Monday, September 30, 2019

Affirmitive Action: Reverse Discrimination

Baker 1 Jennifer Baker Reverse Discrimination Even though slavery has not been a part of America for over a century now, racial discrimination still exists in various parts of our culture. A controversial policy known as affirmative action was introduced in the 1960’s to try and promote racial equality in society. Affirmative action is supposed to give minorities an equal chance in life by requiring minority employment, promotions, college acceptance, etc. At first this sounds like a perfect solution to racial discrimination, but in reality it is discrimination in reverse.The term â€Å"affirmative action† was first used back in 1961 by President John F. Kennedy in an executive order designed to encourage racially mixed work forces. He stated that contractors should â€Å"take affirmative action to ensure that applicants are employed without regard to race, creed, color, or national origin. † (Affirmative Action) Then in 1964 the Civil Rights Act was passed which prohibited employment discrimination based on race or sex. The Civil Rights activists continued to argue that minorities weren’t going to be able to compete with the more qualified applicants after having suffered discrimination for so long.So in 1969 President Nixon made it a federal policy that a certain percentage of minorities must be hired in the workplace. Quickly affirmative Baker 2 action changed from being a policy that ensured equal opportunity to being one that gave unfair advantages to minorities. Affirmative action has remained controversial throughout the years, finding itself in and out of the courts. One of the most famous cases was Fullilove vs. Klutznick, which took place in 1980. The ruling stated that setting aside 10 percent of the hiring for minorities was constitutional.Fortunately in 1996 proposition 209 was passed in California which ended affirmative action throughout the state. This was definitely a breakthrough, but the effects of affirmative acti on still linger. Many businesses and corporations still give preference to minorities even if they are less qualified. Employers fear that lawsuits will be filed stating that applicants were turned down because of their race. Renowned author and political activist Nathan Glazer, has been against affirmative action since its beginning. Glazer believes that the olicy became controversial when it went beyond the ideas of the Civil Rights Act and started requiring employers to hire or promote a certain number of minority applicants or employees. In order to make sure that affirmative action was taking place, federal courts started enforcing â€Å"quotas† or â€Å"goals† for specific numbers of minority hiring. If these were met, lawsuits based on racial discrimination would be less valid. Says Glazer, â€Å"Affirmative action has become a matter of setting statistical goals or quotas by race for employment†¦ the expectations of color blindness that wasBaker 3 paramou nt in the 1960’s has been replaced by a rigid frame of numerical requirements. †(Glazer, 6) Those who oppose quotas and goals are said to be opposers of the Civil Rights Act, even though the affirmative action of today is not what the Civil Rights Act embodied. Glazer compares the misinterpretation of the Civil Rights Act to the desegregation of schools. In 1954, the Supreme Court ruled that segregated schools were unconstitutional. The idea of racially integrated schools, like racially integrated workplaces, is an excellent one.However, the desegregation of schools has made busing a necessity. Busing, although not in use today, is when students are transferred to another school for purposes of racial integration. It is costly to run all the buses and the commuting is hard on the students. Those opposing busing are said to agree with the segregation of schools. (Glazer, 10) The desegregation of schools was also mentioned in the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Initially this s eemed a fair proposal, but just as affirmative action became detrimental in the workplaces, integrating minorities in schools turned into numerical requirements.Can you imagine busing programs being used across the United States today? The scary truth is that once one of these ideas is adopted in one city, any other city can then follow suit. For example, if Santa Cruz County were granted the right to require a 15 percent Hispanic student enrollment in all high schools within the county lines, any other city could also put this idea into practice based on precedent. The assignment of students Baker 4 based on race would cause an endless stream of angry parents. Fortunately busing is in the past, but affirmative action still has its claws in the school system.A few weeks ago I was watching a 60 Minutes segment about a white girl who had filed a lawsuit against the University of Michigan claiming that they did not accept her because of her race. She had graduated from high school with a high GPA and had done everything in her power to become qualified for acceptance, yet she was denied admission. Further research showed that the University of Michigan does in fact admit students based on race. When reading applications, they award points according to criteria. For example, if one writes a good essay he is awarded 1 point and if he is a minority he is awarded 20 points.Something is askew. Is being a minority is 20 times more important than one’s scholarly achievements? The University’s argument is that students learn better in a racially diverse environment. UC Davis is another example. In 1988 only 40 percent of Davis’ freshman class had been accepted solely on the basis of merit. While whites or Asian-Americans needed at least a 3. 7 GPA in high school to be accepted, most minority applicants were accepted even though they met much lower standards. Sixty-six percent of the whites graduated while only twenty-seven percent of blacks did.Even as recently as 1997 one was more likely to get accepted into UCLA if he were black or Hispanic than if he were white. The minority students had both lower GPA’s and test scores. There were 5000 applicants for 200 seats which meant that some qualified students were rejected to make way for less Baker 5 qualified minorities. (Chances of Admission) This does not sound like an equal society. In 1995 the University of California system voted to end all affirmative action in admissions. When the changes took effect in 1998, minority enrollment went down drastically.This seems prejudicial, but in reality it is fair and allows competition between the best, regardless of race. Everyone has an equal opportunity to receive an education. Public schools are free and it is mandatory that children attend them. Any student can take full advantage of their first 12 years of education and earn the GPA that will gain them admission into a college. If a student is born into a poor family there a re scholarships and student loans available. Malcom X is a perfect example of someone choosing to rise up and get an education.Early in his life he made very unwise choices and ended up a pimp. When he was caught and thrown in jail he decided to begin educating himself. All he had was a dictionary but he used that dictionary and copied down every page. He went from being an illiterate street pimp to a very influential political leader. Affirmative action wasn’t around in Malcom’s time, but today everybody knows about it or has at least heard the term used. The first time I heard about affirmative action was when my brother first started working at Ralph’s supermarket.There was a black woman working there who was very slow and unproductive. One day my brother asked a fellow employee why the lady didn’t lose her job and he said, â€Å"She’s here for affirmative action reasons. † It turned out that whenever the lady was scheduled for a shift, a nother Baker 6 worker was also scheduled just to make up for the inefficiency of the black lady. My brother’s boss feared a lawsuit if he fired her. This is ridiculous! It is a costly arrangement and unfair to the lady hired just to take up slack for someone else’s laziness.The policy of affirmative action basically states that in order to have an integrated society with equal opportunities for all races, minorities must be given an advantage to make up for their disadvantages. This means that less qualified applicants are getting hired and that students who do not meet the requirements for college admission are being accepted while qualified students are being turned away, all based on race. The Constitution bans the exclusion of minorities from anything based on color, therefore it is unconstitutional to exclude whites based on the same principles. The lesson of great decisions of the Supreme Court and the lesson of contemporary history have been the same for at leas t a generation: discrimination on the basis of race is illegal, immoral, unconstitutional, inherently wrong, and destructive of democratic society. †(Gross, 1) Affirmative action is asking us to overlook all that we’ve learned and even fought for. Since affirmative action is such a hot topic and it affects our country as a whole, it’s important to know how the presidential candidates view this subject. Vice President Al Gore tends to favor the policy while Governor George Bush disagrees with it.Gore’s idea is â€Å"mend it, don’t end it. †(Al Gore) He says that affirmative action has done a lot for women and minorities over the years and that to get rid of it would be a waste. He has yet Baker 7 to provide a way to fix it. Bush argues against quotas and goals and proposes an alternative to this policy, one he has used in Texas. He terms his system of ideas and policies â€Å"affirmative access†. (George Bush) His idea leans more toward s the original thinking of the Civil Rights Act and promoting equal opportunity. An example is that the top 10 percent of each high school’s graduates be automatically accepted into the college of their choice.Supposedly the idea has been effective over the past couple of years in Texas. Both candidates have good points. Affirmative action has helped reduce minorities’ and women’s suffering prejudices in the workplace and in school, but on the other hand it has been taken to the extreme and the prejudices have been turned around. We need to get back to the heart of what the original affirmative action intended. Racial prejudices need to be eliminated completely. We are all the same on the inside. There is no reason to consider outward appearances.Employers and colleges only need to look at the applicants’ qualifications when determining who will be hired or accepted. Affirmative action could also use a face-lift, like the name change Bush suggested. When the term â€Å"affirmative action† is used, it is looked upon negatively and is associated with discrimination. A law that requires the acceptance of the most qualified would allow competition of the best and eliminate the issues of minority prejudices. If no regard is given to race, as Kennedy intended, then only the most qualified applicant will be accepted. This is fair. Baker 8Affirmative action has, in a way, become unfair to minorities. What is going to make them strive to be the best by working hard to get that promotion or studying hard to get those grades if they know they have an easy in? It has become an insult to minorities. Affirmative action is basically saying that they are not as smart or as qualified to be in good schools or in good jobs. It is saying that they need special help to get jobs and into colleges. It is a mockery. I know so many smart minority people who will transfer into better colleges than I and I’m as white as they come!I sat next to a girl this semester who was so intelligent and had the most amazing style of writing. She was a mix of Indian and black. We must not insult these people by suggesting that we must compensate for their â€Å"inferiority† to make everyone equal in the eyes of the law. We were all created equal, and anyone, black, white, or any other race, can choose to set higher goals and achieve them just as Malcom X did. The old affirmative action is outdated. The premise that minorities should be given an advantage to make up for their disadvantages is ridiculous and irrelevant.Most of the minorities coming into the work force were born after the Civil Rights Act was passed in 1964 and therefore have not suffered disadvantages in school or the workplace. If anything, they have reaped the benefits of affirmative action. California and Texas, as well as a few other states, have begun to take major steps in eliminating affirmative action. It is a start but it needs to spread. We are all equal and absolutely no regard should be given to Baker 9 race in education or employment. It is time to end the old affirmative action. We need a policy that eliminates the issue of race completely.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

A Tale of Two Coaches Essay

The path-goal theory relies on the how a leader motivates their subordinates to accomplish the task before them. This theory evaluates the relationship of the leader’s style of leadership and the characteristics of the subordinate and how the two compliment or supplement each other to achieve the desired outcome. In the cases of Coach Knight and Coach Krzyzewski, both were achievement-oriented. They both had clear goals and expectations of their players, win the game. This is evident by both coaches high lifetime career win totals. They both set high standards that their players were expected to meet. Each team was put through a series of drills and practices to prepare them and help build their confidence to succeed. Coach Krzyzewski â€Å"invested heavily in drills and skills with his players, practicing set plays and exhaustively analyzing practices, game films, and strategies† (Snook, Perlow, & Delacey, 2005, p. 3). The ability of both coaches to use achievement-oriented leadership contributed to their success. Each coach challenged and set high standards for their players. This raised the players’ confidence that they had the ability to achieve their goals. The achievement-oriented leadership demonstrated by each coach helped motivate the players to want to succeed. The leader-member exchange theory is a â€Å"process that is centered on the interactions between leaders and followers† (Northouse, 2013, p. 161). Two main groups of subordinates exist in the LMX model: the in-group and the out-group. Research found that there is a direct connection with high quality leader-member exchanges and job satisfaction and performance. Evaluating the leadership styles of Coach Knight and Coach Krzyzewski shows that there is evidence of the leader-member exchange theory in addition to the positive performance results that were indicated by the research of Dansereau (Northouse, 2013, p.162). Building relationships is important to Coach Krzyzewski. The success of his team was built on the relationships he established with his players and making everyone part of the in-group. He uses his â€Å"high-quality leader-member exchanges† to increase the positive performance of his players. It is a standard practice among his players that when they talk to each other they look each other in the eye. This way they are honest and truthful with each other at all times. Coach K also stated he believed â€Å"people have to be given the freedom to show the heart they possess. I think it’s the leader’s responsibility to provide that  type of freedom. And I believe it can be done through relationships and family. Because if a team is a real family, its members want to show their hearts† (Snook et al., 2005, p. 4). Coach Knight on the other hand was not as concerned about his relationship with his players. His demonstrated attitude was that he was there to do a job and so were the players. A good practice was flawlessly executed drills where players were â€Å"taught to play his game of basketball. Coach Knight’s motivational toolkit included push-ups, wind-sprints, and insulting verbal barbs† (Snook et al., 2005, p. 2). He was a perfectionist and he expected perfection of himself and his players. His players were mainly part of the out-group. They did not appear to spend much time developing relationships and the leader-member exchange was not as high-quality as the leadership experienced by Coach K’s players. The dominant leadership style used by Coach Knight is the Authority-Compliance style. He is task oriented and is looking for results. He is not as concerned about the individual or establishing relationships. On the other hand Coach K is more interested in the relationships with his players. He wanted them to feel a part of his family. His leadership style is more Team Management. He is task oriented but the difference is he places almost equal importance on the interpersonal relationships established with his players. In studying both of these great basketball coaches, who were equally successful, I learned that great successes can be achieved with various leadership styles. The team’s winning records is only one type of success. The larger picture is how willing were the player’s to follow, support, defend, or even send their own son’s to be coached by either Coach Knight or Coach Krzyzewski. Coach Krzyzewski has his players’ universal approval and therefore he is the more effective leader.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Organizational Behavior Bachelor Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Organizational Behavior Bachelor - Essay Example In a Norwegian study on nurses, the study concluded that the availability of clinical nursing supervision give positive results on the nurses' physical symptoms, stress and anxiety, as well as establishing "a sense of being control of a situation" [1]. The psychosocial work that nurses extend influences their experiences with regards to having or not having control (of a situation) along with their engagement and motivation [1]. Moreover, stress and anxiety in nursing jobs arise from ethical conflicts in the organization. Another is the job of an ambulance driver. Although a driver's salary is lesser than that of nurses, the work still appears to be meaningful to them because it gives them a sense of being able to serve and do good by being one important factor in saving a person's life. Ambulance drivers (or simply drivers) are responsible for bring the patient to the hospital in time and driving carefully (fast). The sense of knowing that one has successfully delivered the patient to a hospital gives a sense of relief and hope which can be equated to satisfaction for having done his part in the organization. In creating and designing jobs, as well as in the process of hiring people, most organizations assess the applicant's potential in contributing to the organization's success; that is why after the submission of one's resume, one is invited for a (face-to-face) interview because it is during the interview that the HR officer (or whoever conducts the interview) will be able to read the signs, as manifested in the interviewee's behavior, which could tell whether or not the applicant can be an asset to the organization. Since most organizations don't want to be charged of discrimination (against culture, ethnicity and the like), culture is not given that much importance although it is noted; although culture aides in designing a job because it identifies job characteristics. Culture is still noted because some traits and values of a person are already embedded in culture which makes it difficult to change if not removed. Personality traits, attitudes and behavior are however importance in filling jobs as these enables the organization to choose who best fits the job criteria. Choosing between what I can get out of the company and how my leaders treat me (same goes with peers and colleagues) can be a difficult task. Most people would endure sarcasm, ridicule of hardship for as long as they are paid on time and paid well. While others would choose how well they fit in with the management and their colleagues even if salary is not that good, not to mention payroll delays. Having given great thought on the matter, good relationships are much more preferred than tangible characteristics simply because the former is not something that comes your way on a regular basis. It is priceless because it can never be bought. Anything that is tangible can be found in any organization because it is solid; and anything that is solid can be made, asked for, worked for, or simply found, all of which mostly answers the need of physiological and safety in Maslow's hierarchy of needs. In addition, motivation coming from good relationships is genuine; therefore, it lasts longer because it is not superficial. Such a perspective addresses the 4th level of Maslow's hierarchy of needs with is Esteem in the form of respect of oneself, the respect

Friday, September 27, 2019

How have the different types of propaganda (white, black, grey) been Essay

How have the different types of propaganda (white, black, grey) been used to manipulate opinion - Essay Example In this context, two views can be positioned in contrast. The first is the view of the civil libertarian, which posits the rights of the individual to be most important and subsequently seeks to maximize individual freedom and minimize State control of all activities pertaining to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. In contrast to this are societal forces, fascist in their most extreme form, that seek organization to limit and control others as a form of governance, either for minority social, cultural, and economic interests or for personal gain, power, ego, and other self-motivating factors, often using organized political violence as a tool to further ideological ends. Control is opposed to liberty, but organization in this context is ironically more associated with the controlling aspects of power than freedom as historically conceived. Indeed, as societal structures such as those in the military and government agencies of superpower States grow to unprecedented technolo gical and economic prowess, the absence of such agencies of control still exemplifies the libertarian approach. Within this duality is the traditional duel between Marxist critics and the apologists of Capitalism, with the â€Å"Western† ideal firmly based in the historical tradition of Greece and Rome, including both democracy and imperialism in the ideal Republic. In the context of critical theory and post-modernism, the historical approach can be used to deconstruct architectures of power to delineate types of State control through the analysis of media operations and propaganda techniques found both in totalitarian regimes and liberal democracies, to see what joins and differentiates the two approaches to government and media communications. The initial discussion of personal bias and political ideology when constructing an ideal by which to judge a process such as government communications or the proper end goals of society highlights that absolute objectivity or complet ely dispassionate review is not entirely possible in the context of political analysis, contrary to the appearance of historical fact. In order to judge and analyze the activities and processes involved in media operations of governments, there must be an a priori establishment of legitimacy and this inevitably involves a decision that introduces political bias into the argumentation. As such, the humanistic context of shared social and cultural values are assumed to be the base from which â€Å"true† judgment proceeds, as these are viewed as the best of historical values shared by diverse cultures across numerous countries in the course of the evolution of civilization, as well as those that are the most fair, egalitarian, and progressive for building the future of mass-society. Yet, at the very moment when these ideals are viewed as universal, critical inquiry based in Marxist philosophy particularly challenges whether these so-called Western ideals of supposed Greek and Ro man origin are really truth as universal and divinely ordinate, or actually another form of propaganda masking the â€Å"true†

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Chosse any theme and write after reading NADJA by ANDRE BRETON Essay

Chosse any theme and write after reading NADJA by ANDRE BRETON - Essay Example The story is not only a case-study of a woman with profound perception of the world and life, who later descends into madness, but also follows the writer’s personal transformation as well. (Watson et.al. 2002) The novel became a momentous contribution while the movement was still in its embryonic stage. The plot revolves around the author’s obsession with a woman named Nadja, whom he meets in Paris. She haunts the author for a considerable amount of time, but by the end of the novel she is institutionalized after being diagnosed with ‘schizophrenia’. It is a tragic fate for Nadja, but her insanity is deemed as the prime source of conflict for the narrator and paves the path of self-discovery for him. While Nadja loses herself in an asylum, the author subsequently finds himself through the establishment of surrealist consciousness. The relationship between Nadja and the author is described through vague metaphors in a non-linear fashion with 44 pictures that depict pictures of their rendezvous points, Nadja’s sketches and surrealist art. Conception of surrealist notions was triggered by the psychodynamic paradigm that proposed that thought processes and behaviors were caused by the interaction between conscious and the unconscious mind. According to this paradigm, the main driving force behind such interaction is an individual’s sex drive or libido. However, unlike using the model to understand or resolve mental conflicts, surrealists use it as a form of artistry. The surrealist elements are not only ostensible through the notions discussed in the novel, but the sentence structuring and vocabulary also contain the same essence. Besides the titular character that embodied mystery, the vocabulary and metaphors are most cryptic in nature and give the novel the elements of both poetry and a prose. Nadja herself had been an avid lover of various surrealist artists and writers,

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

The Airline Industry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Airline Industry - Essay Example It is very important for any organization to consider the PESTEL analysis before it can engage in marketing its products. This is more important in that it allows companies to plan their future. PESTEL analysis describes a series of macro-environmental factors, which are used in environmental planning. This paper looks at the impacts of government intervention in the airline industry in using PESTEL. It is very important of external analysis when doing a market research since it gives an overview of the different macroeconomic factors, which the industry has to take into consideration. Some of the Political factors considered are the taxation policy in the industry, the laws related to employment, trade restrictions, and regulations on the environment, tariffs, and political stability in the industry. Economic factors considered in this case are economic growth of the industry, changes in interest rates, changes in exchange rates of the industry, and the rate of inflation that affects the industry (Zhou, & Stuart 2008). Social factors considered in their case includes, cultural concepts of the entire industry, health consciousness of the industry, the rate of growth of the population, the distribution of age, careers attitudes in the industry and emphasis laid on safety in the airline industry. Technological factors are also considered in this case and includes environmental and ecological aspects, which determines the barrier to entry in the industry, the minimum level of efficiency and production in the industry which effect outsourcing decisions. Moreover, technology factors cover research and development activities the level of technology and automation incentives used in the industry rate at which technology changes in the industry (Sajeev 2012). PESTEL is a way of analyzing the different environments that affect the industry. Pestel deals with

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

W two videos of effective presentations on topics of personal interest Essay

W two videos of effective presentations on topics of personal interest (not career-related). For each video, discuss in-depth the three parts of the Rhetorical Triangle - Essay Example rent activities: the ‘How to Make Sugar-Free Lemonade’ and the ‘How to Make a Flat Spiral Bracelet’ videos are analyzed aiming to show the potential use of Rhetorical Triangle for evaluating the effectiveness of messages delivered to a particular audience. The Rhetorical triangle is used for analyzing the quality of messages in terms of ‘reasoning and argumentation’ (Cooper 2009, p.52). Different views seem to exist in regard to the elements of Rhetorical triangle. According to Cooper (2009) the Rhetorical triangle incorporates ‘the speaker, the audience and the purpose’ (Cooper 2009, p.52). In its most common form, the Rhetorical triangle includes ‘the speaker, the audience and the message’ (Magedah 2010, p.7). The above terms could be analyzed as follows: the speaker is the person that delivers the message (Magedah 2010, p.7). The means used for the delivering of the message is not standardized (Magedah 2010, p.7). The audience is a term used for describing the individual or individuals ‘who receive the message’ (Magedah 2010, p.7). It should be noted that the audience cannot be precisely defined in advance; for example if a message targets a person but it is finally delivered to m any persons, then the audience is extended even if the speaker did not have such intention (Killingsworth 2005, p.26). As for the third element of the Rhetorical triangle, i.e. the message, this is used for showing ‘the information that the speaker aims to convey to the audience’ (Magedah 2010, p.7). In order for a message to be successfully delivered all the above elements need to be taken into consideration (Magedah 2010, p.7). The first of the videos analyzed in this paper, i.e. the video entitled ‘How to Make Sugar-Free Lemonade’ can be considered as quite successful in terms of delivering the message involved. The success of the video can be made clear by referring to the three elements of the Rhetorical triangle: the presenter describes clearly

Monday, September 23, 2019

Descriptive Statistics Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Descriptive Statistics - Coursework Example Another group of data was collected using nominal scale. This was data on the marital status of respondents. The researcher thought it prudent to collect data on the marital status of respondents because it is common knowledge that the marital status of a person may affect his or her learning in one way or the other. The reason why this is so, is that marriage changes the usual personal roles of a person in one way or the other (Fuchs et al, 1997). The data collected on the marital status of respondents was computed and have been displayed below. From the data presented above, it can be seen that majority of the respondents are not married. Their percentage is 58%, which is more than half of the total sample size. This was followed by 14% who were married and 5% who were widows. The least percentage was 2% representing those who are divorced. Using a likert scale, the researcher collected a nominal data (Danielle 2009; Cheng, 2009) on the impact of a 2-tier curriculum on student performance. Respondents were given closed ended alternatives to select their responses from. It would be noted that a close ended question gives respondents specific answers from which they have to make a choice (Choi et al, 2008). The choice of answers given to respondents were indicated as insignificant, slightly significant, significant and very significant. In order to be able to use the SPSS in finding the mean of the responses, the answers were scored as 1, 2, 3 and 4 respectively. The over all responses have been represented in the table below. Judging from the responses in the table and as computed with the SPSS, it can be said that there are many respondents who root for the use of 2-tier curriculum as an intervention for improving the academic performance of students. This is judged from the fact that the mean score as computed was more than the average score (Gardener, 2008). Choi, K., Hoff, C.,

Sunday, September 22, 2019

An Intensive Care Unit Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

An Intensive Care Unit - Assignment Example Mr X was being cared for in the intensive care unit (ICU) of an urban hospital. One week after admission, the ICU nurse-in-charge of Mr X’s care noticed respiratory distress and fever of unknown origin. The nurse reported it to the attending physician and to the intensive care specialists. The intensive care specialists ordered a new CT scan to re-evaluate the status of the brain, the occipital skull base fracture, the post-operative cervical spine, the condition of the lungs, the abdomen for a possible source of infection and a pelvis examination locating the sacral fracture and the right hip. Mr X was chosen as the case study subject primarily because of the alarming incidence of motorcycle accident worldwide caught the interest of the author and wanted to delineate the multisystem effect of a motorcycle accident to the individual. Clarke, Ward, Bartle and Truman (2004) stated that motorcyclists are at the highest risk for accidents due to poor safety record and the estimate d killed and serious injury rate in the UK per million vehicle kilometers is twice than a pedal cyclist and 16 times than car drivers and passengers (p. 6). Introduction to the Intensive Care Unit An intensive care unit (ICU) refers to a hospital area that uses state-of-the-art technology and aggressive therapy both in invasive and noninvasive monitoring of critically-ill and high-risk patients (Varon and Acosta, 2010, p. 1). Continuous monitoring is necessary and physiological factors affecting the health status of the patient must be reported promptly and on a continuous basis to the attending physician in order to adjust and meet the patient’s health needs. Patients older than 50 years old who suffered from cervical fracture have a 26% mortality rate (Browner, Jupiter, Levine, Trafton, 2003, p. 868). Critical care is offered for patients in the intensive care units in providing advanced life support through modern technology.

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Investigating the Effects of Surface Area on the Rate of Reaction Essay Example for Free

Investigating the Effects of Surface Area on the Rate of Reaction Essay Aim: To study the effects of changing the surface area on the rate of a chemical reaction Hypothesis: This hypothesis is based on the Collision Theory, where in order to react, the two particles involved must: 1. Collide with each other 2. The collision must be energetic enough to overcome the activation energy of the reaction 3. The collision must bring the reactive parts of the molecule into contact the correct way – they must collide with appropriate geometry (the reactive parts) Considering that the surface area of a particle is a factor that mainly affects the collision rate of particles, it would be safe to assume that as the surface area increases, the reaction rate increases. The graph should turn out to be something like this: 1. the reaction is the fastest at the start 2. The reaction is slowing down here 3. No more product is formed Amount of product Time Variables: Variable Factor What is manipulated Dependent Time The time it takes for the reaction to complete depends on the surface area of the compounds being used, because it determines the rate in which the reaction will occur. Independent Volume of the gas collected (H2, CO2) The amount of gas collected for each experiment will depend on the Controlled 1. Mass of Calcium Carbonate (both marble chips and powdered form) 2. Mass of Magnesium (both ribbon and powder) 3. Volume of Hydrochloric Acid 4. Apparatus Used 1. The masses of the substances utilized will remain constantly fixed during the experiment 2. 50 cm3 of HCl will be used for every trial – 550 cm3 in total 3. The apparatus used will remain the same throughout the whole experiment Chemical Reactions: Mg + 2HCl → MgCl2 + H2 1. Magnesium ribbon 2. Hydrogen Gas will be the gas collected 1. 3 Trials will take place 1. Mass of Magnesium ribbon in: 1. Trial 1: 0.064 grams 2. Trial 2: 0.063 grams 3. Trial 3: 0.065 grams CaCO3 + 2HCl → CaCl2 + H2O + CO2 1. Marble Chips 2. Carbon Dioxide will be the gas collected 1. 2 Trials will take place 1. Mass of Marble Chips in: 1. Trial 1: 3.998 grams 2. Trial 2: 3.988 grams Na2CO3 + 2HCl → 2NaCl + H2O + CO2 1. Sodium Carbonate (Powdered) 2. Carbon Dioxide will be the gas collected 1. 2 Trials will take place 1. Mass of Sodium Carbonate 1. Trial 1: 0.504 grams 2. Trial 2: 0.505 grams Apparatus: 1. Eye-Protection – 1 pair of Safety Glasses 2. 1 pair of Scissors 3. 1 Electronic Scale 4. 1 Conical Flask (100cm3) 5. 1 Single-holed rubber bung and delivery tube to fit conical flask 6. 1 Measuring cylinder (100cm3) 7. Stopwatch Chemicals: 1. 12cm of Magnesium Ribbon 2. 550 cm3 of Hydrochloric Acid 3. Marble Chips 4. Sodium Carbonate (Powdered) Method: 1. Set up apparatus as shown 2. Fill the conical flask with 50cm3 of HCl 3. Insert the end of the syringe into the hole on top of the stopper 4. Add the magnesium ribbon 5. Seal the flask with a rubber stopper as quickly as you can, at the same time have someone else present to start the stop watch once the magnesium ribbon has been added to the hydrochloric acid 6. As the reaction takes place, note down the time it takes for the gas collected to reach a multiple of 5 (i.e. 5mL, 10mL †¦.50,55,60,65 etc) 7. Keep measuring until the reaction has stopped, or you are unable to measure anymore 8. Repeat each experiment 3 times, just to be sure the data collected is accurate 9. At step 4, replace the underlined compound with the next compound after one experiment is completed Data Recorded Magnesium Ribbon – Mg + 2HCl → MgCl2 + H2 Trial 1 (0.064  ± 0.005 grams) Time (in seconds)  ± 0.05 s Volume (in cm3)  ± 2.5 cm3 Conclusion Unfortunately I was unable to create a graph using time as the independent variable, because the lab that I had utilized did not have the equipment available to accurately to record the data if time were to be the independent variable. Another factor that played into my decision was the fact that the smallest calibration of the glass syringe I used was 5 cm3. Since the only visible measurements shown on the syringe were multiples of 5, it would only seem reasonable that I switch around the variables, making time the dependent variable, and the volume collected the independent variable, since I couldn’t exactly measure how much gas would be collected every 5 seconds; otherwise the relationship the graph would depict would be completely incorrect. As you can see on the graphs, the slightly steep slopes show when the reaction is the quickest, as it should be in the beginning. The curve shows the reaction slowing down, but unfortunately the curve continues. This is because the reaction is still taking place. I was unable to record the rest of the data because the measuring tools that were available weren’t able to record to such a high degree. In some cases though, like in the powdered sodium carbonate experiment, the reaction began so quickly that I wasn’t able to record the time in most cases, so I just stuck with those that I had managed to note down. In other cases, there were so many distractions in the lab that it was difficult to remain focused. My classmates kept removing some if the items that I was using. The idea was to see how the rate of reaction changed when the surface area of a substance was increased. Initially, my plan was to react magnesium ribbon and magnesium powder with 1 mole of Hydrochloric acid; so I could compare and contrast how the surface area of the substance affected the rate of reaction. I had planned to keep everything about the two substances the same. Its element, mass, the amount of Hydrochloric acid I was going to react with it; the only thing different would be its surface area. Unfortunately the Lab didn’t have any available. So I decided to do the same experiment to Calcium Carbonate, this time using marble chips and powdered calcium carbonate. To my dismay I found that the powdered calcium carbonate wasn’t reacting at all. So I had to change it to sodium carbonate. There is skepticism about using different elements, seeing as they have different orders of reactivity. These factors, including the concentration of the acid used, could also affect the rate of reaction. However, the same acid concentration was used for all experiments, in all trials; so we can dismiss that. However, sodium is much higher up the reactivity series than calcium, which is higher up the reactivity series than magnesium. This is the problem with this experiment; the elements positions in the reactivity series could have really altered the rate of reaction. However, the experiments still prove that when the surface area of a substance is increased, the rate of reaction increases as well. This happens because, when two substances react only the surface particles of the substances can come into direct contact with the reactant particles. Increasing a substance’s surface area, like turning big solid chunks of calcium carbonate into powder, leaves more solid particles available to react. The more particles available to react at one time, the faster the rate of the reaction. Like this: Only atoms on the surface can react If you break the substance down, more atoms are exposed and ready to react. Evaluation Considering the lack of material available, I think I was able to manage the experiment fairly enough to produce results. However, I am not pleased with the factors that may or may not have affected my results, and the circumstances in which I had to switch my variables around. Therefore I would like to state a few things I would like to alter, if ever I got the change to do this experiment again. 1. Apparatus 1. Next time, instead of using a stopwatch, I would like to use a digital device, like a laptop for example, that was somehow connected to the glass syringe, which was programmed to record the volume of the gas collected every 5 seconds. This time the graph would turn out the way it should be. 2. Instead of using a measuring cylinder, I would replace it with a burette, as it takes more accurate measurements of liquids. 1. Chemicals Used 1. I would try and used the same element next time; the only difference would be the surface area. For example, if I used magnesium, to study the effects of surface area on the rate of reaction, I would only you magnesium ribbon and magnesium powder. Studying different elements with different reactivity’s would dismiss any data already collected because an element’s position on the reactivity series may also determine the rate of reaction. Use the same element. 1. Amount of People involved in the experiment 1. If I had to do the experiment again, with the same apparatus, I think I would like to have 3 people participating in the collection of data. 1 person would be watching the syringe rise and call out to record whenever it rose, the 2nd person would time it, and the 3rd person would record it. This time, the data may be even more accurate, because no one is taking their eye off the experiment, like I was doing during my experiment just to record data. I feel that altering these aspects of the experiment would increase the level of accuracy, as to get more substantial data to calculate the order of reaction. Unfortunately with the data I have so far, I am unable to derive the concentrations of the substances I had utilized in my experiment. However, as the objective was to investigate whether or not different surface areas affected the rate of the reaction, I think that I have produced enough data to support my theory.

Friday, September 20, 2019

Influence of the Economy on UK Government

Influence of the Economy on UK Government The UK economy has undergone structural, financial, and political change over the last thirty years. Different ideologies and policies have served to shape the relationship between government and economy in varying directions. Some elements, such as state intervention, have remained as a point of debate. Other factors, like globalization, have just recently developed. The policy of UK governments as a whole has been shaped quite heavily by major economic events during this period, and the legacy left by the Conservative and Labor governments can still be seen today. The context of this relationship is concerned with the theory of political economy. This is the idea of rationality and growth of the ‘free market. First, it is key to outline the characteristics of the relationship the government and the economy share. Clearly, a government influences the way an economy works via it’s policies. The government uses two branches of policy, fiscal and monetary. Fiscal policy entails government spending whereas monetary policy involves manipulation interest rates. Both policy instruments are designed to achieve growth. The attempts of a government to influence economic activity in the national economy are defined as macro-economic measures. Even the government itself is run as a typical business in a free market economy. It has a limited budget, and it has to prioritize quality and cost. It sets itself certain monetary and economic targets which it aims to meet each financial year. The state also plays a crucial role in providing a welfare state, where transfer payments are an important part of a circular flow of an economy. Transfer payments are aid given to people who are unemployed, or for any other reason, are economically inactive. Aside from this, the government will play other roles of importance. The regulation of markets and the encouragement of competition and entrepreneurship are all different areas in which the government contributes to the economy. If you break the relationship down further to involve the firms, the government still maintains influential involvement. The tax system and enterprise schemes are just two of a long list of programs with which government and business stay inter-connected. The ass ociation between the government and its economy is a crucial and significant aspect of any dominant nation around the globe. One of the key changes in this relationship between governments and economies hasn’t risen from external events. One of the components of this relationship has undergone significant change since 1979. When looking at the time period just before this, there had been various approaches to political economy which had begun and then collapsed. The Keynesian orthodoxy collapsed in the face of a persistent and unpredicted rate of inflation. Each ideological change brought about it’s different effects on the relationship between government and economy. To generalize the change before and after 1979, it is appropriate to state that the size and style of government had changed, from big to small. Big government, where regulation of markets, state intervention and command economics were the central characteristics, had been abolished. In came small government, where practices such as deregulation, privatization and free market economics were encouraged and integrated. Under small government, the state would take a step back from economic affairs, and adapt, to a small extent; a ‘laissez-faire’ approach. This change in government would be preferred by business and other capitalists. Certainly, this change was a landmark event in the economic theory of the state, and would shape the economic policies of the following governments. The tenures of Thatcher and Blair may have been under different parties, but towed the line of small government, less government intervention. A new wave of neo-liberal or neo-classical practice had begun. The change in government style has been noted. Now, the effects of this change need to be assessed, and more importantly, the critical elements need to be analyzed. First, the notion of state intervention and market failure has to be critically put under the microscope. The argument over whether the state should intervene in the country’s economy has been a drawn out affair. Certainly, under the new Thatcher government in the early 80’s, state intervention in economic matters was the norm. Under Thatcher ‘there was a real attempt to deregulate markets and to transfer assets from public to the private sector’. This policy of privatization, ‘the sale of public sector firms to the private sector’, had become the hallmark of the 1980’s Con servative tenure. ‘Indeed, for many the overriding impression given by the Thatcher government was it’s interventionist †¦ stance in a wide variety of markets’. The idea behind this privatization program was that first, opening up large monopoly type companies allowed the implementation of private expertise and involvement, which wasn’t initially present. This would lead to a great level of efficiency and productivity. Second, privatization would show that ‘even natural monopolies were better handled by arms’ length regulation that committed the government to intervene perpetually’. Other Thatcher projects like the Private Finance Initiative (PFI) and Public-Private partnerships invoked the idea of bringing a isolated private sector into the fray, and tapping it’s knowledge and expertise to bring a positive effect. The Public Finance Initiative used private finance to build projects and private management to run them, with the government paying a service charge for the use of the asset. Certainly, this program brought to the end the idea of heavy state control. The economic policies of Thatcher were a definite change from the period before. Labor would continue the main theme of free market policies. However, the period under Labor also the nationalization of some of Britain’s big companies. The Financial Crisis of 2007 saw Labor bring the Royal Bank of Scotland, Northern Bank and Lloyds TSB into government ownership. The government was forced to pump emergency funds into the banks to restore confidence in the banking system and to avoid a complete collapse. The need for government intervention wasn’t favored by either the banking sector or the general public, but this intervention was one of the risks which came with a free market economy. As free market economies involve little regulation, the banks in this case, went past many of their remit when it came to what practices they could and should carry out. In such an economy, it is often assumed that the market should be left to regulate for itself, but such an assumption failed completely here. Alongside the banking crisis, the government was forced to introduce other macro-economic measures, such as quantitative easing designed to increase money supply and consumer spending, and other more micro-economic based measures such as the car scrappage scheme, which concentrated on boosting car sales. Government intervention was quite successful during this period, with Britain return to relative growth by 2009 and the banking sector beginning to recover. The period highlights the issue of whether state intervention is ever invisible to the economy. The idea behind dropping a command economic model is that you want an economy to work in a way for which it aims to maximize profit and creates growth and enterprise. Taking out the notion of state intervention means that individual companies and markets will have to work more efficiently and more professionally then they would if state assistance was on hand to help on any time. Regulation and risk-taking would have to be at an acceptable level, as the responsibility and successfulness of a business will depend solely on it’s management. Thus, should the business fall into trouble, and the government doesn’t intervene, it will be the company’s bosses that will feel the wrath of it’s shareholders. However, w hen the situation at stakes involves a sector which the whole country depends on and uses a lot of the time, e.g. banks, it becomes increasingly difficult for the government not to take action. The banks were a big concern for the public and small businesses, as there would be a high chance of savings being lost and businesses losing investment. It was important for all people involved to see the banks recover and be halted from the verge of collapse. The period has shown two things. Firstly, the UK economy has definitely assembled a free market and neo-liberal economic agenda, with markets allowed to act as they wish within an appropriate limit. Secondly, the government has the tools and the power to intervene in markets which grossly abuse the power allocated and allowed to them. Another aspect of political economy which has developed over the last thirty years is globalization. The term globalization ‘more accurately describes a number of processes by which products, people, companies, money and information are able to move freely and quickly around the world, unimpeded by national borders or other territorial limitations’. The effect of globalization is developing as each day goes by. The global economy has undergone significant change over the last few years, with workers and businesses all around the world being influenced by events happening in other parts of the globe. Trade and labour are some of the key parts of how globalization has developed. Trade between countries has grown quite extensively, with the European Union a good example of how trade relations have lengthened. Also, companies are now begin ning to locate businesses abroad because of cheap labour and favorable tax incentives. All these events have led to a rapid rise in global economic theory and policy. Globalization has helped create TNC’s (transnational companies) whose brand name is known all around the world. The effect of globalization is that the communication and influence of national government in it’s can break down easily. For example, if a company in the UK feels it is being taxed unfairly, or feels that it’s UK labour force isn’t as efficient as it could be in other countries, it may now have the ability to leave without causing itself much damage financially. If the government knows that it’s hand can be forced easily by the developing global market, it will be forced to succumb to the any demand of it’s domestic businesses. Ironically, globalization can also be classed as an argument for state intervention. Globalization will lead to some businesses failing due to increased competition – more reason to support other firms which could be successful in the future. Also, globalization may not be such a bad thing economicall y. Yes, a country is at risk with its businesses willing to relocate to the country that suits them best, but global competition means more emphasis on firm’s to become competitive. This can lead to more jobs and more growth in the domestic economy. The advancement of globalization has led to a decrease in the influence of government and moved up a notch, the power of business in national economies. In conclusion, over the last thirty years, the relationship between government and economy has fluctuated many times. The policy and style of government, and other external crises’ and events have led to different styles in handling public sector economics. External events such as the financial crisis and globalization have brought up the debate of the free market and whether attempts to keep the government in the background will ever be successful. Monopolies were the created of privatization, but deregulation was a creator of nationalization. This has seen a fine line having to be struck between the government’s roles in the economy. Globalization has seen individual firms within an economy boost their status and influence, in turn, shutting out government power in their respective economies. Different parties have brought their respective philosophies into power in the UK. Enterprise, freedom of choice and increased competition in individual markets has been the driv ing force in most action taken by government during this period. In my opinion, it is fair to say, that the UK economy and the UK government have undergone structural, political and geographical change, which has led to Britain maintaining a stranglehold in the battle of the developed and developing economies.

Thursday, September 19, 2019

The New Deal :: essays research papers

During the 1930's, America witnessed a breakdown of the Democratic and free enterprise system as the United States fell into the worst Depression in history. The effects of the depression were being felt everywhere in the United States. In 1933, sixteen million people were unemployed. Americans wanted and needed a change. They proved this by electing Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1932. This was the beginning of a new period in time for Americans, as Roosevelt would introduce his course of action with the New Deal. Would Roosevelt’s New Deal be what Americans needed to counteract the effects of the depression? In Roosevelt’s first inaugural address he declared, â€Å"†¦In the event that Congress hall fail to take these courses and in the event that the national emergency is still critical I shall not evade the clear course or duty that will then confront me.† Roosevelt’s course of action came to be known as the New Deal. The New Deal describes the innovative measures that President Roosevelt took to try to restore the American economy, give Americans pride again, and have faith in the government. The New Deal started in 1933 and lasted until 1938. The New Deal was based on relief, recovery, and reform. The New Deal included federal action of unprecedented scope to stimulate industrial recovery, assist victims of the Depression, guarantee minimum living standards, and prevent future economic crises. Many economic, political, and social factors lead up to the implementation of the New Deal. In the first two years, the New Deal was concerned mainly with relief, setting up shelters and soup kitchens to feed the millions of unemployed. On March 6, 1933 Roosevelt called a nationwide bank holiday, and on March 9 Congress passed the Emergency Banking Act, which provided for federal bank inspections. In the summer of 1933, the Glass-Steagall Act set much more stringent rules for banks and provided insurance for depositors through the newly formed Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). These acts helped to restore the confidence in the wake of widespread bank failures. Two acts, one in 1933 and one in 1934, required detailed regulations for the securities market, enforced by the new Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Several bills provided mortgage relief for farmers and homeowners and offered loan guarantees for home purchasers through the Federal Housing Administration, or FHA. The Federal Emergency Relief Administration expanded existing relief grants to the states and resulted in assistance for more than 20 million people. The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) provided work relief for thousands of young men under a type of military discipline. The CCC emphasized reforestation, among

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Automotive Ignition Systems Essay -- essays research papers fc

Ignition Systems: New and Old Ignitions systems in motor vehicles have evolved in the past thirty years. Points was a simple concept but was not reliable and needed adjustment and replacement of components seemed constant. Today a magnetic sensor relays a signal to the computer which in turn sends the voltage to the selected cylinder to ignite the fuel/air mixture. There are not mechanical parts to fail or become corroded and brittle. There are many different parts to an ignition system. These parts differ between modern and old ignition systems. There is a coil. Sometimes one coil provides the increased voltage to the distributor or there is no distributor at all and each cylinder has its own coil to provide voltage for the spark plug. The coil is a compact, electrical transformer that boosts the battery's 12 volts to as high as 20,000 volts. The incoming 12 volts of electricity pass through a primary winding of about 200 turns of copper wire that raises the power to about 250 volts. Inside the distributor, this low-voltage circuit is continuously broken by the opening and closing of the points, each interruption causing a breakdown in the coil's electromagnetic field. Each time the field collapses, a surge of electricity passes to a secondary winding made up of more than a mile of hair-like wire twisted into 25,000 turns. At this point, the current is boosted to the high voltage needed for ignition and is then relayed to the rotor. The distributor is separated into three sections: the upper, middle, and lower. In the middle section, the corners of the spinning breaker cam strike the breaker arm and separate the points some 160 miles an hour. High-voltage surges generated by the action of the coil travel to the rotor that whirls inside a circle of high-tension terminals in the distributor cap, at each terminal, current is transferred to wires that lead to the spark plugs. Two other devices - the vacuum advance and the centrifugal advance - precisely coordinate the functions of the points and the rotor assembly as the requirements of the engine vary. An ignition circuit consists of two sub-circuits: the primary, which carries low voltage; and the secondary, which carries high voltage. The primary circuit, controlled by the ignition key, releases 12 volts of electricity from the battery or alternator through the coil to a set of breaker points ... ...r fires every other revolution so the distributor shaft must revolve at one half crankshaft speed. After the high tension surge is produced in the ignition coil by the opening of the breaker points, the current passes from the coil to the center terminal of the distributor cap. From there, it passes down to the rotor mounted on the distributor shaft and revolves with it. The current passes along the rotor, and jumps the tiny gap to the cap electrode under which the rotor is positioned at that instant. This cap electrode is connected by high tension wiring to the spark plug. As the rotor continues to rotate, it distributes current to each of the cap terminals in turn. connected by high tension wiring to the spark plug. As the rotor continues to rotate, it distributes current to each of the cap terminals in turn. Bibliography 1)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  www.ixquick.com 2)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  www.howstuffworks.com 3)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  www.google.com 4)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  www.msdignition.com 5)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Engine Management: Optimizing Modern Fuel and Ignition Systems, Dave Walker.  © Sept. 2001, MBI Distribution Services

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

A Raisin in the Sun What’s Up With the Epigraph? Essay

What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun? Or fester like a sore and then run? Does it stink like rotten meat? Or crust and sugar over like a syrupy sweet? Maybe it just sags like a heavy load. Or does it explode? Harlem by Langston Hughes. Lorraine Hansberry, playwright, author, and activist seemed to have gotten inspired by Hughes poem as well as her own life experiences and decided to write A Raisin in the Sun. A Raisin in the Sun is a play about an African American family living on the South Side of Chicago during the 1950s. In the play, Lorraine essentially focuses on the dreams of the characters and the obstacles in their life they try to overcome to fulfill them. Each member of the Youngster’s family has a dream he or her wants to accomplish. Lena Younger (Mama) has always dreamt of moving her family into a nice neighborhood with a big backyard so her children can play and she can attend to her garden. Mama is a strongly religious woman who takes care of her family like a mother should. She wants the best for them, Mama’s dream was not a dream she wanted for her family it was also what she and hate husband Big Walter always wanted. Big Walter worked extremely hard to provide and support for his family. So hard it resulted in his death as Mama says â€Å"he finally worked his self to death†. Since Big Walter’s passing Mama has received a life insurance check for ten thousand dollars. Taking to opportunity so that she can fulfill both her and Big Walter’s dream Mama decides to use that money to buy a house in an all-white neighborhood. Big Walter’s life insurance check cause a conflict within the family Ruth Younger dream is quite similar to Mamas. She wants to build a happy family for herself and believes getting away from their cramped apartment will do so. Ruth works very hard to take care of her family but with being overworked, financial problems, a downfall in her relationship with her husband, and an unexpected pregnancy Ruth can’t seem to find any sort of happiness in her life. That’s why she feels a new beginning will change all that. Beneatha Younger dream is to go to medical school to become a doctor. Beneatha is a better educated than the rest of her family and is determined to use her knowledge to make a difference. Throughout the play, it seems as though Beneatha is struggling to find herself. With the changes in hobbies such as horseback riding and playing the guitar also she’s struck an interest in learning more about her African heritage. She is determined to be more than the others around her. Living in a time where women jobs are mostly cooking, cleaning. Walter Lee Jr. the dream is to invest in a liquor store so that he’s able to provide for his family. Walter is not so happy with his dead-end job as a chauffeur and feels this investment will help him make his own money so he can become his own man. Everyone tries to warn Walter that investing into a liquor store is not such a bright idea Throughout the play, A Raisin on Sun

Monday, September 16, 2019

Aqualisa Quartz: Simply a Better Shower Essay

INTRODUCTION Our report aims at developing a marketing plan for Aqualisa Quartz shower. The product was launched and in spite of being much better than the existing showers in the U.K market in terms of water pressure, ease of installation, use and design, it didn’t have very impressive sales figures in the first four months. This report delves into the details as to why the launch was not successful and what can be done now to improve the situation of the product and the company. It is very important to reflect on the ways through which a company can increase sales together with its brand quality because usually, there is a strong competition in the industry and the companies have to choose among the ways through which they might win the market and this requires a lot of research. Companies should be aware of one key concept which is â€Å"you can’t be everything to everybody.† Our report elaborates on the industry, the company, the customers and the product itself to give a n overview of the whole situation and finally, it suggests the recommendations and the implementation plan. INDUSTRY ANALYSIS Quartz entered the market when only about 60% of U.K homes had showers and archaic plumbing some of which dated back to the Victorian period was still common in many houses. There were two major problems regarding the shower system in the U.K: low pressure and high fluctuations in temperature, which were addressed through the use of either electric showers or special U.K shower valves. The three main types of shower that existed in the market were Electric showers, mixer showers and power showers each having their own positive and negative features. Electric showers had one advantage over the other two types and that was â€Å"not requiring hot water supply.† The disadvantage of such a shower was that the electrical components were usually mounted in a cumbersome white box which could be seen in the shower stall. Another weak point in these showers was that they had not solved the problem of low flow rate. Aqualisa sold electric showers under the separate brand name of â€Å" Gainsborough.†Electric showers covered 61% of the units sold in the market. (See EXHIBIT 1) The mixer shower which covered 30% of the  units sold in the market (see EXHIBIT 1) came in two types; manual and thermostatic. The thermostatic type created comfortable temperature but manual ones were very inconvenient. The mixer shower required both hot and cold water, additional pump to address pressure problems, and the installation typically required excavation of the bathroom. No wonder it was selling half the volume electric showers were selling. Aqualisa had Aquavalve and Aquavalve 609, the latter being the core product of the company. The third type was integral power showers which covered only 9% of the units sold in the market. These showers required both hot and cold water as well. The bulky box on the wall was another problem with these ones and more importantly, they were regarded as less reliable compared to mixer showers. Aqualisa’s primary product in this category was Aquastream thermostatic. What was noteworthy in the shower industry was the fact that there was hardly any innovative movement in the industry in terms of functionality ,that is to say, possible innovations mostly happened in the cosmetic part of the product and major manufactures recycled their product line every four or five years. Aqualisa could take advantage of this weak point in the industry and be the winner. The question that remained to be answered was how? CUSTOMER ANALYSIS Most customers disliked two major problems of the existing showers- poor pressure and varying temperature. Consumers complained about other problems as well. They were not happy with hard-to-turn valves, leaky seals and worn-out showers. On the other hand, brand awareness was very low among the customers and only one brand (Triton) had been able to build brand awareness at the customer level (see EXHIBIT 1). Shower buyers in the U.K fell into one of these three pricing segments: premium, standard and value. Customers in the premium segment cared about the style of the shower and the performance or service of the product was not of importance to them. They normally shopped in showrooms. On the contrary, customers in the standard segment preferred performance and the  service provided with the product and they usually relied on an independent plumber to recommend a shower to them. Thirdly, customers in the value segment were primarily concerned with convenience and price. They did not like the idea of excavation in their showers and they mainly relied on a plumber to select the product for them. In addition to these segments, there were two more segments: do-it-yourselfers and developers. Do-it-yourselfers shopped at retail outlets and were interested in cheap models that were easy to install and they did not care about the unattractive bulky shape of the showers. Landlords and apartment dwellers were the main customers and electric showers were the overwhelming choice in this segment. Finally, developers were the customers who preferred reliable, nice-looking products that could work in multiple settings. Besides, developers did not have to worry about the pressure problems because new houses were almost exclusively built with high-pressure systems. The important characteristic of this segment was their price sensitivity. Aqualisa, knowing this behavior, had sold them its redesigned Aquavalve showers under the brand name of ShowerMax at a lower price and the developers loved it because it gave them the Aquavalve technology at a remarkable lower cost. Are plumbers regarded as channels or customers? Channels are customers too. Either way, they are important buyers and, at the same time, influential ones. Plumbers tried to install a special shower wherever they normally went for a job because unfamiliar showers could bring about unknown problems regarding and a revisit to fix the problem led to an extra cost for the plumbers. Furthermore, plumbers could receive some sort of service form the manufacturer if they stuck to that special brand. Generally, plumbers did not trust innovation especially if it involved electronics because of their bad experiences with the poorly designed products in the past. They wanted a shower that was easy to install with a guarantee to not break down or require servicing. Plumbers had a remarkably strong involvement in mixer shower selection (48%) whether directly or indirectly (see EXHIBIT 2).Apart from that, 54% of the mixer shower installation was carried out by them (see EXHIBIT 3).Aqualisa had the second biggest market share in mixer showers having Aquavalve 609 as their core product in that category (see EXHIBIT 1). Aquavalve 609, selling 60000 units per year, was considered Aqualisa’s  top-selling shower and it was regarded by the plumbers as being a high-quality reliable mixer shower with state-of-the-art technology. Therefore, Plumbers perception of the brand was quite positive. THE COMPANY AND THE CHANNELS OF DISTRIBUTION Showers were sold through three channels of distribution, which were trade shops, showrooms and DIY outlets. Trade shops carried products of all the brands in the market and all they cared about was to make sure they had the right stock of products that were in demand. The main customer of trade shops were plumbers who worked for developers, showrooms, contractors and customers. Aqualisa brand was available in 40% of trade shops. The second channel was showrooms which tended to be more high-end. Showrooms often offered more than just showers and they offered installation services by subcontracting with contractors and plumbers. Aqualisa brand was sold in about 25% of them.DIY sheds offered discount, mass-market do-it-yourself products. Electric showers, being cheaper, were selling really well in this channel (see EXHIBIT 4).Aqualisa had no product in this channel but its Gainsborough was available in 70% of these outlets. Aqualisa’s brand had always been considered as a strong one in the U.K and the company had been recognized as having top-quality showers, a premium brand and a good service. The company’s market share in mixing showers was ranked second and ranked third in the overall U.K shower market. The company had to take these facts into consideration and not make a decision regarding positioning and target marketing that would lead to a decrease in these values. However, the company had encountered some problems too. There was a strong competition in terms of product quality in the first place and the company had to be on its toes to deal with this case. Moreover, Aqualisa products were seen to be overpriced and this was something the competitors could take advantage of. Also, in terms of services, Aqualisa had become a little sloppy and it had not improved its 10% rate of break down for many years. Although it had a 25% net return on sales, its future was not secured. PRODUCT ANALYSIS Aqualisa’s new product would eliminate almost all the problems that the customers had including the cumbersome box in the shower, the low pressure and the varying temperature. Aqualisa had come up with the idea of locating the mechanism remotely outside the shower which would eliminate the need for excavation. Aqualisa launched Quartz into the market after three years of development. The product came into two versions: standard shower designed for installations that already had a pump and pumped shower which included a pump. One of the key advantages of quartz was its ease of installation. While other showers took two whole days to install, Quartz would take only four hours and this was a great source of pleasure both for the customer and the plumber. In addition to all other advantages like high pressure, stable temperature, ease of installation and remote mechanism, the one touch control mounted on the shower wall was appealing to the customers as well. Quartz was loved by everyone; parents liked it because its automatic temperature control was safe for their children who could shower on their own now; the elderly loved it because they did not have to struggle with stiff valves and so on. Quartz had some other potential features as well, which had not yet been put into effect. The Body Jet product and the Slave Remote were two additional products that could boost the sales of the product in the future. The Body Jet product was so popular among women because they could wash their bodies without getting their hair wet and the slave remote enabled the consumer to control the temperature from a distance. STRATEGIC RECOMMENDATIONS It is time to recommend the best target market to Mr. Rawlinson now. We would recommend that he choose the first option which is targeting the customers directly. Before we talk about the pros and cons of this approach, let’s consider the other two options which are targeting do-it-yourselfers and targeting developers. The do-it-yourself sheds, as said before, simply offer cheap and easy to assemble showers. Therefore, this place is not a proper place for a premium brand like Quartz. Besides, Quartz is an expensive product and it cannot be a fit in the DIY sheds; the customers who go there are basically looking for cheap showers rather than expensive ones no matter  what the function is. As long as the customer is unaware of the fantastic features of the new product he/she will not consider buying it when there are much cheaper alternatives which have proved to be good enough for their price. The advantage of targeting the DIV sheds is that because these outlets introduce easy to install showers, the customers who have that advantage in mind, will go there and they will get interested in the unique features of Quartz especially its ease of installation. As a result, some of them may buy the product and after experiencing the convenience in using it they will recommend it to others. The third option which is targeting the developers may seem interesting at first because they can have a huge volume of sales at the start and increase their profits but in practice, it is not going to be so. The developers want a very low price for their mass purchases and this is not what the company might want to encounter for two reasons; firstly, the image of the product as an innovative premium brand is lost and secondly, the company’s profits plummet due to the almost 50% discount that the developers might expect. If the company focuses on developers, it will only cover 15% of overall shower sales in the U.K (see EXHIBIT 6) while there is a much more potential for shower installation because of other reasons like replacement or new penetration. One might say that targeting developers is beneficial because developers subcontract plumbers to install the showers for them and the plumbers having experienced the ease of installation may use Quartz for their independent jobs as well. However, this does not sound practical because plumbers are not satisfied with electric showers whatsoever and they try to avoid new products because those types of showers might cause unprecedented problems which lead to extra costs for them. Apart from that, plumbers receive less installation fees working for 4 hours while with other products they will spend a lot more hours and receive higher installation fees. The first option which is targeting the customers directly seems less disadvantageous although it is more risky. As rule of thumb, higher risk is associated with higher return. Targeting the customers directly using the media might be costly but the probable high returns from that cover the  costs very quickly. A large scale campaign would cost about â‚ ¬3 million to â‚ ¬4 million over two years. The company is presently in a good financial status with 25% net returns on sales. Therefore, it would be rational if it used some of that profit on advertising its new product and thought of this expenditure as investment rather than cost. The breakeven point for Quartz is 18710 units (see EXHIBIT 5).Since Aqualisa has a good market share; it could definitely sell more than the breakeven point units. Total number of units sold in a year only for Aqualisa products (excluding Gainsborough) is 122000(see EXHIBIT 1).This big number looks promising. Here is what Aqualisa should do: It should have a large-scale advertisement on the product, flood the trade shops with the product and enjoy results! You might say this is insane and there is going to be a deadly cannibalization by applying this plan. Well, there might be some cannibalization but it does not do much. Let’s consider a pessimistic result in terms of units sold if cannibalization occurs. Currently, Aqualisa is yearly selling 6000 units of electric showers, 94000 units of Mixer showers and 22000 units of Power showers (see EXHIBIT 1). Assume that in case of cannibalization, the number of units sold per year change into: 0 units of electric showers, 70000 units of mixer showers, 15000 units of power showers and 30000 units of their new product, Quartz. By looking at the manufacturer’s price in EXHIBIT 8 and multiplying them by the number of units sold accordingly we can calculate the sales for each case. The normal case has sales of â‚ ¬37.3 million and the second case that happens after the launch of Quartz and the consequent cannibalization has sales of â‚ ¬44.71 million. It brings about a â‚ ¬7.41 million increase in sales (see EXHIBIT 9). Quite remarkable! The two channels that are proper for Quarts are trade shops and showrooms. Quartz has already attracted a lot of customers in the showrooms and the company just has to keep that excellence in place using their great service. Currently, only 40% of trade shops offer Aqualisa’s products. Aqualisa should improve this number to 70% or more through the launch of Quartz. In addition, this approach may encourage the plumbers to switch to Quartz as their default shower for installation although they might not like to switch to a new product with unprecedented f eatures. IMPLEMENTATION PLAN For the implementation plan, we will elaborate on the strategies the company should apply in terms of the 4Ps which are _product_, _price_, _placement_ and _promotion_. The product was analyzed in the product analysis sector and there is much more to say about it. Regarding price we should say that Quarts seems to be overpriced but in reality it is not. Here is the reason we claim so. Consider the top-selling product Aqualisa has in the market, that is to say, Aquavalve 609.the price of this product is â‚ ¬715.but once the customer buys the product the real costs begin to show themselves. This type of shower needs two days for complete installation which means 16 hours for the plumber; the plumber charges â‚ ¬60 per hour. Then, the installation fee is â‚ ¬960(16*60).there are also other costs like additional booster pump(â‚ ¬450) and excavation charge(â‚ ¬200).the sum of all these is â‚ ¬2325 which is the total cost for Aquavalve showers. Now let’s see how mu ch a Quartz Standard costs: â‚ ¬850 for product purchase and â‚ ¬240 for four hours of installation (4*60) and 450 for additional booster pump. No excavation is needed. The sum of these ones is â‚ ¬1560.it is remarkably lower than the one incurred by Aquavalve. The role of Promotion begins from this stage. The company should clearly inform the customers of the hidden charges of other showers (not mentioning Aquavalve) through the advertisements in different media like the TV, newspapers and magazines. On the whole, the company should implement a problem solving approach in their advertisements.This simple information will create a good image in the minds of the customers and they will know that the price is placed somewhere between their valuation of the product and the cost of it. The company could also apply transformational appeals in their approach regarding creative strategies to persuade the customer. One example would be displaying a happy businessman who has had a great day and at the end of the day when he wants to take a shower, he faces the low pressure or the varying temperature of the shower. The ad could quickly turn that situation to a pleasant one by focusing on Quartz and the difference it makes. The actions to be taken regarding product placement were mentioned in the recommendation part, which was targeting trade shops and showrooms as their channels of distribution. This creates a mainstream positioning ,which will be more profitable because the product is not highly priced if you look at it economically, taking all its advantages over the other showers into  consideration.

Sunday, September 15, 2019

Persian Poetry

A Brief History of Persian poetry: One of the most noble forms of literature is poetry. Over the centuries Persian and non-Persian poets have written their poems in the Persian language, Farsi, and it's variations. Even though the Farsi language has changed over time the ancient poems are still readable. Iranians highly value their poets who kept their culture and language alive even during numerous invasions. Persian poetry is as ancient as Avesta (the holy book of Zoroastrians) where first form of poetry is documented.Persian and non-Persian poets express their creativity in different forms and styles. The earliest poetry was of two types. One was the ballad and the other was the epic. The ballad later developed into different forms such as lyric, hymn, satire and panegyric. The epic poem is an enlarged ballad. Therefore, the origin of all poetry is in the ballad although no records have remained from these primitive ballads. Persian songs goes back to 3000 BC to the time of king J amshid. Xenophon wrote about songs that were sung when Cyrus the Great was still a boy.The halls of the Achaemenian palace at Persepolis echoed with the poetic singing of the tale of the romantic love of Zariadres and Odatis. The Arab conquest influenced the Persian vocabulary causing an even smoother poetic verse. Poetry, nursed for 200 years by the care of three dynasties (Tahirid, Saffarid, Samanid). Therefore, it was during ninth century when the new form of Persian poetry began which is found today. One of the early forms of poetry was qasida in royal courts. Qasida are poems of more than 100 couplets that do not rhyme. Anvari was one of the poets who used qasida.Ghazal from about 12th century is another form of lyric. Ghazal poems were a much shorter form, 10 couplets that do not rhyme and mainly used to express love, both human or mystic. Hafez and Saadi mastered this form of poetry. Rubai and dobaty are both four lines poems which are distinguished from each other by their r hythm. They may express mystical, romantic or philosophical themes. Omar Khayam is one of the pioneers in writing Rubai and his books are translated into many languages. A Review Of Persian Poetry: Classical Persian poetry is always rhymed. The principal verse forms are the Qasideh, Masnavi, Qazal and Ruba'i.The qasida or ode is a long poem in monorhyme, usually of a panegyric, didactic or religious nature; the masnavi, written in rhyming couplets, is employed for heroic, romantic, or narrative verse; the ghazal (ode or lyric) is a comparatively short poem, usually amorous or mystical and varying from four to sixteen couplets, all on one rhyme. A convention of the ghazal is the introduction, in the last couplet, of the poet's pen name (takhallus). The ruba'i is a quatrain with a particular metre, and a collection of quatrains is called â€Å"Ruba'iyyat† (the plural of ruba'i).Finally, a collection of a poet's ghazals and other verse, arranged alphabetically according to the r hymes, is known as a divan. A word may not be out of place here on the peculiar difficulties of interpreting Persian poetry to the western reader. To the pitfalls common to all translations from verse must be added, in the case of Persian poetry, such special difficulties as the very free use of Sufi imagery, the frequent literary, Koranic and other references and allusions, and the general employment of monorhyme, a form highly effective in Persian but unsuited to most other languages.But most important of all is the fact that the poetry of Persia depends to a greater degree than that of most other nations on beauty of language for its effects. This is why much of the great volume of â€Å"qasidas in praise of princes† can still be read with pleasure in the original, though It is largely unsuited to translation. In short, the greatest charm of Persian poetry lies, as Sir E. Denison Ross remarked, in its language and its music, and consequently the reader of a translation â⠂¬Å"has perforce to forego the essence of the matter†.

Saturday, September 14, 2019

At what age should teenagers be allowed to drive? Essay

The leadership I received from my Cadet Corps Commanding Officer’s was outstanding and influenced me tremendously over my career. They inspired me and provided a sound base upon which I was able to develop my own leadership abilities and the confidence to believe in them. Hopefully, their being a role model for me has led me to be a role model for others. Lastly, cadets and the summer camps led me to believe that I wanted to join the Canadian Forces because I enjoyed the military way of life! The cadet programme had a huge impact on my development. It instilled discipline, a sense that teamwork was important to succeed, the need to strive for excellence, public speaking experience, and an understanding that fitness was important and should be a way of life not just a passing trend. Lessons from cadets have aided me throughout my life. Having worked as part of a team in cadets, I found the adjustment to working as part of a team within the Canadian military was easy whereas others found the adjustment difficult. Public speaking is another area in which cadets aided my development. Being able to speak to a group effectively is extremely important as one moves through life and assumes various responsibilities. Cadets gave me the confidence and the basic principles of public speaking. Probably the most important lesson learned, however, was the need to look after one’s subordinates as a first priority. Do this, and your chances of succeeding in your endeavours will be greatly enhanced. I am in Cornell’s College of Engineering and considering a major in Electrical Engineering. I enjoy every aspect of electrical engineering. Even when I was young, I used to take things apart to see how they worked. Now that I’ve actually started learning how these things work and getting hands on experience with electronics, I think that electrical engineering is the perfect choice for me. My interests are varied. I am extremely interested in electronics, but that interest does not stop at just electronics; it extends to computers. I have always been very strong in the area of computers. From software to hardware I have a natural inclination to understanding and operating computers. But I have always been more interested in the hardware side of computers, so I am more interested in digital electronics. As far as my career goals, there are two areas in which I would love to work. First, I would love to work for NASA on their space probes. I feel that I would find that type of research and problem solving oriented work interesting. You have to come up with creative solutions to very hard problems presented by the environment of space. On the other hand, I would like to work as a project manager in a high-tech company where I would have to lead my team through challenging projects. This high-tech company work is very similar to the work at NASA.

Account for the Geographical Characteristics of the Southern Chesapeake colonies at the end of the eighteenth century

The Southern Chesapeake colonies consist of Virginia, Maryland, North and South Carolina and Georgia. The settlement of the Southern Colonies started at Jamestown Virginia and it was led by Captain John Smith who also became the first Governor of Virginia. The Southern and Northern Settlements both grew up for different reasons. Whilst the Northern settlements grew up to seek refuge from Religious persecution (Jenkins, P, 1997) the Southern Colonists went out to make money and produce goods for England, mainly Mediterranean goods such as citrus fruits, wines and silk. Richard Hakluyt, who was a geographer for the court of James 1st and advisor to the London Plymouth Company, advised that the Southern Colonies would be ideal place to settle. However his choice of settlement was based purely on assumptions and it was not taken into account the East coast of a country was very different to the West coast (Mitchell, R, D, 1983). As a result tobacco became the staple crop and Virginia, which has been described as growing from smoke. This essay will look at how the Southern colonies continued to grow during the 18th Century and the geographical characteristics of that growth. At the start of the 18th century the population of the colonies was only 250,000, however by 1785 this had risen to around 2. 5 million. The population was growing fast and by 1820 the population of the United States had overtaken Britain. Due to the rapid explosion of the population, it was forced to distribute over a greater area of land. In the Southern colonies the population occupied almost all of the land east of the Appalachians, which included many fertile mountain valleys, ideal for growing crops and rearing animals (McIlwraith, T. F, et al, 2001). After about 1740 Maryland and Virginia experienced settlement change. The Piedomont and Great Valley regions filled with settlers that imitated the Northern colonies with a mixture of grain and livestock farming. The population of the South was rapidly increasing yet it was still predominately rural as people took up more land than they actually needed. This was due to the fact that there was a big lust for ownership of land at the time and it was desirable to own land. In 1786, 3 years after the Treaty of Paris, there was a surge to claim it as there was a cadastrol survey of the land, by the Land Ordnance. Middleton, R, 2002). People wanted to claim the land before it was surveyed in the hope that they could claim the rights to it. The urbanization of the Chesapeake region up to the 1700's had been very slight, as it had been built up as a fragmented and rural society. As opposed to the North, who were there to be independent from England, the Southern Colonies were there to produce goods for England and the rest of the world. Thomas Jefferson said â€Å"We have no Towns of any significance† (Thomas Jeffereson, 1801), because of how fragmented the Chesapeake society was and because there was very little social cohesion. Thomas Jefferson proposed that the land be split up into rectangles and the land, along with the title, be given free to the yeomanary (Earle, C, 2003). However this is not how it happened, and Congress intervened insisting that land would be sold in order to produce revenue for Government. Consequently, speculators, land companies and individuals eyed obvious town sites, rivers, fording points, junctions of two rivers, harbours and defensive positions that lay well ahead of the frontier and surveyed land. Actual Settlers, as they were known, were confronted by angry natives not happy at their land being squatted on by these hopefuls. As a result battles ensued and the army was called in to enforce order and in some cases expel settlers from the land that they had tried to lay claim too. The South, which was dominated by a labour intensive agricultural system, had a much longer growing season than the Northern Colonies. As a result of this they convinced themselves of the need for slave labour and continued to use imported slaves well into the 19th Century (McIlwraith, T. F, et al, 2001). Slaves were a major factor behind the growth of the South, without them there would have been a great shortage of labour. Plantation owners found that slaves were cheap when compared to indentured labour. This was labour that would work for their employer for a set number of years and then be free to go and work where ever they wanted. The cost to a plantation owner of a free white servant would be ar ound i20 per year. For an extra i7-8 a planter could have â€Å"a slave for life! † (Middleton, R, 2002). This reliance on slaves left the South with a very unskilled labour force, the full affect of this not being felt until the start of the industrial revolution in the 19th century. In the South skilled workers like smiths, joiners, wheelwrights and leather workers were all moving out to the countryside to become plantation owners. The expense of free labour forced people into this (Middleton, R 2002). Not only was it a skilled labour force that was missing but also there was a lack of merchants, traders and artificers, these people being crucial in exporting and selling the goods. However this did not cause a problem in the tobacco region of Virginia because they exported directly from their plantations. It was is the Carolinas that this lack of merchants was apparent because they did not ship from their own plantations but had to transport their goods to central warehouses. As the Southern colonies adopted a more northern approach to agriculture, the need for slave labour should have been reduced, but this was not the case due to the fact that there was a big demand for cotton, which was very labour intensive. This was a result of the revolution in America and the industrial revolution in Britain, This had a big impact on the industry in the southern colonies both socially and spatially. One aspect of this industrialisation process was the iron industry. In 1775 the colonial iron industry turned out 15% of world production (McIlwraith, T. F, 2001). The geographical influences of iron was bog ore, which was used to produce the iron, which was reduced in furnaces. These furnaces were heated by hardwood, located in the hill country, which was cut to make charcoal. The owners were able to control large areas of woodland and also influence settlement due to the huge demand that the iron industry had on labour. The products that they produced remained mainly in America but it was important process in the industrialisation of America. Another aspect was the huge demand for cotton and Britain became a major importer of American Cotton. The cotton industry had its origins in the coastal regions of South Carolina. Cash crops like Rice, Indigo and cotton were plantation crops grown on the chain of Sea Islands situated along the coast of South Carolina and Georgia (McIlwraith, T,F, et al, 2001). However due to market and environmental factors rice and indigo quickly vanished as cash crops but as settlements moved further inland it was cotton that was deemed to be the staple crop. It was suited well to the climate and the soil conditions and the people readily exploited this by mono cropping. By doing this they were never giving the soil a chance to recover and its implication on settlements was that it pushed them further and further west in search of quality fertile land. Further South stood the capital, Charleston, which was established in 1692. Originally it experienced very slow growth but from about 1730 onwards it steadily grew and by 1775 the population had grown to 12,000. Charleston, South Carolina, became the leading port and trading centre of the South. There the settlers quickly learned to combine agriculture and commerce, and the marketplace became a major source of prosperity. The naval stores industry was very important to the Southern Colonies. The South was an area that had a rich supply of pine trees, pitch, tar and resin that was required by the Royal Navy (Knox, P et al, 1998). It was able to provide some of the best ship building materials in the world. Up until the 18th century the Royal navy had obtained its supplies from the Baltic, but due to uncertainties of supply they switched their source to the Carolinas. The production soon shifted to North Carolina as rice production became of greater importance in South Carolina. Unlike Virginia, the Carolinas were not bound to a single crop, making them a more economically sound area to settle. The land enabled them to extract raw materials but also grow goods that could be exported. As a result of the Carolinas producing different crops, and the need to keep moving on, there was a difference in the type settlements that emerged. In contrast to South Carolina, the urbanization of North Carolina was very slight and it was only a very few inland areas that urbanized, an example being Salem, whilst its coastal areas, such as Wilmington, remained very small. This can be put down to the fact that North Carolina was not concentrating on a crop but extracting raw materials, so movement would have been regular (Earle, C, 1992). The late 18th Century southern colonies can be characterized in many different ways geographically. At Virginia, the major geographical characteristic was the land. The Jamestown Settlement was made up as a profit orientated trading station rather than a socially cohesive agricultural settlement. People needed to grow tobacco to sell to England, so the rich planters had a lot of control over society. This meant that their plantations doubled up as urban places offering many services that you would expect to find (Middleton, R (2002). Further South, as well as the need of land for the cotton industry, was the need of the raw materials, needed for the naval industry. Due to the high use of slave labour, rurality of the settlements was not a problem. If labour was short they imported it, they never had to go looking for it. In the Southern regions they liked to invest in areas where they knew they could make the most money from the land that was available. Major outside influences on the Southern Colonies was the industrial revolution in England, which meant that there was big demand for cotton. As a result people were constantly on the look out for good fertile land and the population continued to spread. The industrial revolution brought with it factories and demand for products which added momentum to the spread and organization of the Southern Colonies.