jack Copeland’s paper entitled, Narrow versus Wide Mechanism: Including a Re-examination of Turing’s Views on the Mind-Machine Issue (Copeland, 2000), he examines the previous work by Alan Turing on the similarities between his Turing Machine and its similarities to the human brain. Also, the misinterpretations of Turing’s ideas by other theorists were presented in the paper, as well as other theories that either support or debunk them. On the other hand, the rationality of human behaviour in terms of choices and the products of such in the eyes of economists, behavioural analysts and social scientists were presented by Herbert A. Simon in his paper entitled, Bounded Rationality in Social Science: Today and Tomorrow (Simon, 2000). Changes in the trends concerning human choices over several decades as the effect of evolving cultures and ideas was explained and mulled over by seeing human behaviour as the result of decisions, along with theories and models th at could possibly explain why recurrences are possible in places where people are expected to be thinking differently from one another. The first paper is Copeland’s views on the connection between the human mind and Alan Turing’s computing machines, as well as the views of narrow and wide mechanisms’ school of thought. ... can do numerous tasks at the same time, several connections were made: The theory of mechanism is that the human body is made up of several parts that function as a whole, and much like machines such as clocks, each part has the task of contributing to the movement of the body. However, the human body is capable of self-repair and movement afterwards, while machines such as clocks do not have such capacity (Copeland, 2000, p. 6). The human mind and body are governed by sets of rules that allow it to move accordingly to what is needed, and that the selection of actions is determined by the pre-selected options in the mind, which are in the forms of memories. Much like in computers, problems are solvable only by what functions and options are available in their stored memories (Copeland, 2000, p. 8). Narrow mechanism believes that the mind is a machine that can be strictly simulated by a Turing machine, however, wide mechanism states that there is a strong possibility that although the human mind is indeed a machine, it cannot be imitated by a Turing machine thoroughly, thus dynamic and cognitive behavioural systems of the human mind cannot be calculated by the universal Turing machine (Copeland, 2000, p. 10). The creation of the computer was to make a machine capable of doing the computing work of hundreds to thousands of humans at the same time, proving the notion that similar to humans following a specific set of guidelines, logical computing machines when programmed with the appropriate procedures to do can also do anything that is within the set of instructions, making the process mechanical in nature (Copeland, 2000, pp. 13-14). However, several theorists proposed ideas that not all machines can be programmed to compute everything, and a time may come that some

Why I want to be an electrical engineer Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Why I want to be an electrical engineer - Essay Example Ever since my childhood, I have only admired a particular field, engineering. My aspiration for this field is driven by the passion of being like some identified engineers in my society who are perceived to be doing well in life. This has accorded them all the respect they deserve. Similarly, performing well in the core subjects for electrical engineering course has been my driving force into the discipline. Why I want to be an electrical engineer Electrical engineering is a branch of engineering science that involves designing of devices, and connection and maintenance of current flows to ensure that the machines run properly. It is a broad field that also involves proper use of mathematical and physics techniques as well as the study of current flows. The field is divided into two main areas of study that an individual can specialize in, the heavy current part that involves the study of devices such as transformers and the light current which involves the study of current flows by the use of computers. Electrical engineering profession therefore allows one to choose a line of specialization because it has a variety of sub branches. Though it can majorly be subdivided into two branches, heavy current and the light current, it has a wider micro scope that includes â€Å"communication and signal processing, power electronics, electromagnetic and digital systems† among others (Ipfw, p. 1).

Q (VE1) or Q (VE2) Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Q (VE1) or Q (VE2) - Research Paper Example a mean, ethics (how we are trained to handle any situation) is plainly the cause of the achievement of the ‘average’ feeling of happiness (happiness does not have a measure but either a lack or presence of it) (Aristotle 10a). Some of the moral virtues that Aristotle listed in his work include joy, pity, envy, confidence, appetite, friendliness, emulation, and more feeling-related human attributes. They are all considered to have an average, unlike such feelings as happiness and anger that stand as distinct feelings and can only be described by way of how they are expressed and not how much of them we can assess. If I were the shepherd in Plato’s story (Plato par 1-7), I would consider it ethical to wear the ring because the powers that come with it are bound to bring me a feeling of protection and, subsequently, happiness. The ethical dimension to it is the ability to acquire the average feeling of satisfaction knowing the power I

Information System Essay Example for Free

Information System Essay Locating applicable peer-reviewed articles is certainly a necessary condition for a literature review (Shaw, 1995b); however, it is not a sufficient condition. The data contained in the sources identified must be processed into information that can serve as a foundation upon which new research can be built (Bem, 1995). Accomplishing this processing entails sophisticated cognitive activity. Although the methodology for evaluating the results of that cognitive activity has been explored rather thoroughly (Boote Beile, 2005; Hart, 1999), the ways and means for actually accomplishing the necessary processing is less clearly understood (Wu, 2005). How can the new or novice researcher learn to effectively use the articles he or she locates to build the necessary foundation? There is certainly no shortage of theories regarding human learning (Gagne, Briggs Wagner, 1992; Jonassen, Tessmer, Hannum, 1999). Blooms Taxonomy† (â€Å"Taxonomy†) (Bloom, Engelhart, Furst, Hill, Krathwohl, 1956) has been shown to both effectively describe the learning process and offer meaningful insight into promoting development within the cognitive domain (Andrews Wynekoop, 2004; Manton, Turner, English, 2004; Noble, 2004; Zahn, Rajkumar, Zahn, 1996). Two concepts are integral to the Taxonomy: cognitive capability is a developmental process that can be tracked through a series of steps, and each step of cognitive development can be identified by a number of specific types of behaviors. In effect, the Taxonomy provides a set of sequential steps, each of which requires gradually more cognitively demanding activities that the researcher should do in developing the skill to transform the raw data of numerous literature sources into an effective literature review. The following sections provide a review of each of the Taxonomy steps, with emphasis on the sequential process that a given step is as the foundation for the followed step. A methodological review of past literature is a crucial endeavor for any academic research work (Webster Watson, 2002). The need to uncover what is already known in the body of knowledge prior to initiating any research study should not be underestimated (Hart, 1999). Some fields of study have chronically suffered from lack of proper literature review, which in turn has hindered theoretical and conceptual progress (Shaw, 1995a). Webster and Watson (2002) also criticized the Information Systems (IS) field for having very few theories and outlets for quality literature review. Moreover, they noted that the IS field may greatly benefit from an effective methodological literature review in order to strengthen IS as a field of study (Webster Watson Student Information System Student Information System We’ve heard that those who work for small higher education institutions live by a certain mantra: â€Å"Recruit. Retain. Solicit. † Sound familiar? Sounds easy enough — but not when it’s a task that needs to be completed for each of your hundreds or even thousands of students. Almost every higher education institution uses software to store its data. You wouldn’t accept an applicant’s information without having a place to put it, and accepting applications is just the beginning of the cycle — once students are accepted, you need to ensure that you store their information in a secure place, keep it up to date, and share it with all your institution’s offices so it can be used easily and efficiently throughout each student’s entire lifecycle. Blackbaud’s solution for small colleges — Blackbaud Student Information System — makes it easier for you and your staff to overcome your daily challenges so your institution stands apart from the rest. There are many benefits of Blackbaud Student Information System: Your admissions office can: * Easily import data from external sources * Identify your best prospective students, how many applicants you have, and next steps to move each applicant through the process * Accept inquiries and applications online with our NetInquiry and Online Application solutions * Capture information needed for admissions, such as education istory, activities, test scores, interview notes, and more * Track detailed relationships of applicants and students to assist in the recruiting process * Perform any type of demographic analysis (ethnicity, religion, gender, etc. ) * Communicate application status via letters, emails, or your website * Standardize, simplify, and expedite the process with communication and checklist management features * Keep financial aid information, including qualification and grant amounts, in one central location, simplifying the student nformation Systems Considering today’s economy, many organizations must look for ways to improve and gain advantage over their competitors; they should be ambitious and aggressive in every aspect of their business and intelligently make use of their resources. Information can be crucial in achieving a successful management goal. An organizations use of information as a resource is essential in accomplishing and achieving its definitive goals. Information system is the collection, processing, storing, analyzing, and dissemination of information for a specific purpose. Most business organizations today consist of functional departments such as Accounting, HR, Finance, Marketing, etc. , rely on computers and information technology to manage their information systems. The purpose of this paper is to show how various information systems and application software administer to the marketing department, human resources department, and accounting department of an organization.

Comparison of Gender Wage Gap in Japan and Germany

Comparison of Gender Wage Gap in Japan and Germany In all of the advanced capitalist nations women were experiencing the contradictions of an education which seemed to promise self-fulfilment, and a labour market based on inequalities of class and gender (Brinton, 1993, as cited in Threlfall, 1996, p. 270). This statement has been made more than fifteen years ago and indicated that women were not treated equally regarding work and pay. However, have circumstances changed since then? If yes, did they improve or worsen and to which extend? The aim of this paper is to analyse the existence of a gender wage gap in Japan and Germany and to evaluate possible reasons for it. Furthermore, an outlook for the future will be given at the end. 2. Gender Wage Gap in Japan The Japanese law system is regulated by the Japanese Standards Labour Law which was enacted after World War II in 1947. This Japanese Standards Labour Law contained a clause which should protect working women. In reality, this clause prevented women from working excessive overtime and during nights (Sama and Papamarcos, 2000). This is why women could not climb up the greasy pole. Furthermore, this law prohibited that women were treated differently on the basis of sex (Threlfall, 1996). On top of this, as stated by Threlfall (1996), the Standards Labour Law covered only equal wages but not promotion or retirement. During this time, employers could be sued for discrimination, but this was an expensive and time-consuming act as each case had to be dealt with separately. Additionally, many companies circumvented the danger of lawsuits by new grading of job titles (Threlfall, 1996). This changed in 1986 when the Equal Employment Opportunity Law (EEOL) was passed (Sama and Papamarcos, 2000 ). This law encouraged companies in Japan to treat employees equally in all aspects like wages, promotion, recruitment and hiring (Threlfall, 1996). Unfortunately, the EEOL contained no penalties for continuing discrimination and also its amendment, which was enacted in 1999, did not really improve the inequalities regarding wage and promotion between men and women (Sama and Papamarcos, 2000). Figure 1 clarifies these important labour laws in Japan. Japanese Labour Standards Law of 1947 Contained protective clause for working women. Came under scrutiny in 1970s as a possible deterrent to womens career advancement. Equal Employment Opportunity Law (EEOL) of 1986 Enacted in 1987, the EEOL called for equal pay for equal work. No penalties for violators. Employers asked only to make a good effort. June 1997 Amendment to the EEOL Enacted in 1999, the amendment lifted restrictions on midnight, holiday, and overtime work by women in effect since the 1947 Labor Standards Law. Further stiffened warnings against companies found in violation of the EEOL. No penalties attached. According to Selmer (2001), the Japanese wage system is based on seniority (pp. 236-237). This indicates that promotion and pay rise are automatic and no subject to job duties or merit (Selmer, 2001). That means that employees get promotion and pay rise when they reach certain age levels. The gender wage gap is measured as the median wage of men minus the median wage of women, expressed as a proportion of the median wage of men (Evans, 2002, p. 191). As stated by the World Economic Forum (2005), no country has yet managed to eliminate the gender gap (p. 1). According to OECD (2007), the womens medium wage in Japan is two thirds of that received by men. This represents twice the OECD average. Figure 2 displays the gender wage gap of several countries. Blau and Kahn (2003) stated that the gender wage gap in Japan is up to 85% (as cited in Johnes and Tanaka, 2006). This means that women earn up to 85% less than men. Recent sources indicated a gender wage gap of 65.9% for 2007 (Japanese Institute for Labour Policy and Training, 2008). The differences in the gender wage gap are subject to different data used for analysis. Some calculations include part-time workers, which are mainly female and others base their calculations on full-time employees only. As already stated above, Japanese firms discriminate on the grounds of gender when paying employees. This chapter evaluates several reasons for the gender wage gap in Japan. First of all, many workers in Japan get a lifetime employment contract (Ishii, 2000). Japanese firms make huge investments in employee training and that is why they want their employees to stay as long with the company as possible. Therefore, the duration of attachment to a firm plays an important role when negotiating wages. As it is most often foreseeable that women will not stay with one company for their whole life, because they want to start a family one day, they pretty much never get a lifetime contract (Ishii, 2000). Therefore, as stated by Ihsii (2000), companies make no investment in human capital when they employ women as they think they will not benefit in the future from this investment as women sooner or later leave the company. The second reason for the gender wage gap is based on different experiences. Miyoshi (2007) argued that there is no gender pay gap when people are employed directly after school, college or university. But when employees accumulate work experience, the wage gap enlarges. Miyoshi (2007) explains this fact by referring to the full-time work experience and seniority. The more full-time work experience an employee has, the more valuable he is. As women often have less work experience because of child-raising obligations and only part-time jobs, the get less money and less promotion than their male counterpart. Different characteristics of workers represent the third reason for the gender wage gap in Japan. Johnes and Tanaka (2006) explained that different characteristics like age, work experience, education and duration of work are one reason for the gender pay gap in Japan. They agree with Miyoshi when stating that differences in work experience are the reason for pay inequalities, but they extend the argument by adding other characteristics like age and education. The greater part of the gender wage gap in Japan can be explained by referring to the reasons stated above. However, there is also a smaller part of the earnings gap that can not be explained. According to Kawaguchi (2006), this part can be attributed to sex discrimination. 4. Gender Wage Gap in Germany Regarding German law, article 3 paragraph 2 of the German Constitution of 1949 states that men and women have equal rights (Maier, 2007). Furthermore, paragraph 3 states that no one should be discriminated on the grounds of gender. This right for equal treatment and payment was not practiced in reality as special wage groups for women were allowed in collective agreements until 1955 (Maier, 2007). Furthermore, Maier (2007) stated that most employees in Germany are paid according to these collective agreements, although the coverage is declining (p. 11). In 1980, a new paragraph was added to the German Constitution which demanded equal pay for work of equal value (Winter, 1998). But this amendment brought no chance. Later, in 2006, the General Equal Treatment Act was passed and paragraph 7 prohibited unequal treatment within any employment relationship (Maier, 2007, p. 18). This law stated that lower wages for women are not justified if they are based on gender. Unfortunately, German law still lacks legal measures to control the implementation of equal wage principles. Furthermore, Maier (2007) stated that it is not easy for women to claim their right for equal pay. Class actions are not allowed and thus, all women must bring their individual claim to court. As this is often an expensive and time-consuming process, many plaintiffs refrain from filing a suit (Maier, 2007). That is why Germany has a significant high gender wage gap, although the German government has a female chancellor (Plass, 2008). In reality, as stated by Plass (2008), Germany has one of the highest gender pay gaps on the European continent. Furthermore, more than 90 percent of all working women are discriminated and earn between 80 and 210 cents less per hour (Gradà ­n, del Rà ­o and Cantà ³, 2006). Legal norms for equal pay in Germany are displayed in figure 3. According to the German government statistics bureau, Destatis, working women in Germany earned 24 percent less than men in 2006 (as cited in Plass, 2008). As stated by Maier (2007), this number has been reduced to 22 percent in 2007. Whereas the average difference in pay is 15 percent in the European Union (Spiegel Online International, 2008). 5. Reasons for the Gender Wage Gap in Germany Several reasons contribute to the large gender wage gap in Germany. First of all, as mentioned by Lauer (n.d.), women often do not possess the same education and skills as men do. Employers who place value on these exact skills are likely to pay women less in order to compensate the lack of skills and knowledge. Furthermore, Lauer (n.d.) also mentioned that skills and knowledge may be rewarded differently between men and women. Meaning that women with the same educational background and knowledge will earn less because these identical skills are not rewarded the same way by the employer. In addition, Maier (2007) identified the lack of legal barriers against low wages as a reason for the gender pay differences in Germany. As there exists no general minimum wage in Germany, and as the country has almost three million unemployed persons (Bundesagentur fà ¼r Arbeit, 2008), it is easy for employers to fill a low-paid vacancy. Furthermore, Lauer (n.d.) identified occupational crowding of women in low paid occupations as another source for earning inequalities between men and women in Germany. There is also the fact that there is a low proportion of working women in highly paid positions (Maier, 2007). Concluding, Maier (2007) stated that factors like age, education and work experience present only a very unimportant reason for wage discrimination. Again, the unexplained part of the gender wage gap can be attributed to discrimination based on gender (Lauer, n.d.). 6. Similarities and Differences between Japan and Germany After analyzing the gender wage gap in Japan and Germany and its reasons, several similarities as well as differences can be pointed out. First of all, there is a significant high gender wage gap in both countries, although the difference in earnings is higher in Japan with around 35 percent compared to Germany with about 22 percent (Maier, 2007). Nevertheless, the German earnings gap is 7 percent higher than the European Union average (Spiegel Online International, 2008). Both countries put emphasis on the characteristics of employees. Age, work experience and education are important when negotiating wages. As women often have less education or work experience than men (Lauer, n.d.), they get paid less than their male counterpart. Furthermore, part of the gender wage gap in both countries is an unexplained part which can be attributed to gender discrimination (Kawaguchi, 2006; Lauer, n.d.). Differences between the two countries can be found in the fact that Japanese employers discriminate when investing in human capital. Due to the Japanese lifetime employment, many employers consider rather carefully whether to employ women or not. As it is obvious to them that women will leave the company some day for child-raising duties, they will thereby take away the human capital in which the company invested. 7. Conclusion Even if both countries enacted laws in the 80ies which should ensure equal pay for work of equal value, there is still a significant gender wage gap observable. Japan as well as Germany managed during the last to decades to narrow this gap, but this happened probably just because of the new laws which were enforced. When looking ahead, both countries will probably have a different future. Japan will stick to its lifetime employment system (Kato, 2001) and thereby will keep the earnings gap between men and women stable. The fact that more and more Japanese women decide to pursue their careers can possibly help in narrowing the gender pay gap (Fackler, 2007). Germany is likely to increase the gender pay gap as the coverage of collective agreements, which set equal wages for men and women, is declining (Maier, 2007). Furthermore, as long as there is no support from the government to implement the right for equal money for work of equal value, the gender wage gap will not be narrowed. 8. Bibliography , Blau, F. and Kahn, L. (2003). Understanding international differences in the gender pay gap. Journal of Labor Economics. Vol. 21, pp. 106-144. Brinton, M. (1993). Women and the economic miracle: gender and work in post-war Japan. Berkeley: Calif. Bundesagentur fà ¼r Arbeit (2008). Der Arbeits- und Ausbildungsmarkt in Deutschland (The work and education market in Germany) [online]. Available at: URL: http://www.pub. arbeitsamt.de/hst/services/statistik/000000/html/start/monat/ aktuell.pdf [Accessed 6 January 2009]. Evans, J. (2002). work/family reconciliation, gender wage equity and occupational segregation: the role of rims and public policy [online]. Available at: URL: http://economics.ca/cgi/jab?journal= cppview=v28s1/CPPv28s1p187.pdf [Accessed 16 December 2008]. Fackler, M. (2007). Career women in Japan find a blocked path. The New York Times, [online]. Available at: URL: http://www. nytimes.com/2007/08/06/world/asia/06equal.html [Accessed 6 January 2009]. Gradà ­n, C., del Rà ­o, C. and Cantà ³, O. (2006). Poverty and womens labor market activity: the role of gender wage discrimination in the EU [online]. Available at: URL: http://www.ecineq.org/milano/ WP/ECINEQ2006-40.pdf [Accessed 6 January 2009]. Ishii, H. (2000). Occupational segregation and the gender wage gap in Japan [online]. Available at: URL: http://www.kli.re.kr/ iira2004/pro/papers/HisakoISHII.pdf [Accessed 05 January 2009]. Japanese Institute for Labour Policy and Training (2008). Wages and labour costs [online]. Available at: URL: http://www.jil.go. jp/english/estatis/databook/2008/05.htm [Accessed 05 January 2009]. Johnes, G. and Tanaka, Y. (2006). Changes in gender wage discrimination in the 1990s: a tale of three different economies. Japan and the World Economy. Vol. 20, pp. 97-113. Kato, T. (2001). The end of lifetime employment in Japan?: evidence from national surveys and field research. Journal of the Japanese and International Economies. Vol. 15, pp. 489-514. Kawaguchi, D. (2006). A market test for sex discrimination: evidence from Japanese firm-level panel data. International Journal of Industrial Organization. Vol. 25, pp. 441-460. Lauer, C. (n.d.). Gender wage gap in West Germany: how far do gender differences in human capital matter? [online]. Available at: URL: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=217651 [Accessed 6 January 2009]. Maier, F. (2007). The persistence of the gender wage gap in Germany [online]. Available at: URL: http://www.harriet-taylor-mill.de/pdfs/discuss/Discussion%20Paper%2001%202007.pdf [Accessed 29 December 2008]. Miyoshi, K. (2007). Male-female wage differentials in Japan. Japan and the World Economy. Vol. 20, pp. 479-496. OECD (2007). Highlights Japan [online]. Available at: URL: http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/20/20/39696303.pdf [Accessed 29 December 2008]. Plass, S. (2008). German women struggle with gender wage gap. International Herald Tribune, [online]. Available at: URL: http:// www.iht.com/articles/2008/08/28/business/women.php?page=1 [Accessed 31 December 2008]. Sama, L. and Papamarcos, S. (2000). Cultures consequences for working women in corporate America and Japan, Ind.. Cross Cultural Management An International Journal. Vol. 7, No. 2, pp. 18-29. Selmer, J. (2001). Human resource management in Japan. International Journal of Manpower. Vol. 22, No. 3, pp. 235-243. Spiegel Online International (2008). German women earn a fifth less than men. Spiegel Online International, [online]. Available at: URL: http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518, 558526,00.html [Accessed 31 December 2008]. Threlfall, M. (1996). Mapping the womens movement. London: Verso. Winter, R. (1998). Gleiches Entgelt fà ¼r gleichwertige Arbeit: Ein Prinzip ohne Praxis (Equal pay for work of equal value: a principle without practice.). Baden-Baden. World Economic Forum (2005). Womens empowerment: measuring the global gender gap [online]. Available at: URL: http://www.weforum.org/pdf/Global_Competitiveness_Reports/Reports/gender_gap.pdf [Accessed 30 December 2008].

Essay --

The movie is the first of the trilogy of the Super man series , The story unfolds on Planet krypton , where General Zod ( Michael Shannon ) , playing the antagonist , is staging a coup against the existing leadership on the grounds of being responsible to save the future of Planet Krypton , but is resisted by Jor – El (Russell Crowe ) & Faora – Ul (Antje Traue) , who enact the roles of father and mother of Kal – el , their infant Son . Upon resistance and growing difference of opinion and animosity between Jor – El and General Zod over the fate of planet Krypton`s existence, Jor – El and Faora – Ul , decide to transport their infant son Kal – el to a distant world called â€Å"EARTH†. Along with the space continuum, carrying the infant consists the DNA of Krypton (Codex), to make certain of its continued existence even at the after math of Planet Krypton. Mean while General Zod and his allies are over powered by the Law enforcers of Krypton and are sentenced for eternity in a Black hole prison. The unfolding of these events although brief has a sense of emotional condemnation which grips the Audience. In comparison to previous versions, the plot is quite engaging with brilliant VFX to back it up. The plot further unfolds after the space continuum crash lands into his foster parents Kevin Costner – (Jonathan Kent) & Diane Lane – (Martha Kent) , The portrayal of Super Man`s child hood and teenage days and his struggle to battle his angst and bulliyism , is well showcased by Director Zack Snyder , the way in which the child hood days are interspersed in bouts of flash backs , into the ongoing story line is also quite brilliant , which deviates from the usual script and storytelling flow gives weight age ... ... once you do get to the tail end of the film, which essentially showers you in extensive destruction that becomes rather boring, too. The fighting looks great, but how many times can we see a building crumble or Superman zip through a fiery setting before enough is enough? But even more detrimental than the repetition is the fact that it’s hard to care. There’s one instance of peril in â€Å"Man of Steel† that will have you at the edge of your seat, pained by the thought that someone’s about to bite it, but its part of a flashback so thanks to the odd formatting of this film, it has absolutely no impact on the current threat. All that being said, I thought it was a noble first effort to reboot a storied franchise. The film did an excellent job of setting up a classic superhero in the midst of our modern world. If only $225 million could buy a film some emotion, too.

Essay Comparing Candide and Mary Shelleys Frankenstein -- comparison

Comparing Voltaire's Candide and Mary Shelley's Frankenstein  Ã‚   Voltaire's Candide and Mary Shelley's Frankenstein are classics of western literature, in large part, because they both speak about the situation of being human. However, they are also important because they are both representative of the respective cultural movements during which they were written - the Enlightenment and the Romantic Era. As a result of this inheritance, they have different tones and messages, just as the Enlightenment and Romanticism had different tones and messages. But, it is not enough to merely say that they are "different" because they are linked. The intellectual movement from which Frankenstein emerged had its origins in the intellectual movement from which Candide emerged. By examining each of these works from the context of these intellectual movements, the progression in tone from light-hearted optimism in Candide to a heavier brooding doom in Frankenstein can be explained as being an extension of the progression from the Enlightenment to the Era of Roman ticism. The Enlightenment had its roots in the scientific and philosophical movements of the 17th century. It was, in large part, a rejection of the faith-based medieval world view for a way of thought based on structured inquiry and scientific understanding. It stressed individualism, and it rejected the church's control of the secular activities of men. Among the movement's luminaries were Descartes, Newton, and Locke. They, among others, stressed the individual's use of reason to explain and understand the world about himself in all of its aspects. Important principles of the Enlightenment included the use of science to examine all aspects of life (this was labeled "reason"),... ...The need is never satisfied for the reader, for Shelley's perception of society after the Enlightenment is a bleak place where human needs are supplanted by the monolithic focus on reason alone. This stands in sharp contrast to the ending of Candide. While the young man is constantly denied the company of his one true love, Cunegonde, throughout the work, in the end he finds her and finds satisfaction in a life near his friends as a farmer. The Enlightenment found optimistic hope in a dark age through the potential of the progress of human society, but to the Romantics, this improved world was less than optimistic if untouched by human elements such as love and imagination.    Works Cited: Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein. New York: Bantam Books, 1991. Voltaire. Candide. In Candide, Zadig and Selected Stories.Trans. Donald Frame, New York: Penguin Group, 1961.

Sample Business Plan: Food for Thought

We all this product Happy Pastilles. Happy Pastilles, being distributed to retailers In sari – sari stores, would be more convenient and thus, will not require consumers to go somewhere else. Unlike other desserts, a piece of Happy Pastilles can be enough to lessen saltiness, spiciness or greasiness of meals remained in our taste buds. Happy Pastilles offers health conscious consumers and dessert lovers a healthy and friendly local product called pastilles. Happy Pastilles Partnership will provide a combination of excellent dessert with affordable price, unique shape, and nutritious ingredients.Happy Pastilles is the answer to the Increasing demand for craving a dessert after a meal with lower price. Our mission Is to serve customers great tasting nutritious dessert In today's highly competitive environment, it is becomes increasingly difficult to compare our product to the usual pastilles that consumers usually buy. Hundreds of retailers who are selling different pastries are evolving. Our initial target areas are Sat. Elena, San. Rogue, Stop. Ion, Clamping . As we grow, we will develop more kiosks within the city. Happy Pastilles are highly profitable In the first two years.The Increasing probability is partly based on expectations. These forecasts are based on general trends in food industry. We have various promotional strategies for our company name awareness. The marketing campaign through product taste test and sampling, word of mouth will be highlighted as one of our strategies. Product Offerings Sometimes after a meal, people look for something else to eat. Salty, spicy or greasy foods make someone crave for desserts or some known delicacies or pastries just to lessen the unlikable tastes in our mouths.Definitely, desserts need not be ere expensive like Ice cream, Lech flan, and the like and would require to go somewhere else, to answer the craving Happy Pastilles is a high-protein product because it is a milk-based dessert. This is a mixture of powdered milk, condensed milk, and refined sugar. To be unique in the market, crushed peanuts were added as well as the ‘star' shape The product is a homemade dessert for health conscious consumers. Happy Pastilles is a milk-based product, so we can get different nutrients like protein, calcium, Vitamins A, D, E, K, and B.Consumers within the age range of 18 – 30 years old are the next expected to consume the product. Consumers within this age range include the â€Å"growing kids† which are referred to as teens who tend to eat a lot. After eating a meal, they would really look for something else to eat and something that can lessen the unlikable tastes in their mouths. Consumers within the age range of 31 – 43 are like the previous age group who, after eating a meal, would also look for something else to eat.Other than that, people within this age range tend to bring foods along with them especially when going to their workplace. Consumers within the age range of 44 – 56 are people who are quite practical and who would rather choose to buy an ordinary pastilles rather than Happy pastilles. His product. They are the most practical among the age groups who might Just choose to buy the ordinary pastilles rather than Happy Pastilles or choose not to buy at all. SOOT Analysts We are in a highly competitive market in a rapidly growing economy.We foresee our strength as the ability to respond quickly to what the market dictates and to provide quality desserts in a growing market. In addition, through aggressive marketing and quality management, we intend to become a well respected and known entity in our preferred industry. Our key personnel have knowledge on the coal market and expertise, which will go towards penetrating the market which wills the strength; however we acknowledge our weakness, to our limited start-up capital/ shares and the threat of competition in the industry.

Memorandum

This memorandum is written to assist the decision making about to raise capital for further growth and recapitalize the ownership structure of TRX thorough Initial Public Offering. The analysis is examined from two scenarios. One is that TRX keep on IPO at lower price of $9 per share; another is that it postpones the IPO in 2006. I would project the IPO price of 2005 and 2006, respectively based on the management plan. According to the TRX’s balance sheet and financial data, TRX was a very young technology-integration company which founded in 1999. By 2004, TRX generated $113. m in total revenues and the ensuing half year it generated about $62m which was already ahead of the last year’s pace. Not only had the top-line revenue growth in industry, the company created the surprised high mean margin growth of EBITDA which was 188. 8% from 2002 to 2005 as well. (Figures show in Appendix 1) Although TRX still represented the negative net income right now, the company must have tremendous profit potential to be expected, because TRX will completely remove low-margin business in 2008 in order to generate strong cash-flow and the more of higher-margin business would stems from TRX’s four top clients. Thus, in order to fuel the rapid growth of the business, TRX should be considered as a good candidate for going public. Nevertheless, TRX first failed to go public in 2000 attributed to the overall stock market conditions were awful since the dot-com bubble burst in the late 1990s. From travel industry condition performance, TRX encounter the recession of travel industry, which affected its fortunes since the company closely related with the overall health of the industry. From the overall stock market conditions, the performance of NASDAQ was volatility throughout 2004, even dropped a low in August 2004 and thereby the pricing of IPO was poor when the company prepare to IPO. Even though the rebounded of stock market in the first half of 2005, the market conditions still acted unstable with weak performance of IPO. Once again, TRX experienced the bad news of industry during its road show. These broader market climates were seemed like unfavorable for the company’s IPO. In reposed to the first filed IPO, TRX turned to raise capital from outside strategic investor Sabre with issuing 15m convertible note and another 5m was from its original investors BCD and Hogg Robinson in order to support company’s growth until it attempted the second time to IPO. Actually, Going public gives these investors the opportunity to exit, proving an attractive harvest strategy especially when the TRX’s stock price closed at a higher price in the post-IPO. However, the final price range of IPO offered by CSFB was $9 per share which was lower than the price Sabre paid for its share. Here, I use comparable analysis to estimate the IPO price based on the management plan in 2005 and 2006, respectively. Since a perfectly comparable company can’t be found, I chose primary sectors’ multiples which most close to TRX with online travel and payment processing. Moreover, the average median multiples are calculated the reason I used median multiples over mean is that more accuracy projections will estimated without outliners involved in mean. Also, I chose the next years’ EBITDA and net income, respectively due the stock prices reflect the present value of future earnings. He company could offer the lender partial ownership in the venture in exchange for loan principal by swapping their debt for equity. The improves the profitability of the venture by lowering debt service payments while lowering debt liability on the balance sheet and replacing it with equity. Also, the lender is trading fixed-rate debt for equity with a potentially higher total return. If the firm is doing very well , and lenders fell that the return on investment will likely be better with equity position, this becomes an attractive option for debt holders. Memorandum My background and interests are fairly diverse and require a more in depth explanation and presentation and this is the rational behind my presentation of this exploratory memo. Hopefully, this memo will clearly address all issues in a manner that will shed light on my background. My primary academic focus is economics and international trade and I approach these avenues in a manner that is significantly different from the way many other people may approach said disciplines. I am a foreign national who was born in Korea and I believe this gives me a different perspective on international trade and economics as I have a great deal of experience seeing the actual â€Å"international† aspect of trade and economics while many people who have limited experience with foreign economies may have a limited understanding in regards to how it works abroad. More than just interested in things that involve politics and the economy, I have also invested a great deal of my time in charitable pursuits. I served as vice President of my church and from this position I was able to invest a great deal of time in charitable pursuits. These pursuits included helping out with individuals who were infirmed and in need of assistance. This experience proved very rewarding on levels that were professional, personal and spiritual. I also place a significant emphasis on my life towards the pursuit of athletic excellence. In particular, I enjoy skiing and snowboarding and have invested a great deal of time developing a proficiency in these sports. A healthy mind only remains healthy when the body that supports it is equally strong so I take the development of an athletic cardiovascular system very seriously. An inability to properly communicate remains one of the more damaging aspects that could undermine an individual’s ability to achieve maximum potential in the workplace. More than anything, I would prefer to develop the enhancement of my grammar, syntax and communicative language in a manner that would effectively be quite impressive to the reader. This does not mean that I would like to master the English language for the sole purpose of being able to misrepresent my knowledge on a particular subject by burying and hiding a lack of knowledge within the confines of excellent grammar and syntax. What I wish to do is to make my knowledge of a particular subject matter and my ability to communicate my knowledge, feelings and ideas within the confines of the business community in such a way that it becomes clear I have a solid and serious pragmatic ability to apply my knowledge on the subject. This is not to say, however, that I have extremely limited experience in business or professional communication. On the contrary, I have a fairly expansive degree of experience with business communication. I do, however, realize my limitations in this area and I will to expand my skills and capabilities in order to eliminate any limitations I may have. While some may assume (erroneously) that the Snowboarding Club that I served as president of would be exclusively a leisure pursuit, this is about as silly of a statement as stating the multi-million dollar snowboarding industry is nothing more than a leisure pursuit. As President of this club I would perform my duties as professionally as I would have performed the same duties for a more ‘established’ club such as an economics club, etc.   As part of my duties as President, I would routinely communicate with various entities and individuals by way of traditional business writing (I.E. pen and paper) and by way of electronic communication (email, etc) In terms of why I am taking this course, the primary reason is that the course is required. So, yes, it is a mandatory course designed to facilitate my graduation, but that is not entirely the whole case. There is much more to it than merely taking a course designed with one sole goal of graduating and receiving a degree. To do this without having developed any real or significant skill would be ludicrous and totally self defeating in terms of the way such an attitude would undermine my entire education. So, regardless of the administrative reason why I am taking this course, all courses are electives as I have elected to attend the University in order to develop my professional skills. In other words, my attendance in this course is primarily to learn the material and then take the material and develop it into functional skills that can carry into the workplace and in life in general.                                                                Memorandum This memorandum is written to assist the decision making about to raise capital for further growth and recapitalize the ownership structure of TRX thorough Initial Public Offering. The analysis is examined from two scenarios. One is that TRX keep on IPO at lower price of $9 per share; another is that it postpones the IPO in 2006. I would project the IPO price of 2005 and 2006, respectively based on the management plan. According to the TRX’s balance sheet and financial data, TRX was a very young technology-integration company which founded in 1999. By 2004, TRX generated $113. m in total revenues and the ensuing half year it generated about $62m which was already ahead of the last year’s pace. Not only had the top-line revenue growth in industry, the company created the surprised high mean margin growth of EBITDA which was 188. 8% from 2002 to 2005 as well. (Figures show in Appendix 1) Although TRX still represented the negative net income right now, the company must have tremendous profit potential to be expected, because TRX will completely remove low-margin business in 2008 in order to generate strong cash-flow and the more of higher-margin business would stems from TRX’s four top clients. Thus, in order to fuel the rapid growth of the business, TRX should be considered as a good candidate for going public. Nevertheless, TRX first failed to go public in 2000 attributed to the overall stock market conditions were awful since the dot-com bubble burst in the late 1990s. From travel industry condition performance, TRX encounter the recession of travel industry, which affected its fortunes since the company closely related with the overall health of the industry. From the overall stock market conditions, the performance of NASDAQ was volatility throughout 2004, even dropped a low in August 2004 and thereby the pricing of IPO was poor when the company prepare to IPO. Even though the rebounded of stock market in the first half of 2005, the market conditions still acted unstable with weak performance of IPO. Once again, TRX experienced the bad news of industry during its road show. These broader market climates were seemed like unfavorable for the company’s IPO. In reposed to the first filed IPO, TRX turned to raise capital from outside strategic investor Sabre with issuing 15m convertible note and another 5m was from its original investors BCD and Hogg Robinson in order to support company’s growth until it attempted the second time to IPO. Actually, Going public gives these investors the opportunity to exit, proving an attractive harvest strategy especially when the TRX’s stock price closed at a higher price in the post-IPO. However, the final price range of IPO offered by CSFB was $9 per share which was lower than the price Sabre paid for its share. Here, I use comparable analysis to estimate the IPO price based on the management plan in 2005 and 2006, respectively. Since a perfectly comparable company can’t be found, I chose primary sectors’ multiples which most close to TRX with online travel and payment processing. Moreover, the average median multiples are calculated the reason I used median multiples over mean is that more accuracy projections will estimated without outliners involved in mean. Also, I chose the next years’ EBITDA and net income, respectively due the stock prices reflect the present value of future earnings. He company could offer the lender partial ownership in the venture in exchange for loan principal by swapping their debt for equity. The improves the profitability of the venture by lowering debt service payments while lowering debt liability on the balance sheet and replacing it with equity. Also, the lender is trading fixed-rate debt for equity with a potentially higher total return. If the firm is doing very well , and lenders fell that the return on investment will likely be better with equity position, this becomes an attractive option for debt holders.